While we throughly enjoyed the train ride, the scenery, and all that we learned, this adventure needs some work to make it 5 stars.
To start off, the train station needs to be expanded. There are way too many people trying to get inside in too small of a space. It was complete chaos and unorganized trying to get our physical tickets for the ride.
We were also told incorrectly that seats are assigned at the time purchase. This is incorrect, because if this were true you would be able to pick the seats that you want. It is purely first come, first serve and they seat you as you get on the train. We bought first class eats, and I was reassured by the lady at the ticket counter that I could get a 2 seater table as I get horribly motion sick especially when riding backwards and I need to see where I am going. I was going to ride froward going out, and then switch seats with my husband for the ride back so that I was always facing forward. These seats are also by the windows with the most horizon visible thus allowing me to see out and calm my motion sickness. Well, This information just wasn't true. My husband and I were the last ones on our train, and we were placed on a couch facing backwards as those were the only seats left. We sunk into the couches and they were way too deep. I approached the server on the train and told her what I was told and she apologized and said that was not true and its first come first serve. So I was miserable as soon as we started moving. As soon as we were able, I went outside to the observation area and ended up standing out there the whole time as I couldn't sit in my seat and not be sick.
The food they serve is also meager and nearly enough for the number of people on board. By the time I finally stopped feeling sick from the motion and went to grab some snacks, the food was all gone.
The scenery made up for a lot of the grievances. Dewey was our "tour guide" (for lack of a better word) and he was very well informed and took great pride in showing us rock formations and telling us the history of the area. We also had an eagle come on board with its handlers which was super neat to see.
After we arrived at the end of the line, they switched the engines around and Dewey talked to us about the history of the area while they did that. We also had ice cream sandwiches. The ride back was also very nice and I got to see some areas that I missed the first time around.
We stayed outside on the deck the entire train ride except for the very beginning. Felt like a waste of a first class ticket since we weren't able to see anything from our seats anyway, even if I wasn't motion sick. If I ever do this again I will opt for the regular ticket and just say outside the whole time like I did this time. It was also way more overcrowded that I was expecting for a Sunday in February.