| Tour
Schedule - Day One |
| Arrive
at the Country Inn & Suites
in Bismarck, North Dakota. Today we’ll visit the outstanding exhibits
at the North Dakota Heritage Center before our get-acquainted
dinner-cruise aboard the Lewis & Clark paddle-wheeler as it
cruises the Missouri River. Overnight in Bismarck, ND. (D) |
| Tour
Schedule - Day Two |
| Our
journey back in time begins at Fort Abraham Lincoln, George
Armstrong Custer’s final command post. We’ll get a very
special 1874 tour of the Custer home while the Col. and Libby are
"out riding" and view the troops, before departing for
the only park in the National Park System that is set aside to
commemorate the Plains Indian: Knife River Indian Villages
National Historic Site. The outstanding interpretive
center and model earth lodge shed light on the people who
continually inhabited this site for as long as 500-600 years ago
to 1845. We’ll overnight tonight at the Marquis Inn in
Williston, ND. (B, L)
|
| Tour
Schedule - Day Three |
| Another
eventful day begins with a tour of the beautifully restored Fort
Union. Established by John Jacob Astor’s American Fur
Company, Fort Union was the most important fur trading post on the
Missouri River between 1822 and 1867. Fur Trapping gave way to
cattle ranching later in the century and our next stop illustrates
one man’s dream of a cattle ranching and shipping empire. Named
for the Marquis de Mores’ wife, Medora, the town boomed
and busted at the end of the century, but not before Teddy
Roosevelt became a resident and formulated many of his
conservation ideas and rugged personal qualities. We’ll visit
the national park named for the "bully"
president, enjoy a unique pitchfork fondue and
take in a performance of the much-acclaimed Medora Musical before
calling it a day! Overnight at the Badlands Motel in Medora,
ND. (B, D) |
| Tour
Schedule - Day Four |
|
Medora’s
western hospitality continues this morning with breakfast in the
Chuckwagon Cafe. We’ll have ample free time to explore
the numerous shops and museums (or take an optional
trail ride on horseback in the park) before heading west into
Montana where Custer met his demise. Overnight at the Country Inn
& Suites in Billings, MT. (B)
|
| Tour
Schedule - Day Five |
| Today’s
trail leads to the Little Big Horn National Historic Battlefield, site of the famous
confrontation between Crazy Horse and the egotistical Lt. Colonel
George Armstrong Custer.
We’ll learn how that fateful event transpired on June 25,
1876.
The memorial now includes the “other side of the
story”:
the Natives who staked their lives on preventing white
incursion into their traditional lands.
Then we travel on to learn about happier days in Custer’s
life, the 1874 Black Hills Expedition. Overnight in Rapid City.
(B) |
| Tour
Schedule - Day Six |
| Today
we’ll visit America’s Shrine to Democracy, Mount
Rushmore National Memorial.
Also on the agenda is the still-unfinished Crazy
Horse Mountain sculpture.
This afternoon’s adventurous jeep
tour to see the largest publicly-owned buffalo herd in America
will precede dinner at the Lodge - where we’ll dine on buffalo
steak! Overnight in Rapid City.
(B, D) |
| Tour
Schedule - Day Seven |
| South
Dakota’s Badlands
National Park is our destination today, but before our sojourn
begins we will visit another Journey
- the Museum of that name in the gate city of Rapid City.
An impressive collection of four previous museums, our tour
here will give us a useful background on the area and its previous
inhabitants. Described by early explorers as “hell with the
fires burned out”, the Badlands offer unique geologic beauty,
Native American culture and of course, world-famous Wall
Drug. We’ll spend the day exploring and picture-taking in this
incredible natural area.
Tonight’s accommodations are at the beautiful Cedar
Shores Resort, overlooking the Missouri River just north of
Chamberlain, SD. (B)
|
| Tour
Schedule - Day Eight |
| This
morning we’ll visit world famous St. Joseph Indian School where
the outstanding Akta Lakota
Museum offers a view of the Native Americans whose lives were
so affected by the course of events set in motion by the
discoveries of the expedition.
After a day full of natural wonders, we’ll enjoy a
festive farewell dinner and overnight in Bismarck, ND. (B, L, D)
|
| Tour
Schedule - Day Nine |
| Sadly
we bid a fond farewell to our western adventure and return home. (B)
|
Contact
us at:
Phone - 800-552-8857
ghusk@horizon-tours.com |
