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Tour Schedule
Day 1
[Travel
to North Platte with tour stops at the Kearney Archway and the Bailey Yards]
Pickup
everyone in Red Oak. Coffee, orange juice, and muffins will be served on the
bus. Stops at the Archway Monument in
Kearney and tour the Union Pacific Bailey
Yards largest railroad switching yards in the world. Tonight’s hotel
accommodations are in North Platte.
Day 2
[Travel
to Grand Junctions with a tour stops in Denver and one in Glenwood Springs]
Travel
across the state of Colorado. Lunch is included at Casa Bonita Restaurant in
Denver - featuring cliff divers and
strolling musicians.
Tour stop today include Glenwood Springs with overnight
accommodations in Grand Junction.
Day 3
[Tours
of Colorado National Monument, Arches National Park &
Canyonland National Park]
The
Colorado National Monument rises more
than 2,000 feet above the Grand Valley of the Colorado River. Situated at the
edge of the Uncompahgre Uplift, the park is part of the greater Colorado
Plateau, which also embraces such geologic wonders as the Grand Canyon, Bryce
Canyon, and Arches. We move on to Canyonland
National Park - Here the Colorado & Green Rivers funneled together to
carve out canyons revealing layers of sandstone and shale that date back 300
million years. Across the road is our next stop at Arches National Park where over 2,000 sandstone arches of all sizes
fill this delightful park. Tonight
our hotel accommodations are in Hankville.
Day 4
[Tours
of Capital Reef National Park, Bryce Canyon National Park and
Zion National Park]
First
stop is Capital Reef - A giant,
sinuous wrinkle in the Earth's crust stretches for 100 miles across south
central Utah. This impressive buckling of rock is called the Waterpocket Fold.
Capitol Reef National Park preserves the Fold and its spectacular, eroded jumble
of colorful cliffs, massive domes, soaring spires, stark monoliths, twisting
canyons, and graceful arches. From here we trail overland to
Bryce Canyon. Bryce is more
like a 56-square-mile amphitheater than a canyon, containing a gallery of spires
and sculptured forms called “hoodoos”. Our last park of the day is at Zion
National Park. Amazing spires,
vivid colors and 2000-foot-high walls separated by 20-foot-wide corridors set
this national park apart. The Virgin River sculpted these awesome sandstone
cliffs. Tonight our accommodations are in Las Vegas.
Day 5
[Las
Vegas]
Today
you will have the entire day to explore Las Vegas. Along with some free time we
will have a step-on-guide take us around to all the tourist stops and walk
through many of the newest Casinos. Tonight’s hotel accommodations are in Las
Vegas.
Day 6
[Tour
of Hoover Dam and Grand Canyons]
We
start our day with a tour of the Hoover
Dam right out side of Las Vegas. Then
it is on to the South Rim of the Grand
Canyon probably
the world’s most spectacular example of the power of erosion—a chasm 277
miles long and up to 18 miles wide. The Canyon’s average depth of about one
mile. The Canyon is cut into a low, rounded mountain, called the Kaibab Plateau.
As the rock walls break down, the chasm gradually widens. Scientists estimate
that it has taken from three to six million years to cut the Grand Canyon. The
work is by no means finished. The powerful forces of the rushing river, of rain,
snow, heat, frost and wind are still sculpting the fantastic shapes of
precipitous bluffs and towering buttes. Tonight hotel accommodations are at the
Grand Canyon.
Day 7
[Stops
at Four Corners and Mesa Verde]
Our
first stop after we leave the Grand Canyon is Four Corners where two intersecting lines on a map and the states of
Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico & Utah meet. From here we proceed onto Mesa
Verde National Park - The 52,000 acre park contains over 4,000
archaeological sites dating back thousands of years, including more than 600
cliff dwellings that line the canyon walls.
Mesa Verde National Park preserves a spectacular remnant of their
thousand-year-old culture. These people were called the Anasazi, from a Navajo word meaning "the ancient ones."
For over 700 years their descendants lived and flourished here, eventually
building elaborate stone cities in the sheltered recesses of the canyon walls.
Tonight’s hotel accommodations are in Durango.
Day 8
[Train
ride to Silverton and Black Canyon)]
Train to Silverton
- This narrow gauge line was constructed in 1882 to haul mine ores, primarily
gold and silver, from the San Juan mountains. It is estimated that over $300
million in precious metals rode this route. The equipment used to pull the
trains consists of 100% coal-fired, steam-operated locomotives. Black
Canyon - This is one of the most spectacular steep-walled canyons in North
America with a 2,000 foot chasm cut by the Gunnison River over a span of two
million years. No other canyon in North America combines the depth, narrowness,
sheerness, and somber countenance of the Black Canyon.
Tonight’s hotel accommodations are in Grand Junction.
Day 9
[Travel
to North Platte with a Casino stops in Central City and dinner in Paxton]
Lunch
is on your own today at one of the many Casinos
in Central City, Colorado. After
eating you may try your luck at some of the slots machines or one of the table
games before we have to move on with our adventure. Ole’s Big Game Bar
in Paxton is the home of the world’s largest collection, over 200, of
privately-owned mounted hunting trophies. Tonight’s hotel accommodations are
in North Platte.
Day 10 [Travel
from North Platte back home]
Sit
back and relax as we travel home today. Several travel breaks are schedule along
the way.
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