COLORADO UTAH CANYONLAND SPREE
Colorado • Utah • Canyonland Spree
1 TENNESSEE | KENTUCKY | PATTI’S 1880’S SETTLEMENT:
Horace Greeley once wrote, “Go west, young man, go west!” Today it’s your chance to do exactly that as we board our motorcoach and travel across Tennessee and into Kentucky as we begin the tour of a lifetime. We enjoy dinner tonight at the popular and unique Patti’s 1880’s Settlement. We spend our first night in Paducah, Kentucky. (D)
2 ST. LOUIS | GATEWAY ARCH:
By noon today we’ll be standing beneath the awesome Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri. It was from this area that many of the early pioneers embarked on their journey into the unknown west. Visit the Museum of Westward Expansion, then climb aboard the specially designed tram that takes us to the top of the arch for an incredible view of the Mississippi River and lands beyond. Mid afternoon, we continue our journey to Independence for the night.
3 HARRY TRUMAN MUSEUM | EISENHOWER CENTER | SPANISH CASTLE:
This morning we visit the Harry Truman Library and Museum. See a reproduction of Truman’s White House office, the United Nation’s Charter Table, and many of the late President’s papers and memorials. His grave is in the courtyard. Next we travel across the fertile lands of Kansas, passing mile after mile of fertile wheat fields. This afternoon we visit Eisenhower Center. See the family home built on land plowed and planted more than fifty years ago by the six Eisenhower boys. The museum houses mementos, souvenirs and gifts received during Eisenhower’s career. The Library contains his Presidential papers, and the President is buried in the Meditation Chapel. We detour off I-40 to Coronado Heights Park near Lindsborg to see the Spanish Castle, rising 300 feet above the plains. We continue to Hays for our night’s rest.
4 COLORADO SPRINGS | GARDEN OF THE GODS | US AIR FORCE ACADEMY AND CHAPEL | DINNER:
It’s a lovely drive today as we continue across the great plains of Kansas, where the fanciful twister that Frank Baum created blew Dorothy and Toto into the Land of Oz. This afternoon we visit the United States Air Force Academy at the foot of Rampart Range. Here, on the slopes of the Rocky Mountains, cadets undergo four years of rigorous training and study. Our next stop, the Garden of the Gods, is especially dramatic in the late afternoon, as beautiful red stones appear to be balanced on their edges. Dinner is included this evening. (D)
Air Force Academy Chapel
5 ROYAL GORGE | BLACK CANYON:
Colorado is a state of scenic superlatives and today we will see some of its spectacularly rugged splendor. Our first stop is at the Royal Gorge of the Arkansas River near Canon City. Your ticket includes a ride to the bottom of the gorge. Motoring west across the Continental Divide and the spectacular Colorado Rockies, we visit the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument, famed for its narrowness, its 1,730 to 2,725 foot depth, great expanses of sheer rock granite walls and rugged gorge formations. We spend the night in Montrose.
6 OURAY | SILVERTON TO DURANGO TRAIN RIDE:
A thrill-packed day awaits us today as we travel the “Million Dollar Highway” through the Switzerland of the Rockies. Ouray, a rich 19th Century mining town surrounded by spectacular mountain scenery, is visited on the way to the former frontier town of Silverton. Have lunch on your own, then you’ll have time to explore this fascinating town. Here we board the Denver and Rio Grande’s historic narrow gauge train for an exciting journey down the scenic “River of Lost Souls” Gorge.
7 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK | FOUR CORNERS | MONUMENT VALLEY:
The largest, earliest, and the most important are among the adjectives that have been used to describe the cliff dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. We’ll spend the morning touring the ruins of this 52,000-acre park. See the 300-room Cliff Palace, Spruce Tree House, and other archeological discoveries. We stop at Four Corners, the only place in the United States where four states-Colorado, Arizona, Utah and New Mexico-have a common meeting point. We travel through Monument Valley en route to Kayenta for the night.
Mesa Verde National Park
8 GLEN CANYON DAM | LAKE POWELL SCENIC BOAT CRUISE | DINNER:
Today we continue to Page, Arizona, home of the Glen Canyon Dam on the Colorado River. The dam forms spectacular Lake Powell, a 196-mile long dazzling blue oasis in the middle of the desert. This afternoon we board a sightseeing boat for a cruise on the waters of beautiful Lake Powell viewing its majesty. Dinner will be included tonight. (D)
Lake Powell at Sunset
9 GRAND CANYON | NORTH RIM | DINNER:
Today will be a long-remembered highlight of our tour, for this morning we travel to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Whatever you might have expected, you just won’t be prepared for what you’ll see as endless oceans of color spread to the far horizons in ever-changing waves of gold, crimson, blue and lavender sandstone. After lunch we depart northbound across the Kaibab Plateau to Zion Canyon for our overnight. Dinner is included this evening. (D)
10 ZION CANYON | CEDAR BREAKS | BRYCE CANYON | DINNER:
This morning we follow the scenic Mt. Carmel Highway through the One Mile Tunnel to Zion National Park. The Mormons called this spectacular outdoor wonderland the “Heavenly City of God,” because its massive formations of extremely vertical rock looked like huge cathedrals and thrones. Lake West Temple rises to 7,795 feet. Driving through the park road, we at first feel threatened by the narrow, steep walls of side canyons, which branch out in all directions from the main gorge, then we become fascinated by the constant changing of colors. After seeing one of the park’s more noted landmarks, the Temple of Sinawava, a natural amphitheater surrounded by pink cliffs, we exit the park to the west. We drive on to Cedar City for lunch and stop briefly at Cedar Breaks National Monument.
Here we see a gigantic multicolored amphitheater of sandstone and limestone, eroded to a depth of nearly 2,000 feet. Hidden in the surrounding forest areas are bristlecone pines---trees older than the California sequoias and the oldest known living things on earth. Located in the Dixie National Forest is Bryce Canyon National Park. Though much smaller than Zion, Bryce has its own brand of unique beauty, featuring weird-looking formations known as hoodoos. These formations undergo a constant change of color from the reflection of sunlight hitting at different angles. From the rim drive, the oddly shaped rocks and cliffs resemble castles, animals, people, and houses. Dinner is included this evening. (D)
11 BREAKFAST | ARCHES NATIONAL PARK:
Breakfast is included this morning. This afternoon we visit Arches National Park. This timeless, natural landscape of giant stone arches, pinnacles, spires, fins and windows was once the bed of an ancient sea. The power of erosion has laid bare the skeletal structure of the earth in Arches National Park. We spend the night in Grand Junction. (B)
Arches National Park
12 VAIL | DENVER | DINNER:
No matter which way you look, while standing in the middle of Grand Junction you’ll see incredibly beautiful mountain vistas. We continue east this morning passing through Glenwood Springs where Doc Holliday, the dentist of O. K. Corral fame, is buried. Later we will make a brief stop in Vail, the glamorous international ski resort. Moving on to the “mile high city” of Denver, we stop at the capital for pictures and drive by the Mile High Stadium. Tonight we have dinner awaiting us at one of Denver’s highly acclaimed restaurants. (D)
13 NEBRASKA | GREAT PLATTE RIVER ROAD ARCHWAY MONUMENT:
Today we travel through what was once called the “Great American Desert,” but today has become a farming and manufacturing mainstay of America – Nebraska. We travel I-80 along the Platte River. We visit Nebraska’s most exciting new monument, the Great Platte River Road Archway Monument. The $60 million monument spans Interstate 80, and marks the spot where the Oregon Trail, California Trail and Mormon Trail intersected.
14 ARABIA STEAMBOAT MUSEUM | SPRINGFIELD:
Our travels today take us through Lincoln, Nebraska’s capital city, then through Kansas City, Missouri, where we visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum. Built in 1853, the Steamboat Arabia sank in the murky waters of the Mighty Mississippi in 1856. In 1989, the steamship and her cargo were rediscovered and resurrected in a massive excavation project and today we can explore the past through this perfectly preserved time capsule. Our final destination today is the “Queen of the Ozarks,” Springfield, where we overnight.
15 FANTASTIC CAVERNS | DINNER - LAMBERT’S THROWED ROLLS | CLARKSVILLE:
This morning in Springfield we tour Fantastic Caverns. Board a jeep-drawn tram and ride through a myriad of majesty and history. Early afternoon finds us in Sikeston at the famous Lambert’s Throwed Roll Restaurant. Eat all the rolls you can catch, along with heaping helpings of corn, okra, beans, ham, roast beef...you name it! Continuing east, we cross the Mississippi and Ohio Rivers as we make our way to Clarksville, Tennessee, for our final overnight stay. (D)
16 HOME:
If ever there was a tour on which to take pictures and more pictures, this has been it! What wonders we have seen. We arrive home this evening with enough memories to last a lifetime.
(Meals)
Breakfasts 8 • Cont. Breakfasts 11 • Dinners 7
(Prices Per Person)
Double $2849 • Triple $2649 • Quad $2539 • Single $3599
Contact Us For More Information
(765) 378-1600 | 1-888-378-1600
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