National Park Splendor

Welcome to the “City of Lights”, Las Vegas and pick-up your Rental Car. This city roars with excitement, growing faster and more vibrant with every new night. Enjoy the city’s nightlife which is filled with fabulous shows by some of the world’s finest performers, fast paced casinos, dancing and so much more. Take a chance at the black jack table every day and night as all casinos are available for you to try your luck any time. Stroll down Las Vegas Boulevard, also known as “the strip”. Each hotel and casino has a distinctly different theme. Make sure not to miss the nightly fountain show at the Bellagio Hotel. Using a dramatic combination of music, water and light, the Bellagio delivers spectacular performances with its majestic fountains. For a different side of Vegas, you can choose to visit Fremont Street. This historic street features shops, restaurants and casinos under a canopy screen where more than 12 million lights put on a spectacular show.
Accommodations: (STD) Best Western Mardi Gras Inn or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Tropicana Resort & Casino or similar (1 night)

Leave the glitz of Las Vegas behind and travel to Utah to visit Zion National Park. A million years of water flow has cut the red and white beds of Navajo sandstone that form the sheer walls of Zion. Unlike the Grand Canyon where one stands on the rim and looks out, Zion Canyon is best viewed from the bottom looking up. Continue to Bryce Canyon; this National Park includes some of Earth’s most colorful rocks, which have been sculpted by erosion into pillars called ‘hoodoos’ and other fantastic forms. Iron oxides give red, yellow and brown tints to the limestone, while manganese oxides lend a lavender hue. The most brilliant hues in the park come alive with the rising and setting of the sun.
Accommodations: (STD) Bryce View Lodge or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Best Western Ruby’s Inn or similar (1 night)
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Today you will travel north to Salt Lake City. Make a quick lunch stop at Provo along the way. Salt Lake City was founded in July 1847 when Mormon leader Brigham Young founded a homestead in the valley of the Great Salt Lake for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. The city became first the capital for the Mormon Church and later, of the state. Visit Temple Square, one of Utah’s most popular destinations. Part of its appeal lies in its accessibility: three city blocks in downtown Salt Lake City which contain nearly 20 attractions related to Mormon pioneer history and genealogy, including the Salt Lake Temple, the Tabernacle, and the Family History Library.
Accommodations: (STD) Red Lion Salt Lake Downtown or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Shilo Inn Salt Lake City or similar (1 night)

Depart Salt Lake City for Yellowstone, America’s first national park known for its wildlife and geothermal features. On our way there, we will drive past the spectacular sight that is the Teton Mountain Range. The highest and most prominent peak of the Range is Grand Teton, standing at an awe-inspiring 13,770 feet from the valley’s floor. Once at Yellowstone National Park, Old Faithful is one of the first stops as we visit the park’s famous geothermal features; these include hot springs, steam vents, mud pots and geysers, all of which are preserved in this area and are the evidence of this region’s volcanic past.
Accommodations: (STD) Days Inn West Yellowstone or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Holiday Inn Sunspree or similar (1 night)
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Enjoy visitng the most prominent attractions of this Park today before departing to Cody. Yellowstone National Park spans an area of 3,468 square miles (8,983 km²), comprising lakes, canyons, rivers and mountain ranges. The Park is the centerpiece of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem, the largest remaining, nearly-intact, ecosystem. Continue to Cody in the afternoon home of the famous cowboy Buffalo Bill Cody. Once there you may want to visit the famous Buffalo Bill Historical Center, a large and modern facility comprised of five museums in one offering a comprehensive look at the history, art and culture of America’s West. There is The Whitney Gallery of Western Art, The Plains Indian Museum, The Cody Firearms Museum, The Drapper Museum of Natural History, and The Harold McCracken Research Library.
Accommodations: (STD) Buffalo Bill Cabin Village or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Holiday Inn Buffalo Bill Village or similar (1 night)
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Today you will cross the plains of Wyoming via Thermopolis, home of world’s largest mineral hot springs, to the Capitol City of Wyoming, Cheyenne. This city offers non-stop activity and hospitality at its Western best! Re-enactments of gunfights, western skits, and many other Wild West activities take place in famous Old Town Square, in downtown Cheyenne.
Accommodations: (STD) Holiday Inn Cheyenne or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Nagle Warren Mansion or similar (1 night)

Today the journey continues to Estes Park and Rocky Mountains National Park. The valley town of Estes Park is known as the gateway to the Rockies. It boasts beautiful mountain scenery, moderate climate and abundant wildlife. Rocky Mountains National Park is a showcase of grandeur with elevations ranging from 8,000 feet in the wet, grassy valleys to 14,259 feet at the weather-ravaged top of Longs Peak which provides visitors with countless opportunities for breathtaking experiences and adventures. It is a glorious wilderness filled with towering mountains and abundant wildlife. You will travel through a portion of The Trail Ridge Road This scenic road climbs to an altitude of 12,187 feet near Fall River Pass. This route provides some of the most spectacular mountain views available from any roadside in this nation. Farview Curve, known as the ‘Roof of the Rockies’, offers vistas of the Never Summer Mountains and Kawuneeche Valley. You should be arriving in Denver, the “Mile High City”, in the late afternoon. Denver has all of the urban charms of an industrious city, combined with all of the mystery and romance of the old West.
Accommodations: (STD) DoubleTree, The Curtis Hotel or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Warwick Denver or similar (1 night)

Depart early in the morning across the Rockies to Grand Junction for lunch before continuing to the western mining town of Silverton. As one of Colorado’s most atmospheric mountain towns, Silverton offers wide, dirt-paved streets leading off towards the hills to either side of its main road giving a true Old West feel. This town is lost in the American past, with just the familiar breeze that bustles the tattered curtains in the windows of yesteryear. Here you can visit the town’s highlights, which revolve around its mining past, or take a train ride on the famous Durango – Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad through 44 miles of breath taking scenery to Durango.
Accommodations: (STD) Durango Downtown Inn or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Historic Strater Hotel or similar (1 night)
Day

Today, a short drive will bring you to Mesa Verde, which was home to the Anasazi or the ‘Ancient Ones’ who lived in these dwellings between 600 AD and 1300 AD. Stop at the Far View Visitor Center and find valuable park information and exhibits on Native American pottery and jewelry. Take a ranger-guided tour of one of the dwellings, such as Cliff Palace. Wildlife is abundant in this park. Upon entering, you are likely to see mule deer along the side of the road. You might see a coyote, gray fox, mountain lion, black bear, elk, marmot, or even a porcupine. Drive toward Monument Valley. Over the years, Monument Valley has been the setting for more Western movies than any other site in the United States. Unique sandstone formations punctuate the sometimes barren landscape and spires rise into strange formations that have inspired names such as “Three Sisters” and “The Thumb.” At dawn and dusk, the park comes to life when the sun transforms this area into a bright canvas, painting the monoliths with light and color. Located on the north and central parts of the Navajo Reservation, some of these native people still inhabit this land. Continue to Lake Powell for an overnight stay.
Accommodations: (STD) Quality Inn Lake Powell or similar (1 night)
(SUP) Lake Powell Resort or similar (1 night)

Enjoy the beauty of this man-made lake, where red rock spires and cliffs rise from the crystal blue depths. Lake Powell is the product of the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. After breakfast, depart to Grand Canyon. The canyon offers spectacular vistas, majestic rock formations, and experiences to savor for a lifetime. The myriad colors and constantly changing features include exquisite waterfalls, pools, and the mighty Colorado River as well as the often-photographed rock formations.
Accommodations: (STD & SUP) Grand Canyon Lodging* to be determined at time of booking, based on availability.
Excludes El Tovar Hotel – (1 night)
*We would strive to provide accommodations inside Grand Canyon National Park for early bookings. National Park lodging must be booked well in advance, especially for the summer months. National Park accommodations, while rustic, provide an incomparable experience and many added conveniences. The park’s free shuttle buses connect the lodges with restaurants, shops, visitor centers, scenic overlooks and trailheads. Later bookings will be accommodated just outside the National Park.

From the Grand Canyon cross the Arizona Desert to Kingman then north towards Nevada. Just south of Hoover Dam, which has been called one of the engineering wonders of the world, is a brand new wonder, a massive bridge spanning the Colorado River gorge and connecting Arizona and Nevada. Towering 900 feet above the river in a majestic mountain setting, the 1,900-foot-long bridge is the seventh-highest in the world and the longest single-span concrete arch bridge in the Western Hemisphere. And it offers a commanding view of the dam below. Then on to Las Vegas.
Accommodations: (STD) Best Western Mardi Gras Inn or similar (1 night) (SUP) Tropicana Resort & Casino or similar (1 night)

Depart at leisure fo Las Vegas Airport. Drop-off rental car