Departing Dallas/ Ft. Worth Metroplex

Day 1 – Panhandle Plains Museum

We look forward to our western trip that will feature canyons, mountains and national parks.  Today we will visit the Panhandle Plains Museum, a first-class historical museum in Canyon.

(D) Overnight: Amarillo, Texas

Day 2 – The Garden of the Gods

We begin today with a drive through the Garden of the Gods. We’ll explore some of its 1,350 acres, filled with magnificent red sandstone rock formations - many are over 300 million years old! 

(B,D) Overnight: Colorado Springs, Colorado

Day 3 – Denver Highlights

Continuing north, we’ll pass through Denver, the “Mile High City” and capital of Colorado. A city tour will showcase the rich history of the city and the modern day accomplishments. By early afternoon, we’ll be in Wyoming, ready to embrace the cowboy spirit.

(B) Overnight: Rock Springs, Wyoming

Day 4 – Jackson Hole/ Covered Wagon Ride

This morning we are off to Jackson! This unbridled western town is the central trading town for the mountain-rimmed 600 square-mile valley of Jackson Hole. Later, we’ll travel by covered wagon to a river in Cache Creek Canyon for dinner and entertainment.

(B,D) Overnight: Jackson, Wyoming

Days 5 & 6 – Yellowstone National Park/ Old Faithful

Two nights in beautiful Yellowstone National Park! Close by is the Grand Teton National Park, where wildlife thrives in the river-bottom country of the Snake River. There’s no better way to enjoy this scenic area than on a gentle float trip along smooth waters with an experienced boatman as our guide. A tour of Yellowstone National Park provides an educated look at marvelous sights – a waterfall almost twice as high as Niagara, river canyons, mountain lakes and the world’s famous geyser, Old Faithful.

Day 5 (B,D; Day 6 (No meals) Overnights: Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming

Day 7 – Beartooth Highway

We leave Yellowstone and travel on the Beartooth Highway, designated a

National Forest Scenic Byway and described by Charles Kuralt as, “the most beautiful drive in America.” Our lunch stop will be in the alpine town of Red Lodge, were the buildings and houses on Main Street were built between 1893 and 1910 during the coal mining boom.

(B) Overnight: Billings, Montana

Day 8 – Little Bighorn

Before leaving the Big Sky Country of Montana, we’ll pay homage to the participants in Custer’s Last Stand. The Little Bighorn National Monument remains much as it was in 1876 during the famous battle. Then, it’s off to Deadwood, where we will take a guided tour up to Boot Hill, the resting place of such famous people as Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane.

(B,D) Overnight: Deadwood, South Dakota

Day 9 – Mount Rushmore/ Crazy Horse

Today’s sites include Stav Kirke Norwegian Chapel in the Hills, Crazy Horse Monument, a work in progress, and of course, the Mount Rushmore National Monument, where we will see four of our great presidents who have been rendered in stone.

(B,D) Overnight: Rapid City, South Dakota

Day 10 – Badlands National Park

President Franklin D. Roosevelt recognized the stark beauty of the Badlands

National Park in 1939 and named it a national monument. We will tour some of the fantastic, painted landscape with steep canyons and spires before leaving South Dakota. Next, we head for North Platte, the hometown of Buffalo Bill Cody.

(B) Overnight: North Platte, Nebraska

Day 11 – Great Platte River Road Archway

We continue our drive across the magnificent plains of Nebraska, stopping along the way at the new Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, an eight-story high monument representing the gateway to the West. Afterwards, our journey continues through to the “SunflowerState.”

(B,D) Overnight: Wichita, Kansas

Day 12 – Homeward Bound

Mountain majesty will remain with us long after we return home. We have so much beauty to remember!

(B)