Wednesday, May 19 (Day 01)
HONOLULU TO DENVER, COLORADO
Our tour commences this evening when we assemble at the United Airlines lobby for baggage check in procedures for our direct flight to Denver, Colorado.
Thursday, May 20 (Day 02)
ARRIVAL DENVER * COORS BREWING COMPANY * DOUGLAS, WYOMING
On arrival in Denver, we’ll board our chartered motorcoach to begin our exciting national park adventure. We’ll travel to the city of Golden - once the capital of the Colorado Territory to enjoy a tour of the Coors Brewing Company - one of the world’s largest breweries. We’ll continue our journey north into the state of Wyoming to spend the night in the little town of Douglas, the original home of the elusive ‘jackalope’ - a fanciful creation of Wyoming’s taxidermists. Doubters are confronted with dozens of convincing mounted specimens of this animal - best described as a jackrabbit sporting antlers. A 10-foot replica of this hybrid is displayed at the Centennial Jackalope Square in the town center.
Friday, May 21 (Day 03)
MOUNT RUSHMORE NATIONAL MEMORIAL * CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL * KEYSTONE, SOUTH DAKOTA
We’ll continue our drive through Wyoming to enter the state of South Dakota. We’ll visit Mount Rushmore National Memorial, the world’s greatest mountain carving featuring the faces of four exalted American presidents: George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. After viewing this spectacular memorial, we will continue on to the site of Crazy Horse Monument - the world’s largest sculpture still in progress honoring the great Indian Chief Crazy Horse. Located in the Black Hills of South Dakota, the work on this sculpture began in 1948 by sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski at the request of Native Americans. After his death, his family still continues on with the project, working together with the Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation. We will spend the night in Keystone.
Saturday, May 22 (Day 04)
DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT * SHERIDAN, WYOMING
This morning we’ll drive west to re-enter the state of Wyoming visiting the Devils Tower National Monument, the most conspicuous landmark in the state established by President Theodore Roosevelt. This spectacular rock formation - a huge monolith - resembles a colossal stone tree stump rising 867 feet from its base. The 1.5 acre top has a growth of sagebrush and grass and the almost perpendicular sides are fluted columns. This monument is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians and was made famous when it was featured in the film “Close Encounters of the Third Kind”. We’ll spend the night in Sheridan.
Sunday, May 23 (Day 05)
SHELL FALLS * HEART MOUNTAIN RELOCATION CAMP * BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER * CODY, WYOMING
We’ll journey west crossing over the Big Horn Mountains to Shell Canyon - located in the Big Horn National Forest. Enjoy the spectacular sight of Shell Falls, 120 feet in height and with a water flow tumbling at the rate of 3,600 gallons per second. We will continue on to visit Heart Mountain Relocation Camp - an internment camp that had one of the harshest living environments of all the camps where Japanese Americans were held during World War II. Heart Mountain, located halfway between the towns of Powell and Cody is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. We’ll travel to the town of Cody, visiting the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. Four museums comprise the center with exhibit space dedicated to the art, artifacts, crafts, cultures, traditions and history of the American West. One of the museums - the Buffalo Bill Museum - displays some of the belongings of this showman, scout and Pony Express rider, along with possessions of Annie Oakley and artifacts of the early West. Exhibits there provide an insight into the history of the American cowboy. We will spend the night in Cody.
Monday, May 24 (Day 06)
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Established in 1872, Yellowstone National Park is America’s first national park - extending into three states - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho. It is home to a variety of wildlife and its collection of the world’s most extraordinary geysers and hot springs. Bursts of scalding water spurt high into the air from some of these basins while others bubble and spit in murky depths. One of the most famous geyser in the park is Old Faithful Geyser in the Upper Geyser Basin - exhibiting character and action - spouting at predictable intervals for a spectacular photographic opportunity. We’ll visit the Paintpots - large springs filled with hot clay ranging in color from white to shades of pink and black. One of the most famous in the Lower Geyser Basin is the Fountain Paintpots. Experience two exciting nights at a lodge in the park.
Tuesday, May 25 (Day 07)
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Enjoy another full day of sightseeing as we drive along the 142-mile scenic grand loop within the park visiting the Mammoth Hot Springs, characterized by terrace-like formations created by limestone deposits. We’ll also visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone - a section along the Yellowstone River noted for its spectacular coloring. Yellowstone National Park is also one of the most successful wildlife sanctuaries in the world - grizzly and black bears can be seen occasionally, in addition to elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, and bison.
Wednesday, May 26 (Day 08)
GRAND TETON NATIONAL PARK * JACKSON HOLE * MONTPELIER, IDAHO
This morning we’ll exit through the south entrance of Yellowstone National Park and enter the Grand Teton National Park, offering some of the most breathtaking scenery in the United States. Wyoming’s Teton Range and the valley of Jackson Hole together frame a majestic landscape of large lakes, glaciers, numerous snowfields, and extensive pine, fir and spruce forests. We’ll continue our journey south into the state of Idaho to spend the night in Montpelier.
Thursday, May 27 (Day 09)
SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
We’ll continue our drive south - crossing into the state of Utah to enjoy a view of the Great Salt Lake, the saltiest body of water on earth. The salinity of the lake is at least six times saltier than the ocean and its content can only be tolerated by blue-green algae and brine shrimp. We’ll proceed into Salt Lake City to enjoy a guided tour of Temple Square - containing the most prominent buildings of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Seagull Monument and several other memorials and statues. We’ll spend the night in Salt Lake City.
Friday, May 28 (Day 10)
ARCHES NATIONAL PARK * GREEN RIVER, UTAH
Our journey continues on to visit the Arches National Park, a rugged area containing the largest concentration of natural sandstone arches in the country, formed by the weathering of openings in vertical slabs of sandstone. This National Park is a red arid desert, punctuated with oddly eroded sandstone forms such as fins, pinnacles, spires, balanced rocks and arches. The erosion of a 300-foot thick layer of rock that was deposited as sand 150 million years ago created these formations. We’ll continue on to spend the night in Green River, a melon growing region.
Saturday, May 29 (Day 11)
BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK
Our drive to the west takes us into Bryce Canyon National Park viewing some of the Earth’s most colorful rocks 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. Bryce is not a true canyon but a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters carved in the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau by tributaries of the Paria River. An American Indian name for the area translates as “red rocks standing like men in a bowl-shaped canyon”. We will spend the night in the park. Weather permitting, we may have a chance to see the beautiful colors of the canyon at sunset.
Sunday, May 30 (Day 12)
GRAND CANYON NATIONAL PARK SOUTH RIM * WILLIAMS, ARIZONA
Our drive continues on southwest entering the Grand Canyon National Park through the south rim located in northern Arizona. The immense size of the spectacular Grand Canyon measures 277 miles long, ranges in width from 4 to 18 miles wide, and is approximately 1 mile deep. Enjoy the breathtaking view of the beautiful colors and formations of the canyon, carved by the Colorado River. We will spend the night at a lodge in the park.
Monday, May 31 (Day 13)
LAUGHLIN, NEVADA * LAS VEGAS
We’ll end our National Park Adventure with an exciting three night stay in the city of Las Vegas, checking into the California Hotel & Casino (or similar). En route we’ll drive through Laughlin, a gambling mecca located in the middle of the desert on the Colorado River. Before checking into our hotel in Las Vegas, we’ll stop at Trader Joe’s, a popular and favorite place for locals to shop for dried fruits, nuts, candies, cookies, and more at discounted prices.
Tuesday, June 01 (Day 14) and Wednesday, June 02 (Day 15)
LAS VEGAS
You’ll have two full days to explore the exciting city of Las Vegas on your own. Try your luck in the casinos, do some shopping at one of the outlet malls, or enjoy an exciting show at one of the major hotels on the strip. Your escort will be glad to assist you with arrangements.
Thursday, June 03 (Day 16)
LAS VEGAS TO HONOLULU
We’ll transfer to the McCarran International Airport to check in for our flight on United Airlines, arriving Honolulu in the early afternoon.