COWBOYS AND INDIANS - Step back in History

General information

DurationDestinationDeparture
15 days and 14 nights
United States (Denver, Cheyenne, Rapid City, Sheridan, Cody, Yellowstone Park, Pocatello, Salt Lake City, Arches National Park, Moab)
United States (Denver)

Description

Program Overview
Follow the trails of famous battles of the Old West, and get a glimpse into the lives of some famous Cowboys and Indians. Travel through Big Sky Country, and visit various Historical Sites. Start in Denver and head north to the Rocky Mountains and on to Wyoming’s capitol, Cheyenne. Visit the world’s largest Mammoth research facility. Visit Crazy Horse Memorial and Badlands National Park on the way to Rapid City. Take the 1880 Train and visit Mount Rushmore before continuing to Devils Tower and Sheridan. From Sheridan take the scenic route over
Bighorn Pass to Cody. Visit America’s first national park, Yellowstone. Head South to Jackson Hole, a quaint town set in one of the most beautiful natural areas. Continue south into Utah, visit Salt Lake City, Canyonlands and Arches National Parks, and enjoy a River Rafting Trip in Moab before returning to Denver, Colorado.

Program

DAY 01 SATURDAY: DENVER, CO
No meals
Arrival for Program. Several transfer options to the hotel are available.

Denver has the urban charms of an industrious city, combined with all of the mystery and romance of the old West. Located at just over five thousand feet above sea level, the “Mile High City” was one of the first settlements to not be centrally located to a navigable body of water or a functioning railway. A speck of gold was discovered here and led many eager fortune seekers to make camp. Although no major gold discovery was ever had, William H. Larimer arrived in 1859 and laid out a plan for the city. Today, Denver is a thriving center of commerce and finance with a lingering twinkle of its rugged beginnings.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Cherry Creek or similar (2 night)

DAY 02 SUNDAY: DENVER, CO
Breakfast
Full day local tour departs at 9:00 Hrs from the Holiday Inn Cherry Creek

Today we will discover the highlights and history of the Mile-High City including its top urban attractions, such as the State Capital, the United States Mint, the Denver Art Museum, 16th Street Mall, and Larimer Square. See historic Victorian homes on Capitol Hill as you learn how Denver grew from a miner’s camp during the silver boom to Colorado’s modern cultural capital. Larimer square, a trendy block of Victorian buildings home to chic shopping, comedy clubs, outdoor cafes and Union Stations are some of the highlights visited today with also a tour in the surrounding areas. We check out a popular goldmine for a look below the surface into Colorado history and see how the mining equipment worked and spot gold and silver veins. The historic city of Golden will also be visited before returning to Denver.

DAY 03 MONDAY: DENVER - CHEYENNE, WY
Breakfast
Denver Departure- Participants should meet in the hotel lobby of the Holiday Inn Cherry Creek at 07:30 Hrs for a 08:00 Hrs departure.

Today the tour goes to Rocky Mountain National Park, a glorious wilderness filled with towering mountains and abundant wildlife. The Trail Ridge Road ascends to 11,796 feet at an Alpine Visitor Center and offers many spectacular overlooks. Farview Curve, the Roof of the Rockies, offers vistas of the Never Summer Mountains and Kawuneeche Valley. Late in the afternoon we arrive in the Capitol City of Wyoming, Cheyenne for a one night stay.
Accommodations: Red Lion Cheyenne or similar (1 night)

DAY 04 TUESDAY: CHEYENNE, WY – MAMMOTH SITE – CRAZY HORSE MEMORIAL - RAPID CITY, SD Breakfast
Today we proceed north to South Dakota, where we will visit the world’s largest mammoth research facility where you tour an active paleontological dig site to view Ice age fossils exhibited as they are found. You will stand on the edge of discovery and walk where mammoths, bears, American lions and other Ice Age critters walked. Will then visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. In 1939, Lakota Chief Henry Standing Bear invited sculptor Korczak Ziolkowski to carve an Indian Memorial in the Black Hills. Crazy Horse is the largest sculptural undertaking ever, on a scale with the Egyptian Pyramids. Visitors can watch history in the making as drilling and blasting continue on the rest of the sculpture. Continue to Rapid City for the 2 nights stay
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Rushmore Plaza (2 nights)

DAY 05 WEDNESDAY: RAPID CITY – BADLANDS NP – RAPID CITY, SD
Breakfast
After breakfast we proceed to Badlands National Park known for its pink and brown bands of sandstone, sedimentary layers laid down by volcanic ash. The skeletons of ancient camels, three-toed horses, saber- toothed cats and giant rhinoceros-like creatures are among the many fossilized species found here. Living creature abound as well; buffalo, mule deer, pronghorn, coyotes and prairie dogs have the run of the park and are seen by visitors.

Optional Evening Excursion - Night Tour to Deadwood & Dinner on own in Deadwood Join us tonight for a trip to Deadwood, one of the most famous towns in the history of the West. The entire city of Deadwood is a national historic landmark. The famous and infamous have left their marks here. We will visit Saloon No.10, where Wild Bill Hickok was shot, and also visit the spot where his killer was gunned down. You will have time to explore the beauty and history of this one-of-a-kind Wild West town.

DAY 06 THURSDAY: RAPID CITY – MT. RUSHMORE – DEVILS TOWER – SHERIDAN, WY
Breakfast
Our first stop is Mount Rushmore majestic 60 foot faces of four U.S. Presidents gaze out over South Dakota’s Black Hills. From the Grandview Terrace, visitors get spectacular views of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln. We continue along a scenic route to the Devils Tower National Monument. This nearly vertical monolith rises 1,267 feet above the Belle Fourche River. Known by several northern plains tribes as Bears Lodge, it is a sacred site of worship for many American Indians. Afterwards, the tour proceeds to Sheridan, a historic western town.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Sheridan Convention Center. (1 night)

DAY 07 FRIDAY: SHERIDAN – BIGHORN PASS – CODY, WY CODY, WY
Breakfast
Today the tour proceeds through the Bighorn National Forest past thick forest, lush meadows, waterfalls, and deep canyons and over the crest of the Big Horn Mountains at scenic Bighorn Pass to Cody, Wyoming. In Cody, named for the famous Buffalo Bill Cody, participants will have the whole afternoon to visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the most complete Museum of the Old West. Here you will find an extensive collection of artifacts and relics from the Old West, and superior exhibits on the Native Americans that populated the area. In the evening there is an optional excursion to see a Rodeo.
Accommodations: Holiday Inn Buffalo Bill Village or similar hotel (1 night)

DAY 08 SATURDAY: CODY – YELLOWSTONE NP – YELLOWSTONE, WY
Breakfast
Enjoy a full day visit to Yellowstone National Park, America’s first National Park. We visit some the parks famous geothermal features, including 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. We will visit the most favorite attraction of Yellowstone, “Old Faithful.” This Geyser is an all-natural phenomenon which tosses a scalding curtain of water anywhere from 20 to upwards of 75 feet into the air. Old Faithful generally erupts approximately every 30 minutes.
Accommodations: Grant Village (Inside Yellowstone NP) or similar hotel (2 nights) In-park lodges offer basic accommodations in an amazing location (no tv, radio or wifi).

DAY 09 SUNDAY: YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK
Breakfast
Another full day in Yellowstone National Park. In addition to superb mountain scenery, the park is one of the world’s principle wildlife preserves. Yellowstone’s wildlife is as spectacular as the hydrothermal features. Because of the park’s remote location, and because of its large size, animals roam freely and are able to live in a natural way much as their kind has lived for centuries. Moose, elk and buffalo are among the most populous of inhabitants. The most famous residents of Yellowstone are the majestic bison, sometimes called buffalo. Bison have been living in the park for over a hundred years and facing the struggle of hunters and winter hunger. Today the population is over 3500

DAY 10 MONDAY: YELLOWSTONE – GRAND TETONS –POCATELLO, ID
Breakfast
Today we exit Yellowstone south and drive past the Grand Teton Mountains on our way to Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The Teton Range is forty miles long and experiences and average snowfall of 191 inches. Grand Teton, at 13,770 feet (4,197m) is the tallest peak in this range. Jackson Hole was first explored by John Colter in 1807.By the 1820s the Jackson Hole area was a popular place for fur trappers By the 1840s, however, the fur trapping industry was dying out, and Jackson Hole saw few white visitors until William C. “Teton” Jackson, “a premier horse thief,” began using the remote area as a hideout in the 1880s. It continues its tradition as a ranching town with a colorful cowboy past. Afterwards the tour continues to Pocatello for the night.
Accommodations: Fairfield Inn & Suites by Marriott Pocatello or similar hotel (1 night)

DAY 11 TUESDAY: POCATELLO - SALT LAKE CITY - PROVO, UT
Breakfast
A drive south takes us to Salt Lake City, when we arrive an orientation tour will show you Salt Lake City and the famous Mormon Temple Square. The city was founded in 1847 by a group of Mormon pioneers led by their prophet, Brigham Young, who fled hostility and violence in the Midwest. Salt Lake City is the capital and most inhabited city in Utah. The first transcontinental railroad brought the city much economic growth and lead to the nickname “Crossroads of the West.” Today, the mining industry is booming and the city hosted the 2002 Winter Olympics. Continue to Provo for the night.
Accommodations: Fairfield Inn by Marriott Provo or similar hotel (1 night)

DAY 12 WEDNESDAY: PROVO – CANYONLANDS NP - MOAB, UT
Breakfast
This morning the tour continues southeast towards Moab, to Dead Horse Point, from where we view Canyonlands National Park, known for its spectacular formations and great variety of colors. Mesas, buttes, arches and spires divide the park into three distinctly different areas, all named for their unique formations. The park is the largest in Utah and centers around the Green and Colorado Rivers.
Accommodations: Moab Downtown Hotel or similar hotel (2 nights)

Optional Morning Excursion - Jeep Tour Shafer Trail in Canyonlands
Experience the excitement of 3 hours in the heart of Moab’s famous redrock. High atop the Mesa descend via the steep witchbacks of Shafer Trail in Canyonlands Island in the Sky area. Travel a portion of the White Rim and finish near the Colorado River corridor below

DAY 13 THURSDAY: MOAB – ARCHES NATIONAL PARK – MOAB, UT
Breakfast
In the morning we visit Arches National Park. This park preserves over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the famous Delicate Arch. Many other unusual rock formations tell the story of millions of years of geologic history. The features of the park create a landscape of contrasting colors, formations and textures that is unlike any other in the world. The afternoon is free, to participate in an optional river rafting trip or just wander down Main Street.

Optional Afternoon Excursion - Afternoon Rafting Trip on the Colorado River Enjoy a fun-filled afternoon rafting on the Colorado River. You will enjoy the spectacular scenery as well as the Colorado River. Please bring a hat for the sun, suntan lotion and clothes in which you will be comfortable wet. Tennis shoes, Teva sandals or aqua socks are suggested. We furnish containers for your cameras and personal items as well as Coast Guard approved life jackets.


DAY 14 FRIDAY: MOAB, UT – DENVER, CO
Breakfast
Leaving Moab red rock behind we continue to Grand Juction in the heart of Colorado’s wine country for a lunch stop. We’ll continue Copper Mountain resort area for a quick stop before arriving back in Denver airport area in the early evening.
Accommodations: Denver Airport Marriott at Gateway Park or similar hotel (1 night)

DAY 15 SATURDAY: DENVER – DENVER AIRPORT, CO
Breakfast
Transfers are on own to the airport via free hotel shuttle.

Price includes

14-Night accommodations including applicable taxes in featured (or similar) accommodations
14 Breakfasts
Exclusively Italian speaking tour director for the duration of the program
Air-conditioned transportation as per itinerary
Sightseeing: Rocky Mountain National Park, Crazy Horse Memorial, Mount Rushmore, Badlands National Park, Devils Tower, Bighorn Pass, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton NP, Salt Lake City, Dead Horse Point, Arches National Park
Admissions: Mammoth Site, National Parks and National Monuments featured and Buffalo Bill Historical Center

Price does not include

Meet & Greet and Transfers
Porterage
All personal expenditures
Optional excursions
Tips and gratuities

Itinerary

Day Overnight Itinerary highlights
1   Denver - Hotel
  Moab
  Arches National Park
  Salt Lake City
  Pocatello
  Yellowstone National Park
  Cody
  Sheridan
  Rapid City
  Cheyenne
  Denver

Accommodations provided in each place

To be advised