Day 1 Arrive in Seattle
Welcome to the Emerald City! Upon arrival in Seattle you can transfer to
your hotel and check-in for the night. We suggest Shuttle Express from
the airport to the hotel. Tonight at 7pm meet your tour guide and the
rest of your traveling group in the lobby for a welcome reception.
Meals: Reception
Day 2 Seattle- Overnight Train to Glacier Park, Montana
The fun begins at King Street Station where we will board the Empire
Builder. A train attendant will check you into your sleeper car and
then you can sit back, relax and enjoy one of Amtrak's most legendary
and scenic routes as we head east through the soaring mountain ranges
and into the Big Sky Country. Enjoy dinner in the diner before nestling
in for the night. See the feature film, "Glacier Park" in the lounge
car in anticipation of tomorrows adventure. Tonight let the train's
movement gently rock you to sleep.
Meals: Dinner
Day 3 Glacier Park "Going to the Sun" Highway
Enjoy a hearty breakfast before disembarking the train. Depart this
morning aboard one of the famed red open-air 'Jammer' buses for the
stunning trip over the famed Going to the Sun Highway across the
Continental Divide. Later today, visit shimmering Lake McDonald where a
boat cruise is enjoyed. Many of our passengers rate this the prettiest
day of the entire tour and you will soon see why. A second night to
enjoy the storied Glacier Park.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 4 Glacier Park- Gates of the Mountain cruise-Fairmont Hot Springs
After breakfast we depart for Helena, Montana. Upon arrival, we'll
board an Open air boat cruise on a Lewis and Clark excursion. Expect a
relaxing adventure filled with countless photographic opportunities
capturing rugged mountain landscapes, birdlife, and big game along the
river banks and mountainsides. Magnificent panorama abounds around every
turn in the river including great towering walls of limestone. This
cruise offers glimpses of eagles, young and old, elk, deer and mountain
goat and sheep. The canyon is also home to otters, squirrels, ermine,
beaver, mountain lions, black bears and over 120 bird species. Next,
we'll check into Fairmont Hot Springs, the perfect 'Travelers Rest' to
borrow a line from Lewis & Clark on their epic journey through the same
area. Nestled between Glacier National Park and Yellowstone this idyllic
setting features a variety of soothing mineral pools.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 5: Yellowstone National Park
Spend two days touring the park. Around every corner a new surprise may
await, a bison, elk, otter or coyotes. Established in 1872 as the
world's first national park and known for its unique geothermal
activity. Witness Old Faithful Geyser, shooting up to 184 feet in the
air approximately every 90 minutes . Spend some free time checking out
the park on your own, and enjoy dinner at your leisure at your classic
inside-the-park hotel close to Old Faithful itself.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 6: Yellowstone National Park
America's first national park is yours to explore today on this ultimate
of Yellowstone tours; witness some of the parks abundant geysers, as
well as hundreds of brilliantly colored hot springs, bubbling mud pots,
and steaming fumaroles. You'll follow the Firehole River to Fountain
Paint Pot, a collection of colorful, bubbling mud pots, then view the
dramatic Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 7: Grand Tetons National Park and Jackson Hole Wyoming
Drive south today to spectacular Grand Teton National Park, a
spectacular landscape rich with jagged mountains, glaciers, pristine
lakes and amazing wildlife including bison, moose and antelope. The
Teton Range is the focal point of the park, the youngest range in the
Rocky Mountains. An active normal fault, the Teton Fault, lies on the 40
mile long mountain front. Rock is jetted into the sky some 7,000 feet
from the flat plains, with the highest peak at 13,770 feet, the Grand
Teton.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 8: Jackson Hole- The Oregon Trail Historical Center- Salt Lake City
Departing Jackson Hole this morning we travel south through Wyoming, a
landscape with grasslands and oil wells backed by mountain ranges. Then
north to Idaho where you'll stop at the The National Oregon/California
Trail Center featuring an interactive wagon train experience. Then
travel along the edge of the Great Salt Lake. A local guide will join
us as we travel through the Canyonlands. Tonight indulge in a BBQ.
Enjoy a night in Salt Lake City with time to visit Temple Square.
Meals: Breakfast, Lunch
Day 9: Moab and Canyonlands by Night
Your Canyonlands adventure begins as we depart Salt Lake City and travel
to Moab, Utah.
Canyonlands is the largest National Park in the state and its diversity
staggers the imagination. Get ready for 1,00 foot views down into river
canyons, red rock pinnacles, cliffs and spires that showcase some of the
most inspiring landscapes on earth. Tonight indulge in a BBQ before
boarding a jet boat cruise to see the Canyonlands sound and light show.
The high red rock canyon walls will come alive under the star-filled sky
with lights which add color and beauty to the tales of native legends.
Meals: Breakfast
Day 10: Arches National- Moab
We tour Arches National Park home to the largest concentration of
sandstone arches in the world. The simple act of erosion over tens of
thousands of years product what appear to be purposefully sculpted
formation. Throughout the park, rock layers reveal millions of years of
deposition, erosion and other geologic events. Overnight in Moab.
Tonight is your hosted Farewell Dinner.
Meals: Breakfast, Dinner
Day 11: Moab Fly Home from Salt Lake City
After breakfast, we'll head for Salt Lake City Airport. Take a moment to
say goodbye to your newly found friends. Please select your flights out
for after 3:00pm.
Meals: Breakfast