National Parks of the Southwest Rail Circle
September 26-October 7, 2008
Tour from $2999.00
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This tour explores what nature has evolved over time for
our pleasure in the immense grandeur of the National Parks of the
Southwest. There is a fantasy of stone and sky in the southwest United
States. Between the eye and the horizon lies a panorama of plateaus,
buttes and stone monoliths of startling shapes and sizes. The national and
state parks we visit display geology and beauty both unique and grand.
Enjoy this late September/early October autumn color departure.
Canyonlands National Park by Denny Thompson
Participants experience Amtrak’s magnificent
CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR
route
from Denver to Grand Junction, Colorado. We travel through multicolored
deep canyons into the heart of the Rocky Mountains on Amtrak’s very best
double-decker Superliner equipment. We return to Denver from Winslow,
Arizona, using the
SOUTHWEST CHIEF
to Trinidad and then private motorcoach service to Denver. These are two
of the most beautiful rail trips in North America. Also included are a
ride on the
Grand Canyon Railway
in Dome Class and a ride on the
Verde Canyon Railroad out of Clarkdale, Arizona in the First Class
Parlor Car with luncheon on board.
A spectacular evening cruise aboard the “Moab
Queen” takes us up the mighty Colorado River as the majestic canyon
walls come to life with an illuminated sound and light presentation.
Dancing shadows are gracefully choreographed to the rhythm of a magical
music score. The tour includes a wonderful two-night stay in spectacular
Westwater Canyon at
beautiful
Red Cliffs Lodge,
a night in
Grand Canyon National
Park to allow for additional sightseeing, and stay at two former
Fred Harvey House properties in Arizona. A jeep tour with a Navajo guide
takes us through scenic
Monument
Valley to see ancient Native American ruins and carved petroglyphs
on rock walls.
The
parks we explore include
Arches
National Park,
Dead Horse
Point State Park,
Edge of
the Cedars State Park,
Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park,
Capitol Reef National Park,
Bryce Canyon National Park,
Zion National Park, and
Grand Canyon National Park.
Native American legends, history and geologic wonders abound throughout
our adventure in this red rock wonderland. We invite you to join Rail
Travel Center Vice-President/General Manager Carl Fowler on the May
departure or Rail Travel Center President Wil Doak on the October
departure of this unique journey certain to enthrall even the most
seasoned traveler. Complete details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Friday, September 26
Independent arrivals into Denver today. Participants
arrive in
Denver, where we
have a pre-tour night included at the Comfort Inn Downtown, attached by a
sky bridge to the famous Brown Palace Hotel in downtown Denver. We can
enjoy all the amenities of the
Brown Palace while at the Comfort Inn.
Day Two, Saturday, September 27 (CB)
Aboard
CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR to Grand Junction, CO.
California Zephyr Passes the Gross Dam, by Kevin Morgan: Photo
courtesy of
www.Coloradorailfan.com
We are transferred from
the hotel to the Amtrak station to board the CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR, riding in
leg-rest reclining seat coaches. Lunches can be purchased in the mid-train
dining car; and we also can enjoy all-around viewing, snacks and beverages
in the glass-topped Superliner Lounge-café car. The CALIFORNIA ZEPHYR
follows the former
Denver and Rio
Grande Western RR line now operated by the Union Pacific. The route
evokes Teddy Roosevelt’s comment that a rail journey through the Rockies
is the “trip that bankrupts the English language!”
In
Winter Park, the tracks begin to follow the waters of the Fraser River
through the forested
Fraser Canyon.
At Granby, the Fraser joins the headwaters of the mighty Colorado River.
For the next 200 miles, the tracks closely follow the Colorado through a
succession of unique and ever more spectacular gorges. In sequence the
line traverses the Byers,
Gore,
Red,
Glenwood [Note the really
cool
panorama on this site], and
Palisade Canyons. Each
offers a different vista. The Gore is gray spires and narrow defiles,
while the Red Canyon offers unique “pagoda” sandstone terraces. The
Glenwood Canyon is over 4,000 feet deep. Its awesome spectacle of soaring
cliffs, waterfalls, rapids and great rock monoliths inspired the invention
of the glass-topped vista-dome car.
California Zephyr departs Glenwood Springs by Kevin Morgan. Photo
Courtesy of
www.Coloradorailfan.com
We arrive in late afternoon in Grand Junction and meet
our motorcoach. We travel to Moab, Utah, where we are at beautiful
Red Cliffs Lodge for a
relaxing two-night stay.
Day Three, Sunday, September 28 (B, L, D)
Arches National
Park; Dead Horse Point; Canyonlands by Night boat cruise. We begin
our southwest sojourn at Arches National Park adjacent to the Moab Valley
and Colorado River. Here we experience time and silence in the sculptured
rock scenery resulting from 100 million years of erosion, extreme
temperatures, water, ice, and underground salt movement. This park boasts
the greatest density of natural arches in the world. We then travel to
Dead Horse Point State Park,
a 2,000-foot overlook above the Colorado River, on the boundary of the
wilderness of Canyonlands N.P. We return to Moab to end our evening with a
barbeque Dutch oven dinner before boarding the “Canyonlands by Night”
sunset cruise on the “Moab Queen”
up the Colorado River.
Day Four, Monday, September 29 (B, L)
Edge of the
Cedars Park;
Anasazi
Indian village & museum; Goosenecks. “Anasazi”, a Navajo word meaning
“ancient ones,” describes the culture that existed circa AD 1 to 1300 in
the Four Corners plateau region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah.
This morning we journey to Edge of Cedars State Park to tour an Anasazi
village site and museum. Lunch is at Old Tymer’s Restaurant before we
drive to the amazing canyon vista at the Goosenecks of the San Juan. Our
hotel is in Monument Valley at panoramic
Goulding’s Lodge, known for
its past as a trading post and as the housing for several John Ford/John
Wayne Hollywood westerns.
Day Five, Tuesday, September 30 (L)
Monument Valley by Denny Thompson
Monument
Valley by jeep; Capitol Reef N.P. On our tour this morning, we are guided
through
Monument Valley in
open-air jeeps. With its many arches, buttes, Anasazi ruins, brilliant
colors and the famous “mittens”, this is a superb area for photography.
Monument Valley is a place of haunting beauty that frequently has been
seen in Hollywood films including the John Ford/John Wayne classics “Fort
Apache”, “She Wore a Yellow Ribbon”, and “Rio Grande”. A stop is included
to visit an authentic Navajo hogan and see Navajo rug weaving. With an
included box lunch, we drive to
Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, making a stop at the Hite
Crossing marina and continuing through Capitol Reef National Park, with
sightseeing stops en route. Our hotel tonight is the Best Western Capitol
Reef Resort in Torrey UT.
Day Six, Wednesday, October 1 (L)
Bryce Canyon by Denny Thompson
Bryce
Canyon National Park. We drive to the Bryce Canyon area. After an
included lunch at Ruby’s Inn, we ascend the “Escalante Staircase”,
ascending into a mountainous region of quavering aspen and towering peaks.
At more than 8,000 feet in elevation, we reach scenery resembling the
backdrop for a science fiction film set on “an incredible planet unlike
anything on earth.” Bryce Canyon is nestled in twelve huge bowls sinking
nearly 1,000 feet into the earth of southern Utah, cutting through layers
of colorful stone formations. It is noted for thousands of freestanding
stone columns and monoliths. We take the Rim Drive with a step-on guide
followed by free time for individual exploring. Our hotel for the next two
nights is the Best Western East Zion Thunderbird Lodge in Mount Carmel UT.
Day Seven, Thursday, October 2 (L)
Zion National
Park. The bottom layer of rock at Bryce Canyon is the top layer at
Zion National Park! Today at Zion we see the outcome of what began as a
relatively flat basin near sea level 240 million years ago. The colorful
sediment layers of sand, soil and minerals have left a geologic showcase
for our observation. Here we are in a deep canyon setting with the flowing
waters of the Virgin River contrasted with the towering cliffs of the
gorge. After lunch at the Zion Park Lodge, we return to our hotel in Mount
Carmel.
Day Eight, Friday, October 3 (L)
Into
Grand Canyon National Park.
This morning we drive to the town of Marble Canyon, Arizona for an
included luncheon at Lees Ferry Lodge. Our scenic route takes us along the
edge of Vermilion Cliffs National Monument and across the mighty Colorado
River before turning south and then west into Grand Canyon N.P. A step-on
guide joins us at the Visitor’s Center, taking us on the Desert-view Tour
as we enter the Park. We spend the night here inside the park at the
North Maswik Lodge. Our
hotel is just a quarter-mile stroll to the rim!
Day Nine, Saturday, October 4 (L)
Grand Canyon National Park;
Grand Canyon Railway. This
morning provides free time for us to enjoy the Canyon on our own. There
are level paths along the crest of the gorge and a free shuttle service to
even more stupendous West Rim vistas. The Park Service Museums also
beckon. We have a wonderful included luncheon at the famed El Tovar Hotel,
which sits directly on the rim, followed by more free time before boarding
the Grand Canyon Railway in mid-afternoon for the run to Williams, Arizona
on this former Santa Fe branch. We travel in the upgraded dome-class on
this scenic journey, which takes us from the forested rim to the vastness
of the high desert. Tonight we stay at the Grand Canyon Railway’s Fray
Marcos Hotel at the depot in Williams AZ. This property is a loving
re-creation of a former Fred Harvey House.
 Day Ten, Sunday, October 5 (L,D)
Verde
Canyon Railroad. This morning we depart on our motorcoach for
Clarkdale. A buffet lunch is included on the Verde Canyon Railroad while
riding in First Class. Along the way we may see bald and golden eagles and
native wildlife. Sinagua Indian ruins are located along the route, which
also passes through a 680-foot tunnel and along the upper Verde River.
This former Santa Fe Railway branch line traverses a deep canyon with
soaring cliffs of red and bronze sandstone setting off the sparkling
waters of the Verde River. Tonight we stay at the
La Posada Hotel in Winslow
AZ. This is the last authentic Harvey House ever built, opening in 1930.
It closed about 30 years ago and has undergone an amazing restoration to
its former glory! Our Farewell Dinner is here tonight in the Turquoise
Room.
Day Eleven, Monday, October 6 (Coffee/tea)
Board
Amtrak’s
SOUTHWEST CHIEF to
Trinidad, Colorado. This morning there is an early departure on the
 SOUTHWEST CHIEF from the Winslow Station at our hotel. Our scenic route
parallels the old
Santa Fe Trail
as we retrace the steps of Native Americans and pioneers. Through pine
forests of Arizona, red sandstone cliffs and black lava flows of New
Mexico, and Raton Pass in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, we traverse
canyons only seen from these narrow rail passages. Our view is enhanced as
we gaze through the wrap-around windows of the Sightseer Lounge Car. We
arrive in Trinidad in early evening and transfer to our hotel for the
night, the Quality Inn.
Day Twelve, Tuesday, October 7 (CB)
To Denver; tour ends. Our private motorcoach takes us to
Denver, where this colorful tour ends with mid-day drop offs at the Amtrak
station and Denver International Airport for independent departures on
trains/flights departing after 2:30 p.m.
TOUR PRICES are inclusive roundtrip from Denver
and include all rail and coach fares, all lodging and sightseeing, and
meals outlined as included above. The tour is escorted from our Denver
departure on Day Two through to departures from Denver on Day Twelve.
Transfers and luggage handling are included during the escorted portion of
the tour.
$2999.00 per person, double occupancy
$3649.00 single occupancy
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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