New! National Parks of the Wild West
THIS TOUR IS SOLD-OUT! The waitlist is open.
Glacier
and Yellowstone National Parks; Mount Rushmore National Memorial
July 22-August 1, 2008
Land tour from $2499.00
THIS TOUR IS SOLD-OUT!
The waitlist is open.
Join Rail Travel Center® President Wil Doak on a great
new rail and motorcoach tour to the beautiful National Parks of Montana,
Wyoming and South Dakota, the true Wild West! We ride Amtrak’s luxurious
Superliner-equipped
EMPIRE BUILDER over the legendary Great Northern Ry.
route from Seattle, traveling east along the shores of Puget Sound, over
the Cascade Mountains and then across the Montana Rockies to Glacier Park
Station. Other train rides include the new
COPPER KING EXPRESS from Butte
to Anaconda in the canyons of western Montana and two steam railways: the Alder Gulch Short Line at Virginia City, Montana and the
Black Hills
Central from Hill City to Keystone in the heart of South Dakota’s Black
Hills.
 Sightseeing
spotlights two National Parks:
Glacier and
Yellowstone and
Mount Rushmore
National Memorial. In Glacier we cross the Continental Divide riding the
famous Red Buses on the legendary Going-to-the-Sun Road and cruise the
emerald waters of St. Mary Lake. Our exploration of Yellowstone includes
the geysers of
Old Faithful and the thundering waterfalls in the
Grand
Canyon of the Yellowstone. We also visit Lake Yellowstone and
less-familiar sights such as the former Union Pacific RR depot in West
Yellowstone, which now houses the exceptional Museum of the Yellowstone.
In the Black Hills we marvel at the
Crazy Horse Memorial and Mount
Rushmore by day and illuminated by night!
Unique sightseeing experiences include a cruise on the
Missouri River through the awesome canyon at the Gates of the Mountains, a
tour of the restored Nevada and Virginia City ghost towns, a visit to the
incomparable
Buffalo Bill Historical Center (one of the world’s greatest
museums of the old west, with wonderful galleries of western and Indian
art) and a visit to the great volcanic monolith of
Devils Tower National
Monument. Wildlife is a tour focus. We watch for bear, buffalo, elk and
moose in Yellowstone National Park. At West Yellowstone we tour the
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center, and in Custer State Park, South Dakota,
we have a jeep safari into the buffalo herds that still freely range that
area of the Black Hills. Complete details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Tuesday, July 22 (D for sleeper passengers)
Amtrak’s EMPIRE BUILDER over the Cascade Range.
We board Amtrak’s famous
EMPIRE BUILDER Superliner this afternoon at
Seattle’s King Street Station and roll east. First the line takes us
directly along the shores of the Puget Sound for sweeping vistas over the
distant peaks of the Olympic Range. We turn inland at Everett and begin a
steep climb along the Skykomish River toward the towering peaks of the
Cascade Range. In early evening we traverse the 7.9 mile-long Cascade
Tunnel before descending through narrow gorges to the Columbia River at
Wenatchee. We overnight in comfortable leg-rest reclining coach seats.
Sleeper space is sold-out from Seattle, but is available as outlined below
from Portland, Oregon.
NOTE--NEW OPTION TO BOARD IN PORTLAND, OREGON:
As of February 6, 2008, we are sold-out of sleeping car rooms leaving from
Seattle, although we do have coach seats available from Seattle. Only one
night is spent on the train, and Amtrak offers exceptionally comfortable
leg-rest coaches.
Amtrak's EMPIRE BUILDER is a unique train. It starts
each day as two distinct trains, one beginning in Seattle, Washington and
one in Portland, Oregon. The two trains combine late at night in Spokane,
Washington to form a single train for the journey to Glacier National
Park.
We have reserved both Deluxe and Economy Bedroom
(Roomette) space on the Portland section of the train and will provide a
second tour manager to travel with any Portland passengers. If you choose
to board at Portland, you will join the Seattle tour group for breakfast
in the diner on Day Two. Portland passengers enjoy the full run across
Marias Pass over the Rockies and something not featured out of Seattle,
the Columbia River Gorge.
The EMPIRE BUILDER departs Portland at 4:45PM. A light
dinner is included in your sleeper room or optionally in the dome-lounge
car for sleeping car passengers. The dome-lounge car is exclusively
offered on the Portland section, and is a great place to enjoy the
stunning scenery this evening. The Portland section traverses the
full-length of the magnificent Columbia River Gorge before sunset. The
full dining car joins the train with the Seattle cars late tonight and
will be available for breakfast tomorrow morning.
The basic tour price from Portland is the same as from
Seattle. Sleeper surcharges are noted under pricing at the end of this
article.
 Day
Two, Wednesday, July 23 (B for sleeper passengers, L for all passengers)
Glacier National Park. Dawn finds the train deep
in the mountains. Overnight a dome-lounge car was added, which we can
enjoy this morning as we climb the rugged grades in the Rockies. Departing
Whitefish, we begin the legendary assault over the Continental Divide at
Marias Pass on the supremely scenic former mainline of the Great Northern
Ry, now operated by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad. In
mid-morning we detrain at Glacier Park Station and begin our exploration
of Glacier National Park. Lunch and a very scenic
 cruise
by lake launch on the emerald-green waters of St. Mary Lake are included.
In replica 1930s “Red Buses” (White Motor Company open-topped touring
cars) we re-cross the Continental Divide on the soaring loops of the
Going-to-the-Sun Road over Logan Pass. The views of the eternally
snow-capped peaks of the Rockies at the summit are unforgettable. We
overnight this evening at the
Red Lion Hotel in Kalispell, Montana.
Day Three, Thursday, July 24 (L)
Scenic Swan Lake Valley; cruise the Missouri at
Gates of the Mountains. We drive south this morning in the shadow of the
towering peaks of the Continental Divide, passing lovely Swan Lake enroute
to a lunch stop in remote Lincoln. This afternoon we follow the route of
Lewis and Clark as we cruise the Missouri River through its deep canyon at
the Gates of the Mountains. We overnight in Montana’s capital city,
Helena, at the new
Great Northern Hotel, which is decorated to commemorate
the heritage of the Great Northern Ry.
 Day
Four, Friday, July 25 (CB, L)
Tour Helena; ride the COPPER KING EXPRESS. This
morning we visit the superb
museum of the Montana Historical Society, then
tour Helena on the Last Chance Tour Train. Lunch is included at the
Mountain City Grill and Saloon before driving south to the copper mining
center of Butte. Here we board the new
COPPER KING EXPRESS train, which
follows Rarus Ry’s former Butte, Anaconda and Pacific RR line to Anaconda.
Regular passenger service ended on this rugged mountain and canyon route
over 50 years ago. We overnight at the
Fairmont Hot Springs Resort, a
legendary spa where we can “take the cure” by relaxing in their warm water
pools.
Day Five, Saturday, July 26 (L)
 Nevada
City; Bovey Restorations; Virginia City; steam Alder Gulch Shortline.
We follow the route of the pioneers to the restored mining camps of Nevada
City and Virginia City. First we explore the Bovey Restorations at Alder
Gulch, a collection of original historic buildings brought in from all
over Montana. This interesting “town” has been used in several movies. We
then ride to Virginia City on the steam-powered narrow gauge Alder Gulch Shortline Railway. After an included lunch at Virginia City’s Star Bakery,
there is free time to explore the restored silver-rush camp before driving
to West Yellowstone, where our hotel for two nights is the
Stagecoach Inn.
Day Six, Sunday, July 27
Museum of the Yellowstone; Grizzly and Wolf Discovery
Center; Yellowstone National Park and Old Faithful. We begin with a
visit to the
Museum of the Yellowstone, housed in the beautifully restored
terminal of the former Union Pacific RR
 Yellowstone
Branch. The railways opened up Yellowstone National Park, and the U.P.
built a beautiful combined station and restaurant here to serve its summer
park tours. The center contains wonderful exhibits about the early days in
the park during the era of railway touring. U.P. passenger service
directly to West Yellowstone ended in the early 1960s.
Next we visit the
Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center,
which not only tells the life-story of the great bears, but also serves as
an animal rehabilitation center for grizzly bears and other native animals
such as wolves. This is a most unique wildlife park!
After a short drive into Yellowstone National Park,
there is time to purchase lunch at
Old Faithful (there are several
restaurants adjacent to the geysers) and enjoy several hours viewing the
active geysers. An Old Faithful eruption is certain, but there also is
time to take the easy boardwalk paths to view other geothermal wonders,
including hot springs, thermal pools and less-well-known geysers. On the
return to West Yellowstone, we follow the Madison River and stop at
additional geothermal sites for photography of the hot spring wonders.
Day Seven, Monday, July 28 (L,D)
 Grand
Canyon of the Yellowstone; Lake Yellowstone; Buffalo Bill Historical
Center. We take a different route through Yellowstone for most of the
day today. Our first stop is the awesome gorge at the
Grand Canyon of the
Yellowstone. Here we marvel at the spectacle of the yellow and gray walls
of the canyon and the thundering Upper and Lower Falls of the Yellowstone.
As we motor south to the Lake Yellowstone Hotel, we pass through one of
the best areas in the park to see bear, elk and especially buffalo. Lunch
is included at the restored Lake Yellowstone Hotel, overlooking the vast
blue waters of Yellowstone Lake, the highest large natural lake in the
Rockies.
We leave the park through the East Gate and descend a
deep canyon to the “wild west” town of Cody, Wyoming. This was home to the
legendary scout and showman Buffalo Bill Cody. His collections became the
nucleus of one of the world’s great museums of the west, the
Buffalo Bill
Historical Center, which we tour this afternoon. The collections here
include one of the most comprehensive collections of western firearms,
Cody’s personal “kit”, American Indian artifacts, and an incomparable
collection of paintings and sculptures. Treasures include Bierstadt
landscapes, Remington paintings and sculptures, saddles, Native American
art, blankets and much more. We enjoy dinner this evening at what was once
Buffalo Bill’s own hotel, the Irma. We overnight at the Holiday Inn at
Buffalo Bill Village Resort.
Day Eight, Tuesday, July 29 (L)
Drive the Big Horn Range; Sheridan; Bradford Brinton
Memorial and Museum.
The Indians called the Big Horn Range rising to the east of Cody the “Great Shining Mountains”. These peaks
were sacred to the Sioux and still are a place of great natural beauty. We
drive across these glorious yet little-known ridges this morning to
Sheridan, Wyoming. Lunch is included here before touring a restored
cattle-barons’ ranch, the
Bradford Brinton Memorial and Museum. Later we
have a unique stop to ride the restored carousel at Buffalo! We overnight
in the “black gold” coal mining town of Gillette, Wyoming at the Holiday
Inn Express.
 Day
Nine, Wednesday, July 30 (CB,L)
Devils Tower National Monument; High Plains
Western Heritage Center; Deadwood. This morning we stop to visit the
remarkable mass of columnar volcanic rock that forms
Devils Tower National
Monument. We drive into South Dakota, stopping for an included lunch in
Spearfish. After lunch we tour the
High Plains Western Heritage Center.
Live buffalo and long-horn cattle graze here at a unique museum devoted to
pioneer days. Treasures in the collection include an original
Spearfish-Deadwood stagecoach and 17,000 square feet of exhibits from
pioneer ranches, farms and Native American settlements. We continue to the
gold-rush town of Deadwood in the rugged Black Hills and see Boot Hill,
the ghost mines, and historic sites related to the lives of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane. We overnight for two nights at the
railway-themed Best Western Golden Spike Inn in Hill City.
 Day
Ten, Thursday, July 31 (D)
Crazy Horse Memorial; Mount Rushmore National
Memorial; Black Hills Central steam railway. Monumental sculpture is a
theme today. This morning we visit the fascinating
Crazy Horse Memorial,
which still is being carved from the entire peak of a rugged mountain.
When finished, this will be the largest single carving in the world. It
depicts the great Sioux Warrior Crazy Horse on his horse, pointing across
the Black Hills range held sacred by the Sioux. Already much of the face
is visible, and there is a Native American museum and cultural center to
explore.
 Later
we board the “1880s Train” of the steam-powered
Black Hills Central RR for
a round-trip from Hill City to Keystone and return. This line was built as
a three-foot narrow gauge line, but then rebuilt by the Burlington RR as
standard gauge track in the early 20th century. The trip features
extremely rugged grades and offers sweeping vistas of the peaks enroute.
It frequently has been featured in Hollywood movies and TV shows.
Finally we experience
Mount Rushmore National Park.
First we see the awesome carvings of Presidents Washington, Jefferson,
Lincoln and (Teddy) Roosevelt in the warm afternoon light. After a
wonderful Farewell Dinner in Keystone, we return to the park for the
evening illuminations.
Day Eleven, Friday, August 1 (L)
Wildlife jeep safari in Custer State Park. We
have a wonderful final tour event this morning, a wildlife jeep photo
safari through the open range country of
Custer State Park. Here in the
heart of the Black Hills is one of the largest free-ranging buffalo herds.
Our jeep driver-guides provide commentary as we seek these great animals
out for photos. Our lunch is at the landmark Alex Johnson Hotel in Rapid
City before the tour ends at the Rapid City airport in time for afternoon
flights to cities throughout the country.
TOUR PRICES include all rail and boat fares, hotels,
attractions and meals noted as included above, Tour Manager services, and
luggage handling during the tour. Not included are other meals, alcoholic
beverages, and items of a personal nature such as souvenirs. One night is
spent on Amtrak. All other nights are in hotels. The basic tour price
includes leg-rest reclining seat coach accommodation on the train. As
noted, Pullman sleepers are available from Portland only for the additional cost noted below.
$2499.00 per person, double occupancy
$2999.00 single occupancy
Sleepers are Sold-out from Seattle. Coach space is
available from Seattle.
Optional Pullman sleeper upgrade (only offered from
Portland) on Day One
This price includes a light dinner in the dome-lounge
car or in your sleeper on Day One and breakfast in the diner on
Day Two and your Pullman sleeper room on the night of Day One.
Deluxe Bedroom (with large lower berth,
upper berth, private toilet and shower) from Portland to Glacier Park
$216.75 per person, double occupancy
$432.50 single occupancy.
Economy Bedroom/Roomette (lower and upper
berth, shared toilet/shower) from Portland to Glacier Park
$109.50 per person, double occupancy
$219.00 single occupancy.
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
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