National Parks of the Southwest Rail Circle
September 24-October 5, 2010
Tour from $2999.00
Tour Sold-out! Waitlist Open.
This tour explores what nature has evolved
over time for our pleasure. 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. For 2010 the tour is scheduled for what
should be the peak of the fall color show from the cottonwoods and aspens!
Canyonlands National Park from Dead Horse Point 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 Raton, New Mexico
 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.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief by Doug Ohlemeier
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 tour includes a wonderful two-night stay in spectacular
Westwater Canyon at beautiful Red Cliffs Lodge, a night at famous
Goulding’s Lodge in Monument Valley, a night in Grand Canyon National Park
to allow for additional sightseeing, and two nights at the beautiful
Little America Hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona.
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.
Please note this tour can be combined with the
September 13-24 Colorado Autumn by Rail Tour. Passengers taking both trips
qualify for our multi-tour discount of $75 per person.
We invite you to join Rail Travel
Center President Wil Doak on this unique
journey certain to enthrall even the most seasoned traveler. Complete
details follow. All aboard!
Day One, Friday, September 24
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 25 (B)
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 26 (Brunch, 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. Sweeping vistas here extend out over
hundreds of square miles of the wilderness that constitutes Canyonlands
National Park. 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.
Westwater Canyon. Photo: Carl Fowler
Day Four, Monday, September 27 (B, L,D)
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. Dinner is included at our hotel this evening.
Monument Valley Photo: Carl Fowler
Day Five, Tuesday, September 28 (B, Boxed L)
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 through Capitol Reef National Park, with
sightseeing stops en route. Our hotel tonight is the Best Western Capitol
Reef Resort in Torrey UT.
Capital Reef National Park Photo: Carl
Fowler
Day Six, Wednesday,
September 29 (L)
Grand Staircase/Escalante National
Monument, Bryce Canyon National Park.
We drive to the Bryce Canyon area, crossing soaring Boulder Mountain at
over 9,000 feet enroute. Later we traverse the new Grand
Staircase/Escalante National Monument and cross the amazing Devil’s
Backbone on a razor-ridge road. After an included lunch at Bryce Canyon
Lodge,
we complete our ascent of the “Escalante
Staircase” into a mountainous region of quaking 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.”
Grand Staircase Vista. Photo: Carl
Fowler
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 make the Rim Drive with
a step-on guide, followed by free time for individual exploring. Our
hotel for the next two nights is the new Holiday Inn Express Hotel in
Kanab, UT.
Bryce Canyon by Denny Thompson
Bryce
Canyon National Park.
Day Seven, Thursday, September 30 1 (B,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 1 (B,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 one of
the lodges near the Canyon.
Day Nine, Saturday, October 2 (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. For the next two nights we stay at the beautiful Little
America Hotel in Flagstaff AZ.
 Day Ten, Sunday,
October 3 (B,L)
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.
Our Farewell Dinner is at our hotel this evening.
Day Eleven, Monday, October 4
Board
Amtrak’s
SOUTHWEST CHIEF to
Raton, Colorado.
This morning there is an early departure on the
SOUTHWEST CHIEF from the Flagstaff Station. Our scenic route
parallels the old Santa Fe Trail as we retrace the steps of Native
Americans and pioneers. Through pine forests of Arizona and the red
sandstone cliffs and black lava flows of New Mexico, 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.
Breakfast and lunch can be purchased in the mid-train diner from an
extensive and reasonably priced menu. We arrive at Raton in late afternoon
and transfer to our hotel for the night, the award-winning Holiday Inn
Express Hotel.
Amtrak's Southwest Chief on the Santa Fe mainline,
by Doug Ohlemeier
Day Twelve, Tuesday, October 5 (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
$3699.00 single occupancy
Conditions and Booking Information (the fine
print)
 Amtrak's
Southwest Chief in the Apache Canyon by Doug Ohlemeier
|
