Wild West, Cowboys and Buffalos: July 8-16, 2013
Style: Family Experiences
Description: Say 'Howdy!' and get ready for a Family Experience tour filled with scenes of the Old West. Experience the natural wonders of Yellowstone National Park and get a taste of exciting ranch life at The Ranch at Ucross. Saddle up for a horseback ride and rub shoulders with true wranglers as you discover the unique wildlife of Bear County USA and the majesty of the iconic Mount Rushmore by day and night on this wild west tour.
$2844 per person (Double Occupancy)
$2664 per person (Triple Occupancy)
$2580 per person (Quad Occupancy)
$3494 per person (Single Occupancy)
$2664 Child (ages 5-17) per person
$200/person DEPOSIT DUE MARCH 1, 2013
REGISTERATION:
Lander Continuing Education Office
(864) 388-8426
July 8, 2013 - Depart Greenville 7:30 a.m.
July 16, 2013 - Return Greenville 1:20 p.m.
What's Included
Insider Experiences
- Hidden Treasure Enjoy at least one surprise Hidden Treasure experience, unique to your itinerary, courtesy of your expert Travel Director.
- Local Expert Join an interpretive guide for a stroll in Yellowstone National Park.
Sightseeing Highlights
- Jackson View the famous landmark of tangled elk antlers; enjoy an evening of Western entertainment.
- Grand Teton National Park Journey through dramatic scenery and stop at beautiful Jenny Lake.
- Yellowstone National Park Discover the natural wonders, including geysers, mud pots, bubbling pools and Yellowstone Falls, in America's first National Park.
- Cody Visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre and learn about the Wild West.
- The Ranch at Ucross Stay on a real working dude ranch; enjoy an evening campfire with s'mores; choose from a range of included activities.
- Black Hills Spend two nights in the gold rush boomtown of Keystone; explore the area and feel the spirit of the Wild West.
- Crazy Horse Behold the spectacle of this giant American Indian memorial.
- Mount Rushmore Visit this iconic American monument.
- Bear Country USA Enjoy a drive through this unique wildlife park and see young bears up close during a walk through the Wildlife Centre.
- Hill City Ride through the scenic Black Hills aboard the historic steam engine 1880 Train.
Dining
7 breakfasts:
5 full breakfasts
2 continental breakfasts
1 lunch
5 evening meals:
Kick-off Party with light appetisers and drinks with your Travel Director in Salt Lake City
1 three-course dinner
Chuckwagon dinner in Jackson
Ranch-style dinner at the Ranch at Ucross
Farewell Dinner with drinks in Keystone
Travel Highlights
- First class hotel accomodation featuring twin rooms and private facilities.
- All hotel service charges and tips, baggage handling fees and local taxes included
- Travel by luxury air-conditioned coach with reclining seats and onboard restroom.
- The services of one of our professional Travel Directors throughout your journey.
- 7 nights First Class accommodation.
- Airport transfers are provided on Day 1 and Day 8.
- Just 4 Kids Surprise Pack.
- Complimentary keepsake photo and My Journey book.
- Audio Headsets For all guided visits and included sightseeing
Day 1
ARRIVE SALT LAKE CITY
Welcome to Salt Lake City! Arrive at your hotel and enjoy some time on your own this afternoon to relax or venture out on your own to see some of the main attractions. This evening, meet your fellow adventurers at 6 p.m. for a Kick-off Party with your Travel Director at the hotel.
Day 2
SALT LAKE CITY - JACKSON
Put on your cowboy hats, pull up your boots and get ready to create memories that will last a lifetime. Head north and enter Wyoming for your first encounter with the mighty Rocky Mountains. Follow trails blazed by rugged mountain men centuries ago, cross the famous Oregon Trail and follow the historic Snake River to the authentic Old West town of Jackson. Passing through the town’s famous landmark arch of tangled elk antlers, walk back into history as you explore the Town Square with its Western boardwalks, craft boutiques and ice cream shops—all surrounded by the majestic Rockies. Come nightfall enjoy a Western-style Chuckwagon dinner and show.
Day 3
JACKSON - GRAND TETON & YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARKS (2 NIGHTS)
Rise early if you'd like to rollick down the Snake River on an optional fun and educational wilderness float trip. Later, discover dramatic Grand Teton National Park and beautiful Jenny Lake, and journey on into the world's first National Park, spectacular Yellowstone. This is truly a wonderland of over 10,000 geysers, fumaroles, hot springs, mud pots and steam vents, highlighted with a visit to Old Faithful, which has been spouting steam water regularly for thousands of years. At the Visitor Centre, learn amazing facts about Yellowstone—kids can even earn their Junior Ranger Badge. Join your Local Expert for a guided stroll around the boardwalks of the West Thumb Geyser Basin visiting such colourful spots as Abyss Pool, Thumb Paint Pots and the storied Fishing Cone.
Day 4
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK SIGHTSEEING
Discover Yellowstone's most amazing natural wonders, including the thundering Yellowstone Falls, a multitude of hot gushing geysers and countless brilliantly-coloured simmering thermal springs, bubbling mud pools and hissing steam vents. Your senses will be assaulted by the roar of steam, the thunder of a waterfall, the bellowing of bison and awe-inspiring views at every turn—sights and sounds that make for an experience you'll be talking about for years.
Day 5
YELLOWSTONE - CODY - THE RANCH AT UCROSS
Travel down, down, down into the Shoshone Canyon and the rugged Absaroka Mountains until you reach the rustic Wild West town of Cody, named after Buffalo Bill Cody. Explore the Buffalo Bill Historical Center and the world's largest collection of Western artifacts. This afternoon, enjoy stunning scenery as you cross the Big Horn Mountains and Bighorn National Forest. Get ready for a taste of the true Wild West and cowboy lifestyle as you arrive at the Ranch at Ucross in Clearmont, an Old-West working dude ranch in the foothills of the Bighorn Mountains. When the dinner bell calls all hands to chow, put on your finest cowboy duds and kick up your heels at a typical Ranch-style dinner. End the evening under the stars 'round a roaring fire with gooey s'mores and entertaining campfire fun.
Day 6
THE RANCH AT UCROSS - CRAZY HORSE - KEYSTONE (2 NIGHTS)
After a hearty breakfast, enjoy activities galore on the ranch—all included! Learn about life on a working ranch as you rub elbows with true wranglers. Saddle up for a horseback ride around the ranch lands. See how far you can cast that fishing line to catch brown or rainbow trout in Piney Creek. Challenge your travelling mates to a game of tennis or horseshoes…with bragging rights for the rest of the trip at stake! Or simply relax poolside and take in the serenity of this wonderful resort. After an included lunch, re-board the motorcoach and head east through the national grassland to the famous Black Hills of South Dakota. At Thunderhead Mountain, gaze in awe at the Crazy Horse Memorial. A work in progress being carved into the mountainside, the "world's largest sculpture" honours the famous war chief of the Lakota people. Reach the quaint "City of Gold", Keystone, once a gold mining boomtown. This evening watch the moving ceremonial lighting of America's favourite presidents sculpted at Mount Rushmore. You may have seen pictures of Mount Rushmore, but they pale in comparison to seeing this majestic site in person. It took 400 artisans 14 years to carve the 60-foot sculptures of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln into the mountain.
Day 7
KEYSTONE AND BLACK HILLS EXCURSION
The first stop this morning is Bear Country USA, a wildlife park featuring the world's largest private collection of American black bear. Enjoy a drive through this spectacular and unique wildlife park and then walk through the Wildlife Centre, where young and smaller animals frolic in their outdoor exhibits. Then it's… All Aboard! Ride on board the 1880 Train, an authentic steam engine train, from Hill City back to Keystone. Hear the bellow of the engine and the whine of the whistle as you wind your way through some of the most beautiful scenery in the Black Hills. There is still time to relax or take a plunge in the hotel swimming pool. This evening, join your fellow adventurers at a Farewell Dinner featuring an American Indian dancer and storyteller.
Day 8
KEYSTONE - FORT LARAMIE - DEPART DENVER
Follow the trail to old Fort Laramie, the best-known milepost on the Oregon Trail. At the fort's living history exhibits, learn about the harsh world of the pioneer family as they fought distance, unforgiving terrain and weather to reach Oregon—and the native tribes who gave their lives trying to prevent it. Your Wild West adventure comes to an end at the Mile High city of Denver where stops are made at Denver International Airport or, if you're extending your stay, at the hotel in downtown Denver. Please do not schedule any flights before 8 p.m.