Howdy folks! Arrive in Phoenix and transfer to Scottsdale on your own. You can spend the afternoon at leisure before your journey kicks off with an evening shindig to meet your new travel partners.
Your trek through America’s frontier history begins in the Sonoran Desert. Stampede through the luminous orange and red landscapes of Sedona with your choice sightseeing. Then, it’s on through Oak Creek Canyon to the historic railroad town of Williams, where we’ll Connect With Locals and enjoy a Be My Guest experience dinner hosted by the owners of local western restaurants.
Discover all that Flagstaff has to offer today. Head to Walnut Canyon National Monument to spot cliff dwellings and learn all about the Sinagua people who lived here over 800 years ago. Enjoy a scenic self-guided 0.9-mile loop trail that allows visitors to explore the dwellings up close, as well as breathtaking views of the canyon and its diverse plant and animal life. Enjoy lunch on your terms in downtown Flagstaff before you Dive into Culture at the Museum of Northern Arizona learning all about the cultural heritage of the Colorado Plateau over a guided pottery-making class. The remainder of your evening is free for you to explore Route 66 just steps away from your hotel.
Cut dirt and board your train to the Grand Canyon for some Family Fun, passing the vanilla-scented Ponderosa Pines and through the Kaibab National Forest. Tales of Old West legends are brought back to life as they travel with you along the rugged landscapes. We arrive at the UNESCO-listed Grand Canyon, one of the Seven Natural Wonders of the World. Walk the rim and learn from a Local Specialist how this extraordinary feat of nature developed over the past 40 million years.
Enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience as you visit Desert View’s Pueblo-style Watch tower and support the Grand Canyon Conservancy and their development of the Desert View Inter-Tribal Cultural Heritage Site. Enjoy lunch on your own in Page before heading over to the iconic Horseshoe Bend. You’ll witness the Colorado River carving through the red rock canyons with sweeping vistas as far as the eye can see. Afterward, you can choose to join a Navajo Local Guide for a tour through one of the magical slot canyons surrounding the region. In the evening, join an optional MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience at Red Heritage, a Navajo owned and operated Native American Performing Arts Theater, for a show of powwow dancing, flute playing and live drum music while enjoying a tasty dinner.
Explore yet another great natural triumph in Zion National Park by shuttle or on foot. Connect to history following in the footsteps of Native Americans and the earliest pioneers. Soak in the lush vegetation, wild rivers, roaring waterfalls and towering white and pink cliffs. Perhaps challenge yourself with a hike to the Emerald pools before taking the scenic Mount Carmel Highway admiring views of waterfalls and slick rocks, watching out for spectacular formations like the Great Arch of Zion and the distinctive Checkerboard Mesa. The red-orange-pink hued hoodoos of Bryce Canyon are your final stop for today. Continue the fun over an optional barbeque dinner at Ebenezeer’s Show and Dinner feasting on salmon, flat iron steaks and grilled chicken and tasty sides while taking in an energizing live country music show.
Take your seat in an amphitheater of the must-see, towering sandstone spires of Bryce Canyon. Bask in these pink, orange and rusty-red limestone spires, known as hoodoos, that seem to rise from the desert floor. Explore the rim, learning how the canyon was formed over millennia by the erosion of sandstone and limestone, before spending the afternoon at leisure. Choose to blaze your own trail on a one-hour horseback ride in the Dixie National Forest, climbing Bristlecone Pine Ridge with 1,500-year-old Bristlecone Pines (one of the oldest living things on the North American continent). Our adventure through the Old West almost at its end, we get gussied up for a dinner.
Hoodoos to your back and high-living ahead, depart on the last leg of your journey to Las Vegas with a stop in St. George, Utah for lunch on your own. You’ll be transferred to Las Vegas International Airport, or your hotel if you’re extending your stay.