Grand Canyon Adventure ~ July 10-19, 2010

Suggested Itinerary 

Day one, Saturday, July 10, 2010

7:00 am	Depart Nashville for your western adventure 

4:30 pm	Arrival into Fort Smith, Arkansas for the night 

		Accommodations: Hampton Inn 

 6:00 pm	Dinner included at Lighthouse Inn 

After dinner, enjoy the show  	- Miss Lauras Players present Medicine Show on Hangin Day.   The show is a light hearted original musical/comedy set in Fort Smith 100 years ago during the days of Belle Starr, Judge Parker, and other infamous local characters 

Day two, Sunday, July 11, 2010

Am		Continental breakfast included at the hotel 

		Check out of hotel 

8:00 am	Depart Fort Smith for Amarillo, Texas 

4:00 pm	Arrival into Amarillo for the night

		Accommodations:	Hampton Inn East

Pm	Dinner and entertainment included at River Breaks Ranch north of Amarillo.  Once you arrive at the ranch, youll be loaded onto covered wagons that will take you on a 20 minute ride through the canyon.  Along the ride a roaring stampede will storm past the wagons.  You will arrive at their campsite for a BBQ dinner.  After dinner, youll be entertained by horse races and authentic cowboys roping steers.

Day three, Monday, July 12, 2010

Am 	Group to depart hotel for breakfast 

	Breakfast and entertainment included at Elkins Ranch south of Amarillo.  Once you arrive at the ranch, youll be loaded onto customized vehicles that will travel through the spectacular Palo Duro Canyon.  You will arrive at their cow camp for all you can eat chuck wagon breakfast.  After breakfast, the group will be entertained by Cowboys playing music, reading cowboy poetry, and telling stories

	Group to return to hotel to check out and depart for New Mexico 

Bienvenidos, or welcome, to New Mexico - the Land of Enchantment.  Arrive in your gateway city of Albuquerque, where your Destination Southwest tour guide person will meet you at your hotel and escort you to a festive welcome dinner at El Pinto Restaurant.  

Day four, Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Continental breakfast included at the hotel 

Depart your hotel and head west over the Colorado Plateau to Acoma Pueblo.  Often called Sky City, Acoma Pueblo is situated 350 feet above an outstretched valley atop a massive sandstone mesa at 7,000 feet above sea level and is the oldest continuously inhabited settlement in the United States.  Points of interest include San Estevan del Rey Mission, built in 1629, the largest and most remarkable of all the Spanish Colonial mission churches in New Mexico.  We will take a native guided tour of the village and enjoy a delicious box lunch before we continue on to a fun Mystery Tour and then over night on the Navajo Reservation at Canyon de Chelly.  

Day five, Wednesday, July 14, 2010

After breakfast this morning, we check out of our hotel and board all-terrain vehicles for a Navajo guided tour of Canyon de Chelly that takes you past ancient Anasazi ruins, Navajo hogans, and massive red sandstone cliffs that tower to a height of 1,000 feet.  You will visit White House Ruins, with sixty rooms one of the largest ruins in the monument, and Antelope House, a village that is known for the tan-and-white half-scale antelopes painted high on a nearby cliff.  After a fun morning, we return to Thunderbird Lodge for lunch and then head west.  
We will stop at Cameron Trading Post for a little browsing of Indian arts and crafts, before we head into the east gate of Grand Canyon National Park. Our first stop will be at Desert View.  From this viewpoint, you can see the Colorado River, the end of Marble Canyon and some of the rapids on the river.  You can also walk up the Watchtower to see the famous Fred Kabotie Hopi murals.  From here we head to Tusayan and our hotel where we spend the next two nights.  

Day six, Thursday, July 15, 2010

There is an optional sunrise tour into Grand Canyon this morning.  We return to the hotel for breakfast on your own and then back into Grand Canyon National Park for a free day of optional activities.  The tour desk at your hotel can book a sightseeing air flight over the canyon, or horseback and jeep rides, or even a day trip by mule if available (recommend booking mule trips at least 6 months in advance.)  You can also spend the morning taking the free shuttle to the viewpoints along the rim.  Or if you like to walk, take a walk along the south rim from Yavapai Point to Grand Canyon Village.  Another alternative is to hike a little bit of the Bright Angel Mule Trail (remember it is July, you need to bring water and dress properly.)  You could even book a tour to the famous glass sidewalk (remember this is outside Grand Canyon National Park and an all-day tour.)  You can also see the Imax Presentation Hidden Secrets of the Grand Canyon.  Dont miss the Kolb Studio and Rock Shop at Grand Canyon Village and be sure to see the new Vercamps Visitors Center that just opened in 2009.  There are lots to do on a free day at Grand Canyon.  Your DSW guide can help with reservations and suggestions for sightseeing and meals. 

Day seven, Friday, July 16, 2010

		Continental breakfast included at hotel 	

We check out of our Grand Canyon hotel this morning and head south with a morning stop at the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert National Park.  Time for lunch on your own before we tour the park.  With one of the world's largest and most colorful concentrations of petrified wood, multi-hued badlands of the Painted Desert, historic structures, archeological sites, and displays of over 200-million-year-old fossils, this is a surprising land of scenic wonders and fascinating science.  After our tour, we head east back to Albuquerque, New Mexico.  We enjoy some time to explore historic Old Town before a festive dinner at the St. Clair Bistro.  Your local guide will depart the tour after dinner here in Albuquerque.  
Day eight, Saturday, July 17, 2010

Am		Continental breakfast included at the hotel 

7:00 am	Check out of hotel and depart for Oklahoma City

4:00 pm	Arrival into Oklahoma City for the night 

		Accommodation:	Hampton Inn NW 

4:30 pm 	Admission included to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum-
The museum is a self guided tour of the story of April 19, 1995 and days, months, and years that follow the tragedy.

6:00 pm	Dinner included at Spaghetti Warehouse 

7:30 pm	Admission and ride included on the Water Taxis on the Bricktown Canal
Enjoy a narrated canal cruise in which youll see land run sculptures, bricktown history mural, fountains, and much more

Day nine, Sunday, July 18, 2010

Am		Continental breakfast included at the hotel 

8:00 am	Check out of hotel and depart for Hot Springs 

3:00 pm	Arrival into Hot Springs for the night 

Accommodations:	 Arlington Resort Hotel & Spa located in the heart of downtown Hot Springs

4:00 pm	Meet guide at the Fordyce Bath House - The first stop will be the Fordyce Bath House. This elegant structure is one of eight bathhouses built in the early 1900s that also serves as The National Park Visitors Center as well as a museum depicting the thermal bathing and spa industry that has flourished in the Hot Springs area for many years.  Twenty-three restored rooms are furnished as they appeared during the spas heyday.

5:00 PM	Walking tour along Bathhouse Row tour through the National Historic Landmark District includes the grandest collections of bathhouses of its kind in North America.  The Buckstaff and Quapaw Bath Houses are the only two bathhouses currently in use.  The other five bathhouses are in various stages of renovation/restoration, in preparation for leasing by the National Park Service for future businesses that must meet strict National Park and Historical District requirements.

6:30 p.m.	Dinner included at the hotel 

8:00 p.m.	Maxwell Blades Magic Lantern Theatre Join Master Illusionist Maxwell Blade in historic downtown Hot Springs.  Maxwell will take you on a magical journey in the Magical Lantern Theatre, amazing his audience with illusions and saluting great magicians of all time.  Join Max for an unforgettable evening.

Day ten, Monday, July 19, 2010 

am		Continental breakfast included at the hotel
 
9:00 am	Check out hotel and depart for Nashville 

5:00 pm	Arrive back in Nashville 

Per Person Package Price:
*Based on 20-29 people

Single: $2,578          Double: $2,006          Triple: $1,817          Quad: $1,708

*Based on 30-39 people

Single: $2,325          Double: $1,751          Triple: $1,562          Quad: $1,451

$100 deposit each due at the time of booking.

The rest due by May 25th, 2010.

For insurance information contact Kathy

Home:     1-615-824-8083
Cell:     1-615-310-1723