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Day 1
Sept 8, Monday
We begin our adventure today, driving across Illinois and Iowa, stopping in Sioux Falls, SD at the Comfort Inn for the night. B
Day 2
Sept 9, Tuesday
Traveling across South Dakota today with a drive through the Badlands of South Dakota. A stop at the famous “Wall Drug Store” before arriving at Rapid City, SD and the Comfort Inn for the next two nights. Dinner will be next door at Ruby Tuesdays. BD
Day 3:
Sept 10,Wednesday
We will check in at Fort Hays “Dance with the Wolves” Film set for our “All you can Eat Cowboy” breakfast of pancakes, biscuits and gravy and sausage will be waiting at the chuckwagon before boarding our coach. Sit back and relax as our guide narrates the tour of Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, And Crazy Horse Memorial. We will travel the Peter Norbeck National Scenic Byway as it takes us over Iron Mountain through scenic tunnels and pigtail bridges. Be sure to bring plenty of film for this Kodak moment!! Lunch will be at the presidential summer white house to former Calvin Coolidge. Following a full day of touring we will return to the Fort Hays Dances with the Wolves Film Set for our Chuckwagon Supper and Cowboy Music Show. When the Supper Bell rings the Cowboys and Cowgirls will serve up Chuckwagon Potatoes, sliced Roast Beef simmered in mild BBQ Sauce, western Baked Beans, Biscuits & Honey, Applesauce, Old Fashion Spice cake and drinks!! The Fort Hays Wranglers will take the stage to entertain you with the Black Hills most popular western music variety show! Over an hour of comedy and toe tappin` music…so be sure to bring your camera!! BD
Day 4
Sept 11, Thursday
A trip to the Mt Rushmore Black Hills Gold Factory will be educational along with entertaining. We will take a fascinating tour through their jewelry factory to watch up close and learn the details of how gold jewelry is made. See the ancient process of lost wax casting and how diamonds are cast in gold. Hear the legend of how the Black Hills Gold was inspired. We will head to Deadwood for a fun day of gambling, site seeing and old west adventure. On the way we will stop at the Tataka Interpretive Center. At one time 30 million bison roamed the Great Plains, the Tataka Interpretive Center depicts the history of the bison in North American, Kevin Costner’s tribute to the American West is a centerpiece of 17 larger than life bronze statues. This afternoon you will be treated to a tour of Deadwood and its beautiful old buildings. Then we will visit the final resting place of Wild Bill Hickok and Calamity Jane in the Mt. Moriah Cemetery. The rest of the day is yours to enjoy. We will depart Deadwood and stay in Spearfish, SD at the Fairfield Inn. B
Day 5
Sept 12, Friday
We will be riding across Wyoming, part of Montana and Idaho. On our way we will see the Devils Tower, the rock that guided the early pioneers to the northwest. Our home tonight will be in Butte, MT at the Hampton Inn. B
Day 6
Sept 13, Saturday
The World Museum of Mining is one of the few museums in the world located on as actual mine yard- the Orphan Girl Mine. With fifty exhibit buildings, countless artifacts, and sixty-six primary exhibits in the mine yard, we can spend a couple of hours lost in the unfolding story. By walking the streets of Hell Roarin' Gulch and hearing the stories of the Orphan Girl Mine, you can almost see their blackened faces and hear their exhausted sighs at the conclusion of the workday. We will have a guided tour and hear the stories of the “days gone by”. Lunch will be served “miners” style in one of their picnic areas. We will have a “pasty”, which is a mixture of meat, potatoes and onions baked in its own crust. We will continue on to Coeur D’ Alene Casino Resort Hotel in Idaho, where we will spend the night. You can try your luck at the slots or just kick back and enjoy your free evening. BL
Day 7
Sept 14, Sunday
This will be a travel day as we finally reach the furthest point of the northwest trip..Seattle! We will be spending the next two nights in Seattle, exploring all the great sites. We will be staying at the Mayflower Hotel. The hotel is ideally located steps away from Seattle’s most exciting attractions, including the famous Pike Place Market, Seattle Waterfront and the Space Needle. The hotel opens directly into Westlake Center, with 80 specialty shops. B
Day 8
Sept 15, Monday
Today we will take a City Tour of Seattle with our experienced guide, lunch at the top of the Space Needle and then a tour of the Boeing Aircraft Factory in the afternoon. Seattle is known for attractions such as Pike Place Market and the Space Needle, but outside the downtown core, Seattle is a city of interesting neighborhoods, each with its own unique personality. Soak up the Asian flavor of the International District. Check out the quirky public art in Fremont, the self-proclaimed "Center of the Universe," and get a taste of Seattle’s maritime culture as you drive past Fisherman’s Terminal. At the Hiram Chittenden Locks, you’ll see the famous Fish Ladder, where an underwater viewing room lets you watch for sea life. And enjoy a sprawling view of the skyline from atop one of Seattle’s scenic lookout points. Lunch will be at the top of Space Needle before departing for Everett, WA and Boeing Factory Tour. Located 30 miles north of Seattle, the newly constructed Future of Flight Aviation Center is a cutting-edge facility featuring 28,000 square feet of interactive aviation exhibits. Watch a brief movie about Boeing in the high-definition Boeing Theater, then hop a bus and travel a few short minutes to the Boeing factory where you’ll go behind the massive hanger doors to witness the inner workings of the world’s largest airplanes. View the flight line and airplanes in various stages of assembly within the largest building in the world by volume - a whopping 472 million cubic feet of space! We return to our hotel in late afternoon and the rest of the day is yours to enjoy. BL
Day 9
Sept 16, Tuesday
This morning we will visit the beautiful experimental Rose Gardens of Portland. The rest of the day will be enjoying the beautiful drive along route 101 and Oregon Coast. Our home tonight is the Best Western Landmark Inn in Lincoln City, OR. This evening we will dine locally. BD
Day 10
Sept 17, Wednesday
Continuing our journey along the Oregon coast, with scenic camera stops, our next destination is the Sea Lions Caves in Florence, Oregon. Our journey along the coast line and the National Dunes Park where we will see sand dunes rising as much as 300 feet in the air. Some of the most incredible coastal scenery will be unveiled as we travel south into California staying in Eureka, California tonight . We will be staying at the Best Western Bayshores in Eureka, CA. Dinner will be at the Marie Calendar’s Restaurant, right in our hotel! BD
Day 11
Sept 18, Thursday
Traveling south today through the spectacular coastal range to Humboldt Redwoods State Park and travel on “The Avenue of the Giants” where the magnificent redwood trees shadow everything along the way. Later that day we arrive in what has been called “the most beautiful city in the world”...San Francisco. Our home for the next 3 nights will be the Holiday Inn at the Wharf. B
Day 12
Sept 19, Friday
A city tour will start our day featuring, the Golden Gate Bridge, the Cable Car’s, Alcatraz , Fisherman’s Wharf...it’s all yours today! B
Day 13
Sept 20, Saturday
This is a free day!! Enjoy it! Fisherman’s Wharf is right out your back door, with great shopping and good food! Tonight we will take an evening tour of San Francisco and have dinner in China Town. BD
Day 14
Sept 21, Sunday
It’s a short ride today. This morning we turn eastward and travel along beautiful Lake Tahoe and head for Virginia City and see how the old mining town has survived the ravages of time. We will have lunch and take a narrated Trolley Tour to learn more about this historic town. Our final destination tonight will be Reno, NV and our home will be the Silver Legacy Hotel/Casino, where the bright lights and excitement will call us to try out our luck in the Casino. BL
Day 15
Sept 22, Monday
This is a site seeing day as we leave the interstates and travel the scenic route 50 across Nevada to Ely, NV. We will be driving thru Toiyabe National Forest, Big Snokey Valley, and White Pines Mountains. The sites will be beautiful and the drive relaxing. We will be staying in the historical Hotel Nevada and dinner will be in their “jailhouse cells”!!! BD
Day 16
Sept 23, Tuesday
We will continue into Utah today and our destination is Moab, UT. This is where the Arches National Park is located. The wind and rain carved over 100 arches in this park. We will check in to the Best Western Greenwell hotel, our home for the next two nights. B
Day 17
Sept 24, Wednesday
Today we will visit the Arches National Park. We will return to the hotel and give you free time to explore this quaint town and sample some of the good food. BL
Day 18
Sept 25, Thursday
This will be a driving day. Our destination tonight will be Burlington, CO at the Comfort Inn. B
Day 19
Sept 26, Friday
Kansas City, KS will be our home tonight but before going to our hotel we are going to journey back in time to visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum. In 1856, during the American “Golden Age” of steam boat travel, the Arabia was shipwrecked on the Missouri River. It was carrying 130 passengers and 200 tons of cargo. The ship was rediscovered in 1985 and most of its cargo and treasures were salvaged and put on display at the museum. It’s one of the most interesting museums I’ve visited, the cargo is amazing. We will be staying at the Crown Westin Hotel which is attached to a shopping mall. B
Day 20
Sept 27, Saturday
This is our last day of travel as we head back thru Iowa and Illinois. Lunch will be at the Iowa Machine Shed for our farewell lunch! We should arrive home early evening filled with sites, sounds, smells and tastes from the Great Northwest Adventure!! BL
There is so much more to this trip that is hard to list. But join us for a trip of a life time to the Great Northwest!!!
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