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The Canyon Lands & the California Zephyr
15 days from £1649
Monument Valley
The Grand Canyon
Bryce Canyon
· California Zephyr · Grand Canyon · Zion National Park · Monument Valley · Mesa Verde National Park
Ride the legendary California Zephyr train through the Rocky Mountains, take a helicopter ride high over the Grand Canyon, see Indian cliff dwellings in Mesa Verde, marvel at Monument Valley, backdrop to countless Hollywood westerns and climb aboard a Gold Rush-era narrow-gauge railway.
ITINERARY DAY 1 UK/Denver Fly to Denver for a two-night stay in the `Mile High City', set on the edge of the Rocky Mountains. Our accommodation is at the 3-star plus Cherry Creek Hotel. DAY 2 Denver Once the mining capital of Colorado epitomising the Wild West lifestyle, Denver is now a dynamic modern city. We discover it on this morning's tour, which takes in the US Mint and Larimer Street with its preserved Victorian buildings. At the gold-domed State Capitol Building be sure to pause on the 13th step; it's exactly one mile above sea level and offers a magnificent view across to the Rocky Mountains. We'll also drive past Molly Brown's house, survivor of the Titanic; then on to Dinosaur Ridge, one of Colorado's most unusual museums, to see tracks and fossils of the great lizards. We then head for the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, a naturally formed outdoor venue. Continue onto Lookout Mountain before returning to your hotel, visiting the grave of Buffalo Bill en route. DAY 3 California Zephyr Early this morning we board Amtrak's California Zephyr, one of the classic trains of America, for a journey through the spectacular Colorado Rockies to Salt Lake City. Relax and take in the view through the wide panoramic windows as we cross the Continental Divide and trace the course of the Colorado River, passing through majestic mountain scenery. We arrive in Salt Lake City and transfer to the 4-star Marriott Hotel around midnight, which will be our base for the next two nights. DAY 4 Salt Lake City Carved out of a desert of salt flats, the bed of what was once an inland sea, Salt Lake City was founded by the Mormons and remains the spiritual capital of the Church of Jesus Christ and Latter-day Saints. We'll see the Temple Square surrounded by its 15-foot-high wall; the Tabernacle, where the celebrated Mormon Choir performs; Liberty Park; and the Great Salt Lake itself. DAY 5 Bryce Canyon Today we prepare ourselves for the incredible spectacle of Bryce Canyon, where desert winds have fashioned the multi-coloured sandstone into a natural sculpture park of amazing rock formations. Towering pinnacles, banks of what could almost be organ pipes and bizarre `hoodoos', towers of rock eroded to leave their tops balancing precariously above, are coloured in a palette of ochre, red, orange and yellow, subtly changing as the sun passes overhead. Our base for the next two nights is the Shilo Inns in Kanab. DAY 6 Zion National Park In ancient Hebrew, Zion means a place of refuge or sanctuary and you'll soon understand just how apt the name is. Encompassing 229 protected square miles, the cathedral-like cliffs and stark canyons of Zion soar thousands of feet into the desert sky, framing dense forests, hanging gardens and waterfalls plunging into rock pools below. Take a walk along the gentle Gateway to the Narrows Trail, where the Virgin River floods the canyon floor it's an unmissable experience. DAY 7 Glen Canyon Dam & Flagstaff We drive south today, passing the Vermilion Cliffs, a multi-hued rock escarpment extending some 40 miles, en route to Glen Canyon Dam on the borders of Arizona and Utah. Construction of the dam began in 1956 and although it was completed ten years later, it took some 17 years for the lake it created, Lake Powell, to fill completely. Today the sparkling blue waters framed by red cliffs are a haven for boating and watersports enthusiasts and, as we'll see on an optional boat ride across the
SALT LAKE CITY
DENVER COLORADO SPRINGS
Zion National Park
Mesa Verde National Park
Bryce Canyon Monument DURANGO KANAB Valley CORTEZ Grand Canyon FLAGSTAFF
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