Departing October 2, 2008

DAY 1

• Tour to Williams
• Fairfield Inn By Marriott
• Dinner

We'll travel through the Mojave Desert of Southern California to Williams, Arizona, a delightful town of Pines, Railroads, and Route 66. En route we'll pass the historic towns of Victorville, Barstow, Calico, Needles, and Kingman.

DAY 2

• Continental Breakfast, dinner 
• Northern Arizona Tour to Albuquerque
• Visit Petrified Forest National Park
• Quality Inn & Suites

We'll continue our trek east today as we view the open expanses of Northern Arizona. We'll first climb to Flagstaff and then gently descend across Arizona to the intriguing Petrified Forest National Park, where we'll take the 28 mile drive with its breathtaking vistas, petrified log deposits, Anasazi Indian ruins, and the Painted Desert.

Then, it's off to Albuquerque.

DAY 3

• Continental Breakfast, Dinner
• City Tour of Albuquerque

We'll tour this interesting city today. Highlights will include the University of New Mexico's pueblo-style campus and the historic landmarks throughout the city. Albuquerque's tri-culture of Indian, Spanish, and "Angelo" heritage is evident in everything from its unique adobe architecture to its lyrical street names.

Old Town first began in 1706! You'll love its cute shops, galleries and restaurants.

DAY 4

• Continental Breakfast
• Special Shape Mass Ascension
• Albuquerque International Balloon Festival

Today, we'll witness one of the highlights of the Albuquerque International Balloon Festival, the Special Shape Ascension at 7:00 am. You'll awe at the sight of the desert sky filled with spectacular hot air balloons.

We'll return to our hotel mid-morning to "catch up" on some sleep that we lost. Later, there will be time to explore Old Town and the Albuquerque Museum.

Tonight, we'll witness the After Glow Fireworks Show from the Balloon Fiesta Park.

DAY 5

• Continental Breakfast
• Tour to Santa Fe & Durango
• Hampton Inn

Today, we'll take a short drive to lovely Santa Fe, where we'll tour this quaint city, the second oldest city in the United States. Highlights of the tour will be the San Miguel Mission, the oldest church in the United States, the Palace of the Governors, the Plaza area and much more!

Later, we'll tour through the beautiful mountain of Northwest New Mexico to the lovely, little town of Durango, Colorado.

DAY 6

• Continental Breakfast, Dinner
• Silverton/Durango Railroad
• Tour to Grand Junction
• Holiday Inn-Express

This morning, we will ride the famous Silverton, a narrow-gauge railroad train, that winds through the rugged San Juan Region to Silverton, Colorado. The Silverton has been designated both a historical landmark and a national civil engineering landmark.

We will continue on to Grand Junction, Colorado.

DAY 7

• Continental Breakfast, Dinner
• Tour to Cedar City, Utah
• Sightsee Colorado national Monument
• Holiday Inn-Express

As we leave Grand Junction this morning, we'll enter the Colorado National Monument and the spectacular Rimrock Drive, with its panoramic views of giant pillars of rock, eroded ridges and cliffs, twisted figures in colored stone, and prehistoric fault lines. This is truly a geological paradise!

We'll then tour through the mountains and plateaus of Southern Utah and the Virgin River Valley of Northwestern Arizona to the amazing resort town of Mesquite, Nevada.

DAY 8

• Continental Breakfast
• Tour Home
• Valley of Fire State Park

On our way back to Southern California today, we'll visit one of the west's best kept sightseeing secrets, the Valley of Fire State Park. The erosion of the centuries has left the red sand stone rocks in the most interesting of shapes and figures. Let your imagination run wild and, just maybe, you'll see elephants, dragons, and conical beehives.

We'll make a stop in Stateline, Nevada, so that you can freshen up and win another dollar or two. Then, we'll return home with many fond memories of America's Scenic Southwest!