National Parks & Canyons of the Southwest

Today fly to Las Vegas and meet your Tour Director. Enjoy a panoramic Las Vegas City Tour featuring the Old Downtown and the Las Vegas Strip. Check into your hotel for a two night stay. Tonight enjoy a Welcome Dinner with your fellow travelers. (D)

Considered one of the seven wonders of the industrial world, the art deco Hoover Dam is 726 feet high and 660 feet thick at the base. Construction required 4.4 million cubic yards of concrete — enough to build a two-lane highway from San Francisco to New York. During your 30-minute Power Plant Tour guided by a Reclamation Guide you will see, learn and appreciate what Hoover Dam is all about. The Visitor Center features audio and film presentations, exhibits and other media that provide a comprehensive view of the massive dam and its operations, as well as highlight many of the unique features around the site. Later visit the Mob Museum in Las Vegas, housed in the very first U.S. Post Office and Courthouse in Las Vegas. The scenes depicted in the Martin Scorsese film “Casino,” weren’t just good film writing. That was Vegas. The museum provides a world-class, interactive journey through true stories from the birth of the Mob, to today’s headlines. This eye-opening, authentic view of organized crime’s impact on the world reveals an insider’s look at the events and characters of the continuing battle between the Mob and the law. (B)

This morning board your motorcoach and travel to Grand Canyon West for a full day adventure. Grand Canyon West is on Native American land and features wonderful views of the awe-inspiring Grand Canyon. The visit includes admission to experience the Grand Canyon Skywalk, the attraction is a glass horseshoe-shaped bridge that enables you to walk beyond the canyon walls suspended 4,000 feet above the riverbed and provides unparalleled views of this natural wonder. Lunch is included during your stay at Grand Canyon West. Later board your motor coach and travel to the resort city of Mesquite, Nevada located northeast of Las Vegas on the edge of the Nevada/Arizona border featuring entertainment, golf and gaming. Mesquite’s rugged desert setting is a great home base to explore the Southwest’s most popular National Parks. Check into your resort hotel for a three night stay. (B,L)

Today enjoy the beautiful scenery as you travel into southwestern Utah for a full day visit at one of our country’s most popular National Parks, Bryce Canyon National Park, a horseshoe bowl of fanciful formations. The various shades of red, rose and pink blend magnificently with many tones of white creating breathtaking sights. The park also features thousands of delicately carved, brilliantly colored spires rising from amphitheaters. Bryce sits at a high elevation with the rim varying from 8,000 to 9,000 feet. Arrive back at the resort early this evening. (B)

Today travel east and drive through St. George, Utah. The area landscape unfolds like a book, revealing a geologic history that stretches back millions of years and exposes the most striking scenery found anywhere. This is a region of contrasts, from the Mojave Desert at 2,000 feet to the 10,000-foot Pine Valley Mountains. The crown jewel of the area is Zion National Park, one of the oldest & most scenic National Parks in the United States. Enter the park in Springdale and experience a Zion Park Tram Tour to view the spectacular combination of multicolored canyons, sheer cliffs, streams, waterfalls and foliage that are all part of this beautiful park’s backdrop. Later visit the historic Zion Lodge, the hub of this wonderful National Park. After your Zion experience, enjoy a Farewell Dinner at a local restaurant in the Zion Park area. After dinner return to Mesquite. (B,D)

This morning transfer to the Las Vegas Airport filled with wonderful memories of your National Parks and Canyons of the Southwest Tour. (B)