Trafalgar Western Frontiers
Written: Jun 27 '05
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Pros: Excellent itineary. Great tour guide and driver.
Cons: No major problems. Motorcoach could have had more room.
The Bottom Line: Excellent itineary, tour guide and driver!
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| dj_aaa_ky's Full Review: Trafalgar Tours |
Trafalgar Western Frontiers Motor Coach Tour
Day 1 Wednesday May 18, 2005 Louisville-Cincinnati
We drove to Cincinnati after work to spend the night in the Airport Holiday Inn. This has become a common occurrence for us as we can leave our car at the hotel and take advantage of the hotel shuttle to the airport which is only 10 minutes away. Our room rate was around $80 and we consider it a bargain. We went to Newport on the Levee in search of a restaurant. We selected BRIO Tuscan Grill and were pleased with the food and service. Other area attractions are the Aquarium and Hofbrau Haus.
Day 2 Thursday May 19, 2005 Cincinnati-Las Vegas
Due to a missed connection our day in Vegas is going to be cut short. After arriving around 2:30 PM we took a cab to the Las Vegas Hilton where we were greeted by Tom Williams, our Trafalgar Tour Guide. Our hotel was nice and appeared to be recently renovated. We were told to have our bags ready in our room at 7:00 AM the next morning for an 8:00 AM departure.
We then decided to try the new Las Vegas Monorail. It has been in operation for a few months (“Some of the time!” according to the locals). Modern rapid transit trains run along the Strip from the Sahara Station at one end to the MGM Grand Station at the other. Other stops include the Las Vegas Hilton, Las Vegas Convention Center, Harrah’s/Imperial Palace, Flamingo/Caesar’s Palace and Bally’s/Paris. One way tickets are $3 and a 24 hr. pass is available for $10. A little walking is necessary to get to and from the Stations, but it’s not too bad.
We went to Mon Ami Gabi in the Paris Hotel for a light lunch as we were meeting friends for dinner in a few hours. Our goal was to see the Monet exhibit at the Bellagio, but we ran out of time. We met our friends at the new Wynn Resort for a drink at 6:30 PM. We were impressed by the Wynn but it’s a little out of our price range. Two drinks were $17! We were told that to play golf you have to be a guest and pay a $500 (That’s right!) green fee. I guess they have to re-coop the $1,000,000 a room cost to build the place. We crossed the strip and had dinner at Cafe Ba-Ba-Reeba!, a Spanish tapas restaurant. It was fun and the wine was great! All kinds of little hour deurves and meat skewers are ordered ala cart.
Day 3 Friday May 20, 2005 Las Vegas-Bryce Canyon
Our day started with luggage inside our room at 7:00 AM, a buffet breakfast at the hotel and boarding the motor coach by 8:00 AM. This would become pretty standard. Upon boarding the motor coach we were introduced to tour rules and etiquette. We had assigned seats that rotated each day. Be on time. No cell phones; a rule that was ignored by a few. Our motor coach driver Fernando Nunez was introduced along with our fellow passengers as we made our way through the Virgin River Gorge separating Nevada and Utah. We had people from Australia, Great Britain, Canada, Florida and California, etc. for a total of 51 passengers. A combination bathroom/snack break was taken in St. George, Utah. Most of our stops were at strip malls containing large grocery stores and fast food outlets. This seemed to satisfy all of the diverse needs of our fellow passengers. At this particular stop we were advised that food facilities at Zion were limited and to pick-up something for lunch.
Our next stop was at Zion National Park Lodge for lunch. The park lodge is in the middle of Zion Canyon and the view is breathtaking. Zion is like the Grand Canyon on a smaller scale, but you are at the bottom instead of the top. Our stop here was for 1-1/2 hours, allowing us to take a free shuttle bus deeper into the canyon or just enjoy the free time and beautiful surroundings. After leaving the Zion lodge we stopped for photo-ops on both sides of the Zion Tunnel which connects the East and West parts of the park. This gives you a view from near the top of the canyon. A short movie was shown on Bryce Canyon, our next stop.
We were on the road until we arrived at Ruby Inn, near Bryce Canyon, to unload luggage and check-in to our hotel for the night. We then re-boarded the motor coach for a 15-20 minute ride to Bryce Point, the highest overlook into one of the prettiest canyons in the USA. The multi-colored sandstone walls are spectacular and the addition of hoodoo’s; tall, slim, sandstone protrusions into the sky, makes it a photographers dream. Another stop was made at Sunset Point before returning to our hotel. Our room and buffet dinner was OK, but it’s the only game in town.
Day 4 Saturday May 21, 2005 Bryce Canyon-Salt Lake City
Our motor coach ride today started with Bryce Canyon’s Fairyland Point and took us through the heart of Utah. We made morning, lunch and afternoon bathroom stops. We were never on the motor coach for more than a few hours at a time. The motor coach has a small bathroom at the rear for emergencies. We watched a short movie on Mark Twain’s America, a good insight into the early West. Our tour guide explained the history of the Mormons, the primary religious and political force in Utah and a strong influence on the early western settlements. Upon arrival in Salt Lake City we had a short city tour on the motor coach and made a stop at Beehive House, the former home of Brigham Young. Tours were available. We then were scheduled for a tour of Temple Square, the home of the Mormon Temple, Tabernacle, Assembly Hall and several Visitors Centers. The tour was conducted by young girl missionaries who come to Salt Lake City from all over the world. We were informed beforehand about their beliefs and this made the tour very pleasant. No, Mormons do not still practice polygamy, but they also do not drink alcohol, tea or coffee.
We arrived at the Sheraton Hotel and enjoyed the beautiful weather from our terraced room. The hotel does have a bar but there are some weird liquor laws in Utah. The hotel was above average and the restaurant was good. Dinner was a tour menu including beef, chicken and fish, which was good, and breakfast was a buffet.
Day 5 Sunday May 22, 2005 Salt Lake City-Jackson, WY
Today, the slogan was breakfast in Utah, lunch in Idaho and dinner in Wyoming. We passed the Great Salt Lake about 30 minutes North of Salt Lake City. We were surprised that you could not see the lake from the city. The scenery was varied as we saw lakes, mountains, plains and a lot of potato farms. We had french fries for lunch in Idaho but they were the same as at any other McDonalds. I had the “Tillamook Special”! Tom showed a movie: Yellowstone, The First National Park after lunch. We stopped at Teton Pass overlooking Jackson Hole for a photo-op. Someone built a small snowman to commemorate the event. On to Jackson.
We arrived at the Antler Inn in Jackson around 2:50 PM. The hotel was in a great location, just one block from the town square and the main ski lift, but we were a little disappointed with the room. Jackson is a ski resort that has upscale bars, restaurants and shopping. A must visit is the Million Dollar Cowboy Saloon where saddles are used as bar stools. The town square park has antler arches at each corner that are maintained by the local students. A group dinner was scheduled at the Cadillac Restaurant on the town square. The food was excellent and our tour guide bought us welcome drink.
Day 6 Monday May 23, 2005 Jackson, WY-Yellowstone National Park, WY
After a buffet breakfast at the Teton Steakhouse, across the street from our hotel, we boarded the motor coach at 9:30 AM. We made a photo stop at the entrance to Grand Teton Nation Park. What a beautiful view! We were on the eastern side of the Teton Range. The lack of foothills makes these mountains majestic and some of the most photographed in the USA. We stopped at the Visitors Center, Jenny Lake and continued to Jackson Lake for a 1-1/2 hour lunch stop. The lodge at Jackson Lake is beautiful and had just opened after a winter shutdown. It was on the rear terrace eating our buffalo burgers that we had our first official moose sighting. This park is renowned for its wildlife but we found Yellowstone to be much better. It may have been due to the season.
We then proceeded north to Yellowstone National Park. We entered from the south, passing Lewis Lake and Lewis Falls. The lake was still partly frozen in late May! We then made our first stop in the park at the West Thumb Geyser Basin. We saw mud pots, hot springs and fumaroles that were on the shore of Yellowstone Lake. Wow! No geysers though. Not for long!
We then proceeded to our hotel. We were originally scheduled to stay in Grant Village but our reservations had been changed to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge. This hotel is within view of the North Geyser Basin. It is the newest lodge in the park and was completed around 1999. The main Old Faithful Lodge is closed for renovations after celebrating its 100th birthday. We noticed on a lobby sign that the next eruption of Old Faithful was predicted in about ½ hour. A 5 minute walk got us at the edge of the geyser basin where we saw the entire natural show with another few hundred spectators. Old Faithful actually goes up to 150-180 feet and is not the highest geyser in the park but the most predictable. It erupts every 80 min +/- 10 min. What a sight! We then walked along the basin where we saw a large herd of wild buffalo and pretended we were on the moon. Dinner was order off the menu at the Obsidian Dining Room at the lodge. The food was good but the portions were actually too large.
Day 7 Tuesday May 24, 2005 Yellowstone National Park, WY
No luggage deadline this morning as we were staying for 2 nights. After ordering from the menu breakfast, we boarded the motor coach at 8:30 AM for tour of the park. The only thing I can say is Yellowstone is at the top of my “things to see in your lifetime” list. We made stops at the Mud Volcano Area, Yellowstone Canyon and the Lower Falls, the Upper Falls, Mammoth Hot Springs, Gibbons Falls and the Fountain Paint Pots areas. We saw new forest, old forest, lakes, mountains, meadows, rivers, streams, waterfalls, canyons, geothermal features and wildlife combined with beautiful weather, snow and rain all in one day. The two most impressive stops were the Yellowstone Grand Canyon/Lower Falls and the Fountain Paint Pots. You can really notice the effect of fires in the area but this is nature at work. Dinner was not included this evening and we decided to return to the dining room and split some appetizers.
Day 8 Wednesday May 25, 2005 Yellowstone National Park, WY-Billings, MT
Our motor coach ride this morning was a tame version of Fear Factor. We had to traverse Sylvan Pass to exit the park. A rock slide has completely demolished the old highway in this area. You have to be escorted in single file on a built up dirt road on the side of a mountain for about 2 miles to reach the East park entrance. We made it but not without trips to the restroom on the motor coach for several fellow tourists. We arrived in Cody, WY for lunch and a tour of the Buffalo Bill Museum complex at 11:45 AM. There are actually 5 museums covering Buffalo Bill, art, Indians, guns and history. We went to the Buffalo Bill, art and gun museums and then went to lunch downtown. We watched a movie on Buffalo Bill on our way to Billings, MT. Billings is not a sightseeing destination but a convenient place to stop. We stayed at the Sheraton Billings and it was nice.
Day 9 Thursday May 26, 2005 Billings, MT-Rapid City, SD
After breakfast we boarded the motor coach and after a one hour ride we were at Little Big Horn Monument. This name is more politically correct that the site of Custer’s Last Stand. We were impressed with the battlefield, especially the more recent Indian memorial dedicated to the Native Americans who perished. An Indian casino at the entrance stood as a reminder of the triumph. After re-boarding the motor coach we watched a short movie titled Last Stand at Little Big Horn. Today we are having breakfast in Montana, lunch in Wyoming and dinner in South Dakota.
We arrived in Deadwood, SD around 3:00 PM. Deadwood is an interesting collection of casinos, bars and gift shops arranged to look like the old gold mining town of the late 1800’s. After exploring the town and playing a few games we boarded a local tour bus for a ride to Tatanka, a museum dedicated to the buffalo. It is a private venture financed by Kevin Kostner and has several exhibits from “Dances with Wolves”. An interpretive outdoor sculpture depicting a “buffalo jump” is quite impressive.
Our hotel for the next two nights was the Radisson, Rapid City. This was a very good hotel with an excellent restaurant.
Day 10 Friday May 27, 2005 Rapid City, SD
Rapid City is adjacent to the Black Hills, just west of the Badlands. We spent the day visiting two of the most magnificent sculptures in the USA. We first went to the Crazy Horse Memorial. This partially finished carved mountainside is a private venture by Korczak Ziolkowski and his family done at the request of the Lakota Sioux Indians. When finished it will be 563 ft tall and 641 ft long. Even though it is only 20-30 per cent complete it is already impressive. I don’t believe I’ll live long enough to see the final work. On the same grounds is the American Indian Museum, a fine destination on its own.
Then we went to Mount Rushmore. What can I say other that I was standing on the Presidential Trail less than a few hundred yards from the base of an American icon. It’s interesting to hear the story about how the presidents were chosen but it ultimately was the choice of the sculpturer, Gutsen Borghlum. Visions of Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint danced in my head and I had lunch in the same cafeteria where “North by Northwest” was filmed. If you ever see the movie, watch the little boy in the restaurant. He will surprise you. The gift shop here is very good. By the way, Rushmore was the name of a New York man accompanying explorers to this area. He was so impressed with the massive granite mountains and cliffs that they named one after him.
The only tour option was offered today. For $25 you could visit Bear Country and see the lighting of Mt Rushmore at night. We purchased the option with our AAA tour vouchers and were not disappointed. Bear country was great. It was a part motor coach, part walking, tour that brought you up close and personal with indigenous wildlife of the West. We saw elk, deer, moose, buffalo, wolves, mountain goats, mountain sheep, coyotes and bears in an open air drive-through environment. After the drive there is a walk-through museum where all of the baby animals are kept. Don’t miss the baby bears!
We returned to our hotel, walked around Rapid City for a short time, had dinner and got ready for the night lighting ceremony at Mt. Rushmore. The ceremony was good. After a 15 minute talk by a ranger a movie on the presidents was shown. At 9:30 PM the lights were turned on illuminating the carving at night. It was worth seeing. A flag retiring ceremony is then held with all veterans in attendance invited to participate.
Day 11 Saturday May 28, 2005 Rapid City, SD-Denver
Today it is breakfast in South Dakota, lunch in Wyoming and dinner in Colorado. What a surprise when we were treated to the movie “North by Northwest” on our motor coach ride through the Black Hills. This was a long day on the motor coach, around 400 miles, and pretty uneventful except for the scenery. The Black Hills gave way to the plains of Wyoming and Colorado. We did see the “antelope play” several times in Wyoming.
Our arrival in Denver was bittersweet. Western Frontiers was the front end of the 14 day Scenic Parks tour. Most of our fellow passengers were continuing on to Arches, Mesa Verde, the Grand Canyon and back to Vegas. There were eight of us stopping here. Seven more were boarding. A farewell dinner was held at our hotel that evening where we toasted Tom and Fernando and all of our fellow tourists. We were given a quiz for a contest that evening. How many miles were put on the motor coach odometer? To quote one the passengers “That’s a long way!” to which Fernando replied “Yes, but it’s not far!”
Day 12 Sunday May 29, 2005 Denver-Cincinnati-Louisville
We had breakfast said our final goodbyes to the departing motor coach. We had tour transfers to the Denver airport which was a good deal. Our trip home was un-eventful
We really enjoyed the tour. I would rate it 4 out of 5 stars. The narratives by the tour guide added great insight into the history and customs of the areas. Our driver made us feel completely at ease. Our fellow tourists were prompt, cheerful and courteous. I would recommend this tour for anyone wanting to see beautiful scenery with a little history of the West. The book rate of $1600 per person is more than fair consider all of the amenities and the current cost of fuel.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
Tour type: Group
Tour format: Bus
Tour length: Over a Week
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dj_aaa_ky
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