Great Parks, Ghost Towns and Sedona’s Red Rocks

Arrive in exciting Las Vegas, America’s entertainment capital. You will overnight at the center of the glittering “Fremont Street Experience.” Meet your Tour Manager at 6:00 p.m. for a welcome dinner. Meal: D

Today, head for the unique landscape of Death Valley National Park. Here, old tales of prospectors with burros, massive wagons pulled by 20-mule teams and long-deserted mines continue to fascinate. Stop at Badwater Basin, the lowest point in the Western Hemisphere, Devil’s Golf Course with its jagged saline formations and Zabriskie Point for panoramic views of the park’s colored badlands, salt flats and distant peaks. Next, visit the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and the ruins of the Harmony Borax Works before checking in for a two-night stay. Meals: B, D

Begin the day by returning briefly to Nevada to explore the huge outdoor sculptures created by Belgian artists at the Goldwell Open Air Museum. Then visit the once ‘rip-roaring’ gold mining community of Rhyolite, and authentic ghost town. Back in Death Valley, head to the Stovepipe Wells area where you can take a walk on the extensive Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Then make a stop at the Salt Creek Interpretive Trail before returning to the lodge. Meals: B, L

Leaving the park this morning, pass the dry Owens Lake which was drained to provide a water supply for the City of Los Angeles and come to Manzanar National Historic Site. This is an intensely moving and heartbreaking reminder of the remote internment camps created to house Japanese-Americans during the dark days of World War II. Later, visit the funky but highly photogenic old ghost town of Randsburg before continuing to Barstow for an overnight stay. Meal: B

On historic Highway 66 you will stop in Oatman, Arizona, the colorful ghost town and mining camp where ‘wild’ burros, descendants of those left behind by miners, greet tourists on Main Street. There are numerous gift, antique and craft shops, saloons and the historic Oatman Hotel to explore. Also stop in Seligman, “The Birthplace of Historic Route 66,” featuring 1950s-era stores and restaurants, including the Roadkill Café. Meal: B

Today, come to the South Rim of the magnificent Grand Canyon National Park. Truly one of the world’s great spectacles, you will travel along the rim with stops at several scenic overlooks, including Mather Point, Grand View Point and Desert View. Later, explore the splendid prehistoric ruins at Wupatki National Monument, the remains of a complex thought to have been occupied by ancestors of the modern-day Hopi Tribe. Then, come to the heart of Sedona’s renowned Red Rocks Country. Meals: B, D

This morning, a guided “Red Rocks Jeep Tour” takes you into Sedona’s enchanting backcountry where natural wonders include dramatic cliffs, towers, monoliths and mesas of bright red sandstone in fantastically carved shapes. Stop at the historic copper mining ghost town of Jerome before boarding your first-class car on the Verde Canyon Railroad, for a unique 40-mile rail excursion through a beautiful protected wilderness abundant in bald eagles, great blue herons, deer and javelinas. Tonight, enjoy a fun-filled chuckwagon supper and live Western show at the Blazin’ M Ranch, featuring such old favorites as Cool Water, Ghost Riders, and Tumblin’ Tumbleweed. Meals: B, D

A narrated Trolley Tour of Sedona includes a stop at the inspiring Chapel of the Holy Cross, overlooking the town and neighboring red rocks. A visit to the Tlaquepaque arts and crafts complex is followed by a stop in the downtown area. The afternoon begins with a scenic drive through splendid Oak Creek Canyon, before continuing to Laughlin, Nevada’s casino resort center on the banks of the Colorado River. Meals: B, D

Depart for Las Vegas McCarran International Airport on a group transfer flights out after 1:00 p.m. Meal: B