Old West Trail

Day # 1 – Arrivals Welcome to the Old West.
Arriving passengers will be met at Denver International Airport and transported to our hotel in the foothills of the Rockies. We’ll enjoy a festive welcome dinner to get acquainted with our fellow sojourners and learn about the adventure ahead. Overnight: Red Lion Inn Southeast or similar, Denver, CO. (D)

Day # 2 – Fort Laramie / Oregon Trail
The trail leads to Fort Laramie today as we tour the best-known milepost on the Oregon Trail. Wagon wheel ruts are still visible in nearby Guernsey, mute testimony to the thousands of emigrants who carried their hopes and ambitions westward over a hundred years ago. The living history exhibits and interpretive tour of the fort provide a deeper understanding of both the westward expansion movement and the Native Americans who staked their lives on preventing it. Tonight’s dinner is an authentic Oregon Trail cookout served in the shadow of one of the trail’s most distinguished landmarks, Chimney Rock. We’ll sing songs around the campfire and reflect on the spirit of the pioneers who passed this way on their westward journey. Overnight: Hampton Inn or similar, Scottsbluff, NE. (B, D)

Day # 3 – Fort Robinson and The Fur Trade era
This morning we head toward the Black Hills, the sacred Paha Sapa of the Sioux. On the way we’ll visit Fort Robinson, a strategically located military and Indian agency during the final Indian Wars, where Crazy Horse breathed his last. We’ll have lunch in the “commissary” (our first opportunity to savor buffalo burgers) and explore the fort’s historic points of interest. Before leaving Nebraska we’ll also pay a visit to the outstanding Museum of the Fur Trade which explains the importance and influence of this trade on the area. After settling in to our home for the next two nights in Rapid City, we’ll attend the awe-inspiring evening lighting ceremony at Mount Rushmore, the Shrine of Democracy. Overnight: Howard Johnson’s or similar, Rapid City, SD. (B)

Day # 4 – Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse, Custer State Park
Today we’ll visit the Stav Kirke, an exact replica of an 800-year-old church in Borgund, Norway, before entering the Black Hills National Forest (which encompasses over 1.2 million acres of western South Dakota). There we’ll visit Mount Rushmore again for daytime photos, and “dine with the Presidents”. Our afternoon drive will bring us to Crazy Horse Monument, the still-unfinished mountain carving dedicated to Native Americans, and Custer State Park, one of the largest state parks in the country, where something special is awaiting us: an open-air jeep ride through scenic Custer State Park in search of the buffalo and other wildlife that roam free in the Hills. Dinner tonight is at the State Game Lodge, summer White House to two US Presidents – where we’ll dine appropriately on buffalo steak! Overnight: Howard Johnson’s or similar, Rapid City, SD. (B, D)

Day # 5 – Historic Deadwood
The Black Hills provided the setting for the last great gold rush in America. Today we’ll explore that mining heritage with a visit to the rich and roistering gold camp of Deadwood. Legalized gaming has returned to the storied gulch where the likes of Wild Bill Hickock, Calamity Jane and Poker Alice once walked. We’ll have time to try our luck at the tables, as well as tour historic Boot Hill where the legends now rest. Tatanka: Story of the Bison depicts the story of bison and man through interactive exhibits. The centerpiece of Tatanka: Story of the Bison is a larger-than-life bronze sculpture featuring 14 bison being pursued by 3 Native American riders. We’ll end our day in the old west town of Sheridan, Wyoming at the Holiday Inn or similar. (B)

Day # 6 – Little Big Horn Battlefield /National Historic Trails Interpretive Center
Today’s trail leads to the Little Big Horn National Historic Battlefield, site of the famous confrontation between Crazy Horse and the egotistical Lt. Colonel George Armstrong Custer. The town of Casper was named for the fort which was built to protect the Platte River Bridge and most travelers to California and Oregon from the 1840s through the 1860s traveled past this location and used the crossing. We’ll tour the outstanding National Historic Trails Interpretive Center. Tonight we’ll celebrate our Old West adventure and new-found friends at a festive farewell dinner. Overnight: BW Ramkota or similiar. Casper, WY. (B,D)

Day # 7 – Airport Transfers
Sadly we bid a fond farewell to our Old West adventure as we return to Denver for afternoon departures. (B)