Yellowstone, Dakotas and Badlands - North Central USA 15 Day Tour

Price Per person double occupancy

Dates	Land Only No Transfers
Tours coming for 2023

Price Includes: 13 nights lodging at 2.5 star hotels, breakfast daily, 3 lunches & 4 dinners, full time tour director, all deluxe private transfers throughout, luggage handling, all applicable taxes and sightseeing tours as indicated in itinerary.

Not Included: Roundtrip transportation to Charlotte, NC, 10 lunches & 9 dinners, tips to tour guides, driver, hotel staff of approximately $120, optional travel insurance.

Deposit Required: $300 per person will reserve your place. A $100 service fee will be charged for cancellation at any time in addition to our normal payment and cancellation policy.

Day 1 - INDIANAPOLIS

Early this morning we begin an exciting journey to the central United States. During the next fifteen days we will be seeing some of the country’s most famous attractions! Today we travel through Tennessee and Kentucky en-route to Indiana and our overnight accommodations south of Indianapolis. Passengers also have the choice to meet the group in Indianapolis this evening and avoid the long bus ride.

Day 2 - CHICAGO • SKYDECK CHICAGO • DINNER - OLD FEED MILL RESTAURANT

Today we travel north to the Queen City of the Great Lakes, Chicago. We visit the Skydeck Chicago at Willis Tower (formerly Sears Tower). We’ll take an elevator 1/4 mile into the sky to the 103rd floor of the second tallest building in the western hemisphere for a spectacular skydeck view. We’ll see the Water Tower and the D.L. Moody Bible Institute and church before we depart Chicago. We overnight in the Wisconsin Dells for the next two nights. Dinner tonight is a special treat at the Old Feed Mill Restaurant. (D)

Day 3 - HOUSE ON THE ROCK • WISCONSIN DELLS BOAT TOUR • PAUL BUNYAN’S NORTHWOODS COOK SHANTY

This morning in nearby Spring Green we visit Alex Jordan’s unbelievable House on the Rock. Some folks say it’s bizarre, others call it unique & fascinating. Perched high on a sixty- foot chimney of rock, it overlooks the breathtaking panorama of the valley some 450 feet below. The “House” is the original structure of what is now an extraordinary complex of rooms, streets and gardens. Discover exhibits and collections found nowhere else in the world, including the largest carousel in history, electric symphonies that fill up whole rooms, nostalgic gaslight streets of the 1800’s, and collections of every imaginable kind. This afternoon we enjoy a boat ride through the beautiful Upper Wisconsin Dells. We’ll embark on a scenic journey through majestic sandstone bluffs that cradle the mighty Wisconsin River and hear the legends of brave settlers and fearless Indians. Paul Bunyan’s Cook Shanty has been one of Wisconsin Dells’ dining favorites for over 50 years. Enjoy the family-style, all-you-can-eat dinner setting in the atmosphere of an 1890’s logging camp. (D)

Day 4 - TOUR OF MINNEAPOLIS-ST. PAUL • MALL OF AMERICA

This morning we travel northwest through the beautiful farmlands of Wisconsin to the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul. This afternoon on our city tour we’ll learn why there are two cities here instead of just one. We’ll also discover how these two cities got their names. We’ll visit beautiful Minnehaha Falls and see the beautiful restoration of Harriet Island and hear about its history. This evening we’ll discover and explore the world’s premier retail and entertainment complex, the Mall of America! Here in the world’s largest shopping mall you’ll find over 500 stores in this premier retail and entertainment complex. If you’ve heard fantastic stories about the West Edmonton Mall in Alberta, Canada, this one is even more unbelievable. We spend the night in the Minneapolis area.

Day 5 - CHARLES LINDBERGH HOME • BISMARCK

We depart the Minneapolis area this morning headed for North Dakota. In Little Falls we tour the boyhood home of Charles A. Lindbergh who became famous for his 1927 New York to Paris flight. You will be sure that we are headed west when we enter the wide-open spaces of North Dakota, bound for Bismarck.

Day 6 - CHATEAU DE MORES STATE HISTORIC SITE • LITTLE BIGHORN BATTLEFIELD NATIONAL MONUMENT • BILLINGS

Marquis de Mores, a wealthy Frenchman, established the town of Medora and named it for his wife. He busied himself establishing a stagecoach line and beef packing plant as well as experimenting with refrigerated railroad cars. We will see these old buildings, the ruins of the packing plant, and a 26-room mansion filled with French furnishings. Next we enter the Big Sky Country of Montana. We visit Little Bighorn Battlefield National Monument, the scene of Custer’s “last stand” where Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer and 215 men were killed by Sioux and Cheyenne warriors on June 25, 1876. We continue to Billings, the largest city in Montana, for our overnight.

Day 7 - CODY • LUNCH AT IRMA’S • BUFFALO BILL HISTORICAL CENTER • OLD TRAIL TOWN • RODEO

Today our travels lead us south into the Cowboy State of Wyoming to Cody for a two night stay. We’ll have lunch today at Irma’s located in Buffalo Bill’s original hotel. We visit the Buffalo Bill Historical Center. It includes the Buffalo Bill Museum, with personal belongings of the great showman; Winchester Arms Museum, a complete collection of the Winchester Firearms Company; the Whitney Gallery of Western Art, and the Plains Indian Museum. You’ll agree that this is one of the finest museums of its kind! You’ll also enjoy the Old Trail Town, reconstructed on the site of Old Cody City. Buildings include a saloon, general store, museum, cabins and blacksmith shops. Tonight we attend the Cody Rodeo. (On the September departure, we include Dan Miller's Cowboy Music Revue. (L)

Day 8 - YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK

This morning we travel north to Yellowstone National Park, America’s first and largest National Park. We’ll see Old Faithful, then venture into an area of the park which stands on a broad, elevated plateau 7,800 feet above the level of the enclosed tableland. Visit the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, see plunging waterfalls twice as high as Niagara, and stroll wooden walkways by thermal steam vents, geysers, hot pools, and bubbly paint pots of deep green and blue. We return to Cody by way of Shoshone Canyon with its magnificent breathtaking beauty. Lunch is included today at Old Faithful Lodge. (L)

Day 9 - BIG HORN MOUNTAINS • DEVILS TOWER NATIONAL MONUMENT • RAPID CITY

Today we travel into the Big Horn Mountains, where the land is rich and ideal for the grazing of livestock. For years, rustling and border disputes caused tension in the area. You’ll see cowboys riding the range and perhaps even a chuckwagon or two. Before entering South Dakota we see Devils Tower, the first National Monument set aside for the American people by President Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. This gigantic landmark, a volcanic neck, rises 865 feet from the prairie like a tree stump. This evening we check into our Rapid City hotel for a two-night stay. (D)

Day 10 - BEAR COUNTRY USA • MOUNT RUSHMORE • CRAZY HORSE • BLACK HILLS • DINNER

After breakfast we travel into the Black Hills of South Dakota to visit Bear Country USA, a refuge for bears, wolves, bison, and many other wild animals. Then we continue to Mount Rushmore, where Gutzon Borglum began work on the project in 1927. We experience Mount Rushmore, where the faces of four great presidents, Washington, Jefferson, Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt, stand out on a 6,000 foot mountain. We move on to Crazy Horse, the dream of another man, Korczak Ziolkowski, a sculptor who helped to fashion Mount Rushmore. Though Korczak died in 1982, his wife and family have continued to pursue his dream of carving the likeness of the great Indian Chief Crazy Horse into the mountain. We travel back through the Black Hills to our motel. Tonight you’re in for a real treat as we have a relaxing and special dinner at the K Bar S Lodge (D)

Day 11 - WALL DRUG STORE • BADLANDS • CORN PALACE • SIOUX FALLS

You’ve heard about it and seen signs for it, this morning experience it: Wall Drug! Here the Husteads made a fortune advertising free ice water to tourists beginning in 1936. You’ll have time for a snack or you may just wish to roam the streets of the western railroad town of Wall. Wall is the entrance to the Badlands, a multi-colored wasteland of weirdly formed gullies, canyons, ridges and spires. We’ll make a number of sightseeing and picture stops. The famous Corn Palace is next on our list. The Corn Palace is newly decorated each year with 3,000 bushels of corn, grains and grasses creating scenic murals. We bid farewell to Mitchell and travel to Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Day 12 - PATEE HOUSE MUSEUM • JESSE JAMES HOME • KANSAS CITY

Today our route takes us south through Sioux City and Omaha. Continuing into the fertile plains of Missouri, we make our afternoon stop in the historic town of St. Joseph. Here we’ll explore the Patee House Museum, a three-story museum featuring a collection of western lore, personal items that once belonged to Jesse James, memorabilia of the Pony Express, a huge steam engine, restored western store fronts, and the history of western communication from the telegraph to the telephone. We’ll also tour the home of the infamous Jesse James. The James Home is located directly behind Patee House, and was only two blocks away from where the outlaw Jesse James was gunned down on April 3, 1882, by Bob Ford. The home contains a number of items owned by Jesse James and his family including coffin handles and a pin Jesse James wore in his death photo, as well as numerous photos. We briefly cross into Kansas on our way to Kansas City, Missouri.

Day 13 - HARRY TRUMAN HOME OR MUSEUM • ARABIA STEAMBOAT MUSEUM • ST. LOUIS

This morning in Independence, we visit the Harry Truman Home or Museum. Each site displays artifacts of our 33rd president. We visit the Arabia Steamboat Museum. Built in 1853, the Steamboat Arabia sank in the murky waters of the Missouri River in 1856. In 1989, the steamship and her cargo were rediscovered and resurrected in a massive excavation project. Today we can explore the past through this perfectly preserved time capsule. We travel to the Gateway of the West, St. Louis.

Day 14 - GATEWAY ARCH • LAMBERT’S THROWED ROLLS • NASHVILLE

This morning we marvel at the Gateway Arch where we have tickets for the tram ride to the very crest of the arch where you have a breathtaking view of St. Louis & the Mississippi River Valley. We follow the Mississippi to Sikeston, where an unforgettable meal awaits you at the world famous Lambert’s Throwed Roll Café. Eat all the rolls you can catch, along with heaping helpings of home-cooked vegetables & mouthwatering meats. We cross the Mississippi where it is joined by the Ohio, then continue to the Nashville area for our final overnight stay. (L)

Day 15 - HOME

This morning is a good time to reflect on our 15 day journey. Your visit to the Dakotas and Yellowstone is no longer a dream, it’s a memory that you’ll share for years to come. Passengers have the choice to end their tour in Nashville or make the ride back home to Charlotte, NC.

*The tour itinerary is subject to change or be slightly modified in order to best meet the interests of the group.