2023179 Canyons & National Parks of the Southwest

Day 1

Welcome to Salt Lake City, Utah. Meet your Tour Manager and check into your hotel. This evening enjoy a Welcome Dinner with your traveling companions.

Day 2

Following breakfast, enjoy a panoramic tour of Salt Lake City featuring the city's highlights and learn about it's past and present Mormom history. Travel into Dead Horse Point State Park with its incredible views of the Colorado River as it snakes its way through massive sandstone walls, colorful canyons, mesas and buttes of the area. Continue on to Moab for a two night stay.

Day 3

Today visit Arches National Park containing the largest concentration of stone arches in the world. A local guide shows you the massive sandstone arches and describes the culture of those that have occupied the region. Enjoy lunch before boarding a raft for a float trip on the Colorado River. During the leisurely ride your oarsman will tell tales of the area as you explore river passages with names like Fisher Towers and Professor Valley.

Day 4

A morning scenic drive brings you to impressive Capitol Reef National Park, where white sandstone "domes" cap massive reef-like cliffs. Then, travel along Utah's incredible Highway 12 Scenic Byway as you wind your way though spectacular Escalante-Grand Staircase National Monument.

Day 5

Today, visit Bryce Canyon National Park with spectacular views of the canyons. The Park is named the many canyons that form a series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Erosion has carved colorful limestone into though sands of spires, arches and mazes.

Day 6

Today's highlights include a visit to see the awe-inspiring Zion National Park, where the Virgin River has cut a dramatic rugged gorge through multi-hued sandstone, shale and limestone. Board open-air sightseeing trams offering views of the towering rock walls surrounding this incredible natural wonder. Later enjoy a boat ride on the beautiful blue Lake Powell. Enjoy dinner this evening in the Rainbow Room at the Lake Powell Resort.

Day 7

Today we visit to the 710-feet high Glen Canyon Dam followed by a scenic drive along Vermilion Cliffs National Monument to see the impressive Colorado River Gorge at Navajo Bridge. Overnight in Lake Powell.

Day 8

Today we arrive at Grand Canyon National Park's amazing south rim. World-renowned for its remarkable beauty and diverse range of rock layers, the Grand Canyon offers visitors an unmatched display of scenic wonders and breathtaking views. Later travel to Flagstaff for an overnight.

Day 9

Drive through one of the world's largest concentrations of petrified wood at Petrified Forest National Park and see the multi-hued Badlands or the Painted Desert. Later arrive in Albuquerque and check into your hotel for a three night stay.

Day 10

It's an early morning today as we arrive at the Fiesta Grounds to see the 'mass ascension' of over 500 differently shaped hot air balloons as they lift off at sunrise. Later, enjoy a tour of Albuquerque to learn about the history of the area. Tonight at dusk, the burners of the balloons are ignited again and the evening sky fills with a kaleidoscope of brilliant, luminous color at the Balloon Glow.

Day 11

Visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center today that was designed to preserve and perpetuate Pueblo culture and features original artwork, exhibits and theater presenting the accomplishments of the people of New Mexico. Later, take a thrilling ride aboard the Sandia Peak Aerial Tramway for incredible views of the Rio Grande Valley. Tonight enjoy a farewell dinner hosted by your Tour Manager.

Day 12

Transfer to the Albuquerque's Airport for your flight home filled with memories of the Southwest National Parks and Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta.

B=Breakfast, L=Lunch, D=Dinner