The Awe-Inspiring National Parks

Day 1 London – Denver
Titan’s VIP Home Departure Service® transports you from your front door to London Heathrow Airport in time for a direct, scheduled British Airways flight to Denver. On arrival, we transfer to our hotel, the Sheraton Downtown (2013), the Holiday Inn Select Cherry Creek (2013/2014) or the Crowne Plaza (2014).

Day 2 Denver
Modern and vibrant, set against a stunning Rocky Mountain backdrop, Denver makes a fine introduction to the American West. A brief orientation tour includes a visit to the gold-domed State Capitol building, one of the steps of which is exactly a mile above sea level, earning Denver its ‘Mile High City’ moniker. The remainder of the day is at leisure for relaxation or independent exploration – perhaps to learn more about Denver’s gold rush-era heritage at Larimer Square and the Historic Lower Downtown District, or wander around the excellent shops of the 16th Street Mall.

Day 3 Rocky Mountain National Park – Cheyenne
North of Denver, the summer resort of Estes Park is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, with its towering, snow-streaked peaks reflected in still blue alpine lakes. After some time to appreciate the magnificent scenery, we continue to Cheyenne, capital of Wyoming, named for the Native American people who occupied this region in times past. Our hotel is the Little America or Holiday Inn (2013 only).

Day 4 Fort Laramie – Rapid City
Fort Laramie is a site of exceptional historical significance, a 19th century fur trading station which was acquired by the US Army in 1849 to protect and supply western emigrants. It took on a gradually more important role in settling violent disputes between whites (often gold prospectors) and Native Americans, giving its name to two treaties, in 1851 and 1868. Following a visit, we leave Wyoming for South Dakota and Rapid City, the historic freight centre of the gold rush attractively situated at the foot of the Black Hills. Our base for two nights in Rapid City is the Adoba Eco Hotel.

Day 5 Mount Rushmore – Crazy Horse
One of the world’s most impressive artistic achievements and an icon of the American West is Mount Rushmore, where the granite-carved, 18m-tall faces of former persidents Washington, Jefferson, Roosevelt and Lincoln look serenely on. This was the 14-year project of 400 sculptors under the direction of Gutzon Borglum, concluding in 1941.
An optional visit may be made to Borglum Historical Centre in Keystone, which reveals more about the man who dedicated the final years of his life to this grand endeavour, before we visit the monument itself, which so memorably featured in the climatic chase scene of Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest.
The other great monument of the western United States occupies our afternoon. A work in progress since 1948, the Crazy Horse Mountain Memorial is history in the making; the largest sculptural undertaking ever, on a scale exceeding event that of the Great Pyramid. This depiction of Sioux leader Crazy Horse, with arm outstretched illustrating the phrase “My lands are where my dead lie buried”, a tribute to the Native American, will, when complete, measure 195m in diameter by 172m high.

Day 6 Devils Tower – Sheridan
Returning to Wyoming, we visit Devil’s Tower. This bizarre rock formation, rising dramatically above the Belle Fourche River, which has long played an important role in the legend and folklore of Native Americans (calling it, amongst other names, ‘bear’s tipi’), was elevated to the status of National Monument – the very first – by Theodore Roosevelt in 1906. It is perhaps just as famous as the site of the landing spaceship in Steven Spielberg’s Close Encounters of the Third Kind. Then, we travel onwards to Sheridan, a pleasant town which owes its prominence to a history of trapping, ranching, mining and railroad building. Our hotel is the Holiday Inn.

Day 7-8 Yellowstone National Park
Our journey westward continues to the town of Cody, named for William F Cody, better known as the pioneering ‘wild west’ showman Buffalo Bill. We stop for lunch and an optional visit to the Buffalo Bill Historical Centre, which details his life as a Pony Express rider, civil war soldier, hunter and impresario in engaging fashion, en route to Yellowstone.
Considered by many authorities to be the world’s foremost natural preserve, Yellowstone National Park is quite unforgettable. This high plateau, surrounded by higher mountains, almost 9,000km² in area and straddling the border of three states, is packed with natural wonders – half of the world’s geothermal features (including the iconic ‘Old Faithful’ geyser) may be found here, along with hundreds of documented species of mammals, birds, fish and reptiles, many endangered and found here in greater abundance than anywhere else.
Our hotel, the Gray Wolf Inn, is perfectly located for exploring this amazing region in the company of an expert local guide. We’ll appreciate the enchanting mountains and waterfalls, marvel at the volcanic ‘sideshows’ and try to shoot the perfect picture of the park’s ‘megafauna’ – characterful wildlife including grizzly bears, wolves and herds of bison.

Day 9 Grand Teton National Park – Jackson Hole
A further feast of sightseeing awaits today, as we travel south through Grand Teton National Park, a 1,300km reserve renowned for the tranquil majesty of the snow-capped Teton Range, rising abruptly without foothills. The valley town of Jackson Hole offers a friendly welcome and a comfortable stay at the 49er Inn.

Day 10 Salt Lake City
South of Wyoming is Utah and Salt Lake City, perhaps best known as the headquarters of the Mormon Church. Mormon pioneers, fleeing persecution in Illinois, settled here more than 150 years ago and helped build an attractive city with much to offer the modern-day traveller. After a brief orientation tour, we check in at the Red Lion Hotel.

Day 11 Canyonlands National Park – Arches National Park – Moab
Visits to two remarkable national parks comprise a long but rewarding day. As its name suggests, Canyonlands National Park presents a richly coloured landscape of canyons, mesas and buttes, carved by the Green and Colorado rivers and adorned with petroglyphs by the Ancestral Puebloan Indians. And Arches National Park is aptly named too, famed for its preservation of over 2,000 natural sandstone arches, including the beautiful Delicate Arch. We overnight at Moab, a short distance away, at the Best Western Greenwell Inn.

Day 12 Bryce Canyon National Park
Highlight follows highlight on a tour like this, and today is no different, dedicated as it is to Bryce Canyon National Park, named for just one of many canyons which form a series of magnificent horseshoe-shaped natural amphitheatres on the edge of the Paunsaugunt Plateau. Erosion has created thousands of subtly and beautifully coloured limestone spires, fins, arches and mazes. Our hotel is the Best Western Ruby Inn.

Day 13 Zion National Park
Zion National Park is another renowned for its soaring monoliths and echoing canyons, its enchanting waterfalls and rock colours, its proliferous wildlife and Native American heritage. We spend some time in contemplation of its quiet grandeur and natural marvels including the ‘hanging gardens’ (rock walls bedecked in summer months with flowers) before returning to Bryce Canyon and the Best Western.

Day 14 Grand Canyon National Park
Today’s destination is an undoubted wonder of the natural world. The Grand Canyon, a colossal, steep-sided gorge carved by the Colorado River, now a tiny silver ribbon a mile below, truly inspires with panoramic views of outstanding beauty from the east and south rims. We will be staying at the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel in Williams.

Day 15 Grand Canyon – Sedona – Scottsdale
There is time at leisure this morning to enjoy an optional helicopter or fixed wing flight over the Grand Canyon, viewing this extraordinary phenomenon from a different point of view, before we depart south through Navajo country to Sedona, with its breathtaking red rock vistas, and on to Scottsdale, via the ancient five-storey Native American cliff dwelling known as Montezuma Castle.
At the heart of the ‘Valley of the Sun’ and the Sonoran Desert, noted for its spectacular sunsets and indigo skies, towering cacti and dramatic rock formations, the city of Scottsdale could hardly be more memorably situated. There is time to discover its thriving artistic and cultural community, exploring the shops and galleries from our centrally located hotel, the Hilton Garden Inn.

Day 16 Phoenix -In flight
Today we transfer to Phoenix Airport for our direct scheduled British Airways flight to London Heathrow Airport. Extend your stay – call for details.

Day 17 London
On arrival at London Heathrow Airport, members of our airport team greet you and show you to your VIP Home Departure vehicle which will waiting to take you home to your own front door.

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