A fascinating 7 day tour of the Colorado rockies. Ride the Durango & Silverton narrow gauge railroad, visit the Colorado Railroad Museum, see Mesa Verde National park and much, much more!

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• Highlights and Inclusions
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Durango • Mesa Verde • Grand Junction



Call 877-929-7245 for air and rail fares and schedules
from your city to and from Chicago.

• 2600 miles of comfortable, relaxed rail travel on double-decker Amtrak Superliners across the Great Plains and through the heart of the majestic Colorado Rockies.
• Two days in charming Durango. Ride the famous Durango and Silverton Scenic Rail Road’s steam-powered excursion train. Stay at the Strater Hotel, an exquisite hostelry authentically restored to its 1890's Victorian elegance.
• A day at Mesa Verde National Park. See hundreds of the world’s largest and best cliff dwellings, ruins that date from the 1200s.
• Visit the Colorado National Monument, a series of giant sandstone monoliths, and the spectacular Black Canyon of the Gunnison, one of the nation’s newest National Parks.

• Round-trip transportation by deluxe motor coach and rail.
• First class hotel accommodations for four nights.
• 13 meals.
• Extensive sightseeing and Admission to all included attractions.
• Baggage handling, taxes, tips, etc.
• Services of a professional America by Rail Tour Director.

Day 1: En Route
All Colorado by Rail tour members will meet the Tour Director in Chicago’s Union Station at 12:30 p.m. At 1:30 they’ll prepare to board the famous California Zephyr. Departure is at 2:00. The Zephyr features the double-decker Superliner equipment. Relax in your comfortable reclining coach seat with leg rest. Roomettes or upgraded Bedrooms are available at an additional cost. All dining car meals are included. After settling in, you may want to go the glass-walled sightseer lounge car with comfortable seats that swivel. Delicious, full-course dining car meals are included.

Day 2: En Route
The Zephyr will pull out of Denver this morning and begin its climb over the majestic Colorado Rockies. Throughout the day the train will wind around sharp curves and through numerous tunnels. Be sure to look down at fast flowing streams winding through valleys far below. The breathtaking mountain vistas will continue until late afternoon when you arrive in Grand Junction, Colorado.

Grand Junction is a modern city of 28,000 located on the western slopes of the mountains. Upon your arrival, you'll travel the short distance to the attractive Grand Vista Hotel. (B, L)

Day 3: Durango
A Continental Breakfast is included. Your day begins this morning when you travel by motor coach the short distance to the famous Colorado National Monument. The Monument is seamed with canyons more than a thousand feet deep and can be viewed from overlooks along Rim Rock Drive which skirts the canyon rims. Isolated monoliths include Independence Rock, Balanced Rock, Coke Ovens and Pipe Organ.

By late afternoon you will arrive in the charming city of Durango, commercial center for the ranching and mining enterprises of southwest Colorado and gateway to the picturesque San Juan Mountains. The city thrived as a railroad and mining center in the late 1800s. Much of the downtown area has been restored to its Victorian past. Nowhere is this Victorian restoration more evident than the Strater Hotel, your home of the next two nights. Built in 1882, the Hotel is immaculately restored with authentic Victorian antiques. You’ll enjoy all of the comforts of a modern, deluxe hotel in an atmosphere that reflects an earlier era of US history. Dinner is included this evening in your hotel. (CB, D)

Day 4: Mesa Verde
A full, buffet breakfast is included each morning at the Strater. This morning you'll travel westward to Mesa Verde National Park, one of the Nation’s major archeological preserves.

Many large canyons seam the Mesa Verde area. In the shelter of the hundreds of caves eroded in the cliffs are some of the world’s largest and best preserved cliff dwellings. The cave dwellings were occupied around 1200 A.D. The Ruins Road covers 12 miles and provides a view of about 40 cliff dwellings from canyon rim lookout points. The group will enter some of the outstanding ruins. (B)

Day 5: Durango & Silverton/Black Canyon
A high point of your tour will occur today when you ride on the famous Durango and Silverton Scenic Rail Road. The steam-powered, narrow-gauge train travels through the remote wilderness of the San Juan National Forest, following the winding Animas River through breathtaking mountain scenery. The 45-mile, three-and-a-half hour rail journey will end in Silverton, a typical wild-west mining community with a rather infamous past. There will be time to walk along Blair Street with its false-fronted buildings typical of the Old West and have an “on-your-own” lunch.

After lunch you'll continue northward. At mid afternoon travelers will arrive at the awesome Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The Gunnison River gorge is one of the most amazing geological displays in the West.

You’ll return to the Grand Vista Hotel in Grand Junction for your final night in Colorado. Dinner is included at your hotel. (B, D)

Day 6: En Route
A Continental breakfast this morning in your hotel is included. You’ll transfer to the Amtrak train station in time for the late morning departure of the California Zephyr for Chicago. Relax in your reclining coach seat with leg rest. Sleeping accommodations are available at an additional cost. Enjoy the Sightseer Lounge and other amenities you experienced on your westbound journey. You’ll want to take advantage of the fascinating Colorado Rockies scenery you'll be experiencing throughout this afternoon. How about a card game or two with some of your new-found friends? Or reminisce with fellow tour members about all you saw and experienced the past six days. (CB, L, D)

Day 7: En Route
Your train will roll across Iowa and Illinois before the late afternoon arrival in Chicago. Some tour members will change to trains bound for Midwest, Eastern and Southern home cities. Other may spend the night in Chicago and fly home tomorrow. (B, L)

   

   

   

 Departure Dates:

• May 16 - 22
• August 15 - 21
• September 22 - 28

 Per Person Rates:

• $1695 Price per person (based on double-occupancy)
• Single add $1140

 Per Person Sleeping Accommodation Upgrade Rates:

• Roomette Bedroom $355*
• Upgraded Bedroom $970*