Southwest National Parks Explorer
40's - 50's and 60s+ Singles Vacations
April 6 - 13, 2019
$2557*
Southwest National Parks Explorer Singles Vacation Daily Itinerary
Vacation Day 1 - Albuquerque Sunport
Upon arrival at the Albuquerque airport (flying home from Phoenix) make your way to the group's hotel, the Holiday Inn Express for one night’s lodging. Tonight you will meet your Singles Host in the hotel lobby for a meet and greet and our Welcome dinner. Arrive early and visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Vacation Day 2 - Gallup, NM - Window Rock, AZ - Kayenta, AZ
After breakfast we board our motor coach and hit the road towards the historic Route 66 and Gallup, New Mexico. As we enter the gateway to Indian land we will stop in Window Rock, AZ, a small city that serves as the seat of government and capital of the Navajo Nation. At the Navajo Nation Museum, learn about the colorful and unique history of the Navajo people via various exhibits and an interpretive video. The museum also has a wonderful gift shop that houses various books about Navajo culture, 
jewelry, and other fine collections.
Next stop is Toadlena Trading Post, which operates in the same way trading posts have since the 1870s -directly with the weaver and her family. Toadlena Trading Post is a busy place that offers a glimpse into the past, maintaining a lifestyle that the Navajo and the traders have played out for over 100 years—nurturing a centuries-old weaving tradition to continue into the future. Try your hand at carding and spinning wool with a weaver.
Are you ready to stand in 4 states at the same time? Four Corners Monument is the only place in the United States where four states intersect: Arizona, New Mexico, Utah and Colorado. You can stand on that spot and truly be in four states at one time.
Overnight in Kayenta, AZ located in the Navajo County.
Vacation Day 3 - Monument Valley - By Horse or By Jeep
Today we spend all day visiting the famous Monument Valley Park, a red-sand desert region on the Arizona-Utah border. The park, an iconic symbol of the American West is frequently used as a filming location for Western movies. The valley is host to towering sandstone rock formations that have been sculpted over time and soar 400 to 1,000 feet above the valley floor. Combined with the surrounding mesas, buttes, and desert environment, it truly is one of the natural wonders of the world.
Enjoy a cookout lunch in the Valley and choose to tour Monument Valley by jeep or horseback with Navajo guides.
1) Take a guided jeep ride in Monument Valley that includes different aspects of Navajo culture. Enjoy the bumpy bliss of traveling to remote locations only accessible via a guide; the tales of history and Native American myth our guide shares with us along the tour; seeing the most beautiful and iconic parks in the country. You'll see a lot in a little time, and take home memories of the iconic West, that of the silver screen, and of sacred lands.
2) Famous actors and actresses rode horseback over the trails here, as they filmed classic westerns. Now you can ride the same trails as we participate in a guided horseback ride. There is no other place where you can experience a ride like this.The horse is an important, integral aspect of the Navajo culture and when you are riding you are directly participating in their cultural experience. The horseback tour is good for beginner, intermediate and advanced riders.
Overnight in Chinle, located in Northeast Arizona and adjacent to the Canyon de Chelly National Monument.
Vacation Day 4 - Canyon de Chelly
We wake up today at Canyon de Chelly National Park and monument, located in northeastern Arizona, completely on the tribal lands of the Navajo Nation. The park is considered one of the longest inhabited landscapes in the northwestern hemisphere with more than 4,000 years of occupation. It has ruins of indigenous tribes including Navajo and Pueblo Peoples and still houses about 40 residents within the canyons.There are over 2700 archaeological sites within the many canyons of Canyon de Chelly but only 13 of the 700 standing ruins have been stabilized, re-enforced, or protected from degradation.
After breakfast we’ll meet for our jeep tour that will take us back to Anasazi times. The Anasazi's inhabited the canyon from 2500 B.C.E. to 1300 A.D and were the first people of the canyon. Around the 1200’s they migrated from the canyon; throughout the southwest they left behind dwellings, handmade tools and wares. During our tour we 
will learn about the people and the events that went on in Canyon de Chelly. View the ruins of the early people, and admire their beautiful artwork in the forms of pictographs and petroglyphs.
This afternoon enjoy a very different type of scenery during a visit to the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest. The Petrified Forest is known for its fossils, especially fallen trees that lived in the Late Triassic Period, about 225 million years ago. The sediments containing the fossil logs are part of the widespread and colorful Chinle Formation, from which the Painted Desert is named.
Overnight in Flagstaff, AZ, surrounded by mountains, desert and Ponderosa pine forests.
Vacation Day 5 - Tusayan, AZ
At 1.6 million acres the Kaibab National Forest borders both the north and south rims of the Grand Canyon. Today we enjoy a beautiful drive through the Forest with stops at Sunset Crater (extinct volcano) and Wupatki National Monument (Prehistoric Pueblo dwellings) on our way to the big one – Grand Canyon National Park!
Sunset Crater will give us insight into what the earth was like in the last millennium. The lava flows and cinder rocks are frozen in time, appearing red and clear as if they had cooled down just last week instead of hundreds of years ago. Amidst the hardened lava, wildflowers and trees spout up, providing a gentle, colorful contrast to the powerful strength of the volcano.
Well-preserved rock-formed Pueblo dwellings in the Wupatki National Monument are evidence of an ancient civilization. Ancient pueblos dot red-rock outcroppings across miles of prairie. Where food and water seem impossible to find, people built pueblos, raised families, farmed, traded, and thrived. The pueblos all have a distinctive deep red color and were made from thin, flat blocks of the local Moenkopi sandstone.
Upon arrival at the Grand Canyon our tour leader will make sure we all understand how to use the free shuttles at the Canyon. Tonight let's enjoy the sunset.
Overnight in Tusayan, AZ, located at the South Rim entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park. Tusayan is a tiny town where everything is just a several-minute walk away.
Vacation Day 6 - Grand Canyon
Visit the Grand Canyon ALL DAY at your own pace using the Grand Canyon National Park's shuttle buses in and around the South Rim village! One of the Canyon shuttles depart from our hotel and takes you directly to the Visitor Center in the Park. Come and go as you please. The entire route roundtrip is about 40 minutes with the first bus leaving Tusayan at 8:00am and the last bus departs the Vistor Center at 9:30pm.
Kaibab Rim Route (Orange route) - the shuttle is about 50-minutes roundtrip if you don't get off the bus. Rim route stops include Grand Canyon Visitor Center, Mather Point and Yavapai Point Geology Museum.
Hermits Rest Route (Red Route): Explore this less-traveled route on the South Rim's western end as Hermit Road follows the rim for 8 miles with scenic overlooks.Westbound stops include Village Route Transfer, Trailview Overlook, Maricopa Point, Powell Point, Hopi Point, Mojave Point, The Abyss, Monument Creek Vista and Pima Point. Eastbound stops include Hermits Rest, Pima Point, Mojave Point, Powell Point and Village Route Transfer.
So get up early and start exploring. There are also lots of optionals activities that you can also check-out: Helicopter Rides, IMAX Theater, Mule Ride on the Bright Angel Trail.
Overnight in Tusayan, AZ
Vacation Day 7 - Oak Creek Canyon - Sedona - Cave Creek - Phoenix
We’ll travel through the scenic Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona today. After breakfast we drive south, past Flagstaff, onto Arizona State Route 89A, descending through a breathtaking series of switchbacks into a scenic, smaller cousin of the Grand Canyon. Known for colorful rocks and unique formations, Oak Creek Canyon is famous the world around for its spectacular scenery. Once we've snaked our way down the switchbacks, SR 89A winds a lazy course down the length of Oak Creek Canyon to Sedona. It's actually possible to enjoy the scenery here without leaving our bus, so keep your camera ready.
Go off road 4-wheeling, choose mild to wild in Sedona. Surrounded by red-rock buttes, steep canyon walls and pine forests. Jump in a jeep and experience a thrilling adventure and spectacular scenery beyond words to describe. Our colorful Western Guides will show us the inner sanctuaries and secrets of the magical, mystical lands of Sedona – a place of peace for your soul, and joy for your heart. Time for shopping and food in Uptown Sedona, dense with New Age boutiques, souvenir shops and art galleries.
Our final stop is in Cave Creek, Arizona for our farewell dinner, great music and a dang’ good time. Hitch yer hat, hang yer hoss and kick back to enjoy some good times eatin’, drinkin’ and Friday night bull riding session’.
Overnight in Phoenix tonight.
Vacation Day 8 - Phoenix, Arizona
After a final breakfast we have to say goodbye to all our new single travel friends as our vacation comes to an end and we take the hotel shuttle to Sky Harbor airport and our flights home. Leave early or stay and soak up a few extra AZ rays.
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* All Taxes and Surcharges
*The price per person is for a double room. Free roommate matching is available on all our vacations, so there is never a need to pay a "single supplement". If you wish to room alone it is an additional $850 * Airfare |
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