Sights & Sounds of the South
Visit the birthplace of Rock n’ Roll, Memphis, Tennesseee, and toe tap to the sounds in the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’ Branson Missiouri. Absorb the views of New Orleans and indulge in exceptional dining experiences, collectively known as New Orleans Fusion. Black Hills or Gold Hills? None the less we visit the Black Hills touched off by a gold rush when Col. George A. Custer in 1874, discovered gold. Experience Mt. Rushmore and Deadwood in America’s heartland of South Dakota & SO MUCH MORE… September 10, 2012 24 DaysTour Inclusions:
- Transportation by Fully Equipped Motorcoach
- Escorted by Professional Tour Director
- Select Accommodations
- Baggage Handling – 1 suitcase per person
- Carlsbad welcome reception
- 29 meals – 21 Breakfast, 3 Lunch & 5 Dinners
- Santa Fe City Tour
- Riverboat Cruise in San Antonio
- Chimayo Historical Village
- New Orleans City Tour
- King’s Palace Memphis Dinner
- Alamo in San Antonio
- Oak Valley Plantation Tour
- Graceland Platinum Tour
- Country Music Hall of Fame
- Jack Daniel’s Distillery
- Grand Ole Opry Show
- Andy Williams Moon River Theatre & Dinner
- Titanic Museum includes A Warm Welcome & Audio Tour
- Showboat Branson Bell Dinner Cruise
- Shoji Tabuchi Show
- Mt. Ruishmore & Crazy Horse Memorial
Day 1 Okanagan to Pendelton
As we commence our relaxing journey to the Music Capitals of America the first day of our 24 day sightseeing adventure begins. Stops along the way include Moses Lake and Hermiston. Spend your evening relaxing and dreaming of the days to follows…..
Day 2 Pendelton to Salt Lake City, Utah
Enroute to Salt Lake City and travelling a portion of the original Oregno Trail, this incredible journey continues. History abounds as we pass through Boise, Idaho and an area just southwest once known as Ft. Boise. The fort was originally built in the 1840′s by the Hudson’s Bay Co. to compete with Ft Hall in the fur trade industry. Enjoy the scenery as we journey into Utah, passing Great Salt Lake and arriving into Salt Lake City for our nights’ rest.
Day 3 Salt Lake City to St. George, Utah
Our day will be one of awe, as we visit Temple Square. We tour the south visitors centre and the library, a wealth of information documenting the history of the church of the Latter Day Saints. After lunch we continue into the community of Filllmore for a relaxing break. St. George is a popular southwest getaway destination. It also offers some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet including Zion National Park. The Best Western Coral Hills welcomes you for a restful nights stay.
Day 4 St. George to Sedona Arizona
Let your imagination take you away… our stop this morning at Jacob Lake Inn will please all your important senses. The Jacob Inn bakery has been preparing delicious family recipes for cookies, sweet rolls, brownies, and more since 1923… I’ll have some to go please. Enjoy stops at the historic Cameron Trading Post for lunch and Oak Creek Canyon for breathtaking views. The Hampton Inn in Sedona will be our home for the next two nights. Spectacular Sedona often called “Red Rock Country’ is surrounded by red rock monolilths and is nestled between Oak Creek Canyon and Red Rock State Park. Enjoy what Sedona has to offer in its entire splendor.
Day 5 Sedona
Sedona offers a perpetual list of things to do. Take a fun and informative tour on a Sedona Trolley. shop uptown Sedona and visit the “Tiaqupaque Arts & Crafts Village” Enjoy authentic southwestern cruise from one of many patios offering stuffing views of the red rock vistas. You plan your day and make it special!
Day 6 Sedona to Santa Fe, New Mexico
Today we travel to the oldest capital in the United States, Santa Fe, enestablished in 1610. With incomparable sunsets this ancient city is nestled at 7000 ft. in the foothills of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Our journey there is filled with stunning scenery, red rock canyons, and many vistas of natural beauty. This evening immerse yourself into the Santa Fe lifestyle with a festive welcome dinner at the San Francisco Street Bar & Grill. The casual atmostphere, creative artwork, and an old mesquite wood bar resembles Santa Fe at the turn of the centry and a tradiltion not to be missed.
Day 7 Santa Fe
This spectacular day starts with a city tour on a very familiar sight on the streets of Santa Fe, an open air-tram. We visit popular points of interest like the Loretto Chapel, known for its famous ‘miraculous’ staircase. This 8 mile loop covers important historical areas including Canyon Road and its colorful art galleries. Aft the tour we visit the historic village of Chimayo and enjoy a delicious lunch at Ranch de Chimayo. It doesn’t stop here.. after lunch, we visit Santuario de Chimayo and Orego’s Workshop. Your evening at leisure will surely be an enjoyable one after such a lively afternoon.
Day 8 Santa Fe to Carlsbad, New Mexico
After a wonderful breakfast we travel to Lincoln, New Mexico. This beautifully preserved historical town was once the home of “Billy the Kid’ and holds an annual open air enactment of ‘ ‘The Last Escape of Billy the Kid’. Explore the historical sites such as Lincoln Country Courthouse, the Worley Hotel the Tunstall Store. Lunch at the Dolan House restaurant, perhaps? Our afternoon journey through the plains of New Mexico brings us to Carlsbad and our nights’ accommodation at the Best Western Steven Inn. This evening we visit the Carlsbad Caverns to see the bats take flight. This amazing nightly flight of the Mexican free tail bat is an absolute thrill to see. Over 400,000 bats take flight into the night skies building up speed at the mouth of the nature cave before flying overhead to catch their dinner of flying insects.
Day 9 Carlsbad to San Antonio, Texas
Adios New Mexico and Howdy Texas! This incredible journey continuies with a stop in Ft. Stockton and a Texas style lunch in Ozona-Texas, both communities are rich with history. Onto San Antonio and our 2 nights stay at the Holiday Inn Express Riverwalk, originally built as the Bexar County jailhouse in 1878. This culturally rich city offers an abundance of sights, sounds and flavors. San Antonio has retained its sense of history and tradition, while carefully blending in cosmopoliltan progress and truly capturing the spirit of Texas. Enjoy your evening at leisure, perhaps taking a walk along “The Riverwalk”, we are situated just steps away.
Day 10 San Antonio
Originally named Mission San Antonio de Valero, the Alamo served as a home to missionaries and their Indian coverts for nearly 70 years. We visit this highly significant attraction following breakfast. The Alamo was home to both Revolutionaires and Royalists during Mexico’s 10 year struggle for independence. Come relive the events that gave Texas its independence. After lunch we return to the Riverwalk for an opportunity to take a 40 minute narrated riverboat cruise. The afternoon is yours to explore this very vibrant and historically rich city.
Day 11 San Antonio to Lafayette, Louisiana
This is truly an exciting day as we make our way to Lafayette. Our stops in Columbus and Channelview will build the anticipation for what is Canjun in the state of Louisiana. In Lafayette you’ll find a unique cultural eating experience, real Cajun and Creole cooking. From the fresh and spicy to the festivals and celebrations, Lafayette’s lush tropical gardens and antebellum homes will leave you with picturesque memories. Your evening is spent at the Holiday Inn Lafayette.
Day 12 Lafayette to New Orelans, Louisian
Before we depart his fascinating city, we visit the Jean Lafitte Cultural Centre. the centre offers the history of the Acadian people who were expelled from Nova Scotia, beginning in 1755 and resettled in the prairies, bayous & marshes of South Louisiana. Pirateer, Jean Lafitte of whom the centre was named, smuggled goods into the state. This is an absolute must see? Enroute to New Orleans we enjoy a guided tour of the Oak Valley Plantation in Bacherie. Relive the past in one of the most crucial periods in US history. See and hear about the Blue and Gray during those four infamous years called the American Civil War and how this war affected ancestors in Louisiana. The quarter mile long canopy of giant live oak trees accredited for being nearly 3000 years old is a spectacular setting. This afternoon we arrive in one of the oldest cities int he world, “New Orleans”. We make the Inn on Bourbon our home for the next 2 nights.
Day 13 New Orleans
“The City That Time Forgot” Jazz streams out into the moonlight, French doors open to the night breezes, sweet olive scents the air. Nearly there is laughter, a cork popping, and cafe brulet aflame. These are the sights, sounds and surroundings of New Orleans. Enjoy the morning on a fun and informative city & St. Louise cemetery tour. Spend the afternoon at your leisure so you may explore all that New Orleans has to offer, art, music, literature, architectural vignettes and of course, the cruise. Indulge in a fusion of Creole & Canjun cooking, truly an exquisite taste sensation..
Day 14 New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee
Our journey to Memphis takes us through the fertile Mississippi Delta. The route today was the passage for famous entertainers like B.B. King, Bessie Smith and others who escaped the south to make a better life for themselves. Also known as the Blues Highway. The birthplace of Rock n’ Roll and the home of the Blues, Memphis, owns another part of history as well. In the 20th century alone, it’s had three of the largest world markets. These were in spot cotton, hardwood lumber and mules. Enjoy some free time to explore famous Beale Street with a dinner at King’s Palace to follow. This cozy little joint offers a full menu of appetizing southern delicacies, featuring a relaxed evening of local Jazz. Our nights’ accommodation at the ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ takes its cues from the legendary King of Rock’n'Roll, Elvis Presley.
Day 15 Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee
A perfect beginning to another wonderful day. What’s a visit to Memphis without visiting Graceland! Our morning tour of Elvis Presley’s home is one of sheer delight. Follow in the same steps as Elvis himself as you enjoy an audio guided tour featuring commentary and stories by Elvis and his daughter Lisa Marie. You’ll see where Elvis lived and spent time with family and friends. After our lunch at Graceland we journey to Nashville. Let small town hospitality take hold of you in Jackson. We stop at Brook Shaw’s Old Country Store for some southern hospitality. This country store holds a gift shop, an an authentically recreated ice cream parlor, & a fudge shop. Roll up your sleeves and get ready for some Hompin, Stompin fun for our 2 nights stay in Nashville. We stay at the Best Western Opryland.
Day 16 Nashville
Good Morning Music City! You know when you hear a good song and you can’t get it out of your head? Nashville is like that – once you hear it’s song, you’ll never want to leave! So there’s no better way to start this day than a visit to the Country Music Hall of Fame. This is the largest popular music museum in the world. After our museum tour we head south to Lynchburg and the “Jack Daniels Distillery”. Officially registered with the US government in 1866, the Jack Daniel’s Distillery is the oldest registered distillery in the U.S. A fun tour of the distillery alongside a sip or two of world-famous Jack Daniel’s No. 7 whiskey is sure to please. We arrive back to the hotel with plenty of time for dinner before departing for a 5-star performance at the ‘Grand Ole’ Opry’. The Opry country music stage has presented the biggest stars of that genre since 1925. what an eventful day…
Day 17 Nashville to Branson, Missouri
From one music capital to another…today our journey takes us to the ‘Live Music Capital of the World’, Branson. Also rated the No. 1 motor coach destination in the US! This day would not be complete without another chance to pick up that little item you wanted to purchase the first time around… coffee stop at Brook Shaws’s Old Country Store! Our two nights stay at the Best Western Centre Pointe will be the perfect place to relax after the days’ events. The first evening will include dinner at the Andy Williams Moon River Theatre. This dazzling entertainer known as Mr. Moon River has achieved 18 gold and 3 platinum records. Andy started the first non country music & dinner theatre in Brnason and has welcomed Big ticket stars since 1992.
Day 18 Branson
We’ve just reached the tip of the iceberg on this trip.. the Titanic Museum is always humming with excitement! Marvel at the artifact displays, enjoy an audio tour and reflect on what happened that day as the museum pays tribute to the 100 years past since the sinking of the unsinkable Titanic on April 15, 1912. The afternoono will be yours to enjoy the sounds of Branson. All Aboard!
Day 19 Branson to Sioux City, Iowa
Known as the corn state and popular for its corn palaces. Sioux City hosted its first corn palace in 1887, a wooden structure covered in corn and grain. The exterior of the corn palaces are corn murals designed by local artists. The corn murals are replaced each year. Also the home of Jolly Time popcorn! Our evenings stay at the Comfort Inn will be a welcomed retreat in this historical city of nearly 15,000 inhabitants.
Day 20 Sioux City to Deadwood, South Dakota
As we travel across the Great Plains of the Midwest and through the Black Hills of South Dakota, our journey brings us to a historically fascinating place called Deadwood. Although named for the dead tress found in its gulches, it is not to discourage you from exploring in the footsteps of legends. “Wild Bill Hickok” was one of those legends gunned down while holding a poker hand of aces and eights – forever known as the Dead Man’s Hand. Other legends include Calamity Jane, Potato Creek Johnny, Seth Bullock and more. Ride a replica of a San Francisco Trolley while exploring historic main street. Dine in an extravagant era gone by in many of Deadwoods resataurants. Our two nights stay will be at the First Gold Hotel, the site of the first gold discovered in 1875. It’s were Deadwood begins!!
Day 21 Deadwood to Mt. Rushmore
Our day trip will take us to the Black Hills and our first stop at Mt. Rushmore. This $1 million project took 14 years to complete. Mt. Rushmore features the faces of four excalted American Presidents; George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt & Abraham Lincoln. Towering 5,500 foot above sea level, Mt. Rushmore is an awe inspiriting national monument. A visit to the Black Hills is not completed without a visit to the Chief Crazy Horse Monument, the world’s largest mountain carving in the making. This gigantic carving, once completed, will stand 563 feet high and 641 feet long. Enjoy your last evening in Deadwood.
Day 22 Deadwood to Bozeman, Montana
Goodbye Deadwood and hello Bozeman, known as the perfect place to do everything or do nothing at all. Clean air, a moderate climate, outdoor recreation and shopping. Our stops today will include, Gillette, Sheridan and Billings. Take pleasure in all the amentities Bozeman has to offer. Enjoy your restful night at the Wingate by Wyndham.
Day 23 Bozeman to Spokane, Washington
As we travel across Montana we stop for a great lunch in Superior Montana and a leisurely break in historic Wallace, Idaho. Our final night of this delightful journey will be at the Red Lion River Inn. This urban like hideaway nestled along the beautiful north bank of the Spokane River will also be hosting our farewell dinner in the Ripples Riverside Grille and Patio restaurant. This Spokane hot spot will be the ideal place to revisit the highlights of the past 23 days. Bon Appetit!
Day 24 Homeward Bound
Enjoy this last day with new found friends and wonderful memories of this celebrated tour. The ‘Sights & Sounds of the South’ will always be with you.
SEE YOU ON OUR NEXT ADVENTURE!
Departure Date – September 10, 2012
24 Day Tour
- Day 1 Home to Pendelton Or
- Day 2 Pendelton to Salt Lake City, Utah
- Day 3 Salt Lake City to St. George,Utah
- Day 4 St. George to Sedona Arizona
- Day 5 Sedona
- Day 6 Sedona to Santa Fe, New Mexico
- Day 7 Santa Fe
- Day 8 Santa Fe to Carlsbad, New Mexico
- Day 9 Carlsband to San Antonio, Texas
- Day 10 San Antonio
- Day 11 San Antonio to Lafayette, Louisiana
- Day 12 Lafayette, to New Orleans, Louisiana
- Day 13 New Orleans
- Day 14 New Orleans to Memphis, Tennessee
- Day 15 Memphis to Nashville, Tennessee
- Day 16 Nashville
- Day 17 Nashville to Branson, Missouri
- Day 18 Branson
- Day 19 Branson to Sioux City, Iowa
- Day 20 Sioux City to Deadwood
- Day 21 Mount Rushmore
- Day 22 Deadwood to Bozeman, Montana
- Day 23 Bozeman to Spokane, Washington
- Day 24 Homeward Bound
Prices
| Dble/Twn | Single | Triple |
| $4,599.00 | $5,995.00 | $4,299.00 |
**Itinerary and attraction packages subject to change without notice**
** Passport mandatory**
Sunwest tours reserves the right to withdraw all or part of any tour should condition warrant
.
| Kelowna | Pentiction | Vernon | |
| 250.765.9016 | 250.492.7488 | 250.542.1941 |
Toll Free – 1-800-667-3877
**BC travel registrar #1851-3