Day 1 Kearney, NE

We board our deluxe motorcoach this morning to begin our journey to Colorado. We spend the day getting acquainted with our fellow travelers as we make our way to Kearney, NE for our overnight.

Day 2 Colorado Springs, CO

Our day begins at the Great Platte River Road Archway. From Oregon Trail era to today, the Archway’s historical exhibit brings the story of the Great Platte River Road to life. From there we’ll travel into Colorado to Colorado Springs, where we will spend the evening. (B)

Day 3 Albuquerque, NM

This morning we tour Garden of the Gods. A guide will board our coach and give us a tour of the Park. View 300’ towering sandstone rock formations against the snow-capped Pikes Peak and brilliant blue skies. Lunch on your own will be in the picturesque town of Manitou Springs before departing for Albuquerque, NM and check-in to our hotel for the next two nights. Get some rest tonight, we will depart bright and early tomorrow for the Balloon Fiesta Park. (B)

Day 4 Albuquerque, NM

Bright and early, we’re out off to the Balloon Fiesta! This mornings event is the Mass Ascension in the Gondola Club. A delicious meal is included here this morning. Hundreds of balloons will be taking flight and you will be awestruck by the spectacular beauty of hot air balloons filling the big blue New Mexico sky. Imagine 54 football fields all put together, that is the size of the Balloon Fiesta Park’s launch field. The whole park is the “playing field.” Balloons launch in two waves and the launch directors, also known as zebras because of their black-and-white-striped outfits, serve as traffic cops, coordinating the launch so balloons leave the field in a safe and coordinated manner. After this awe-inspiring show we head to lunch in Old Town Albuquerque. Next, a visit the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center to learn about the Pueblo culture from ancient times to the present. Then we’ll head back to our hotel to rest up for this evenings event at the Balloon Fiesta. Tonight, we attending Night Magic Glow in the Gondola Club, invented in Albuquerque in 1979, when local pilots inflated balloons on Christmas Eve night as a thank you to local residents. The sight of balloons lit from within at night like giant holiday ornaments is breathtaking. The Balloon Glow is followed by New Mexico’s most spectacular fireworks displays. (B, D)

Day 5 Santa Fe, NM

This morning a knowledgeable local guide will board our bus for a short city tour of Albuquerque. We make our way to Santa Fe today, traveling along the Turquoise Trail National Scenic Byway. We’ll make a lunch stop in the Madrid Ghost Town, an old abandoned mining town that dates back to the early 1800’s. We continue to Santa Fe. On arrival, a local guide will board our bus and give us a tour of this historic city. We’ll also visit the Loretto Chapel (if available) before check-in to our accommodations for the evening. (B)

Day 6 Alamosa, CO

We begin this morning traveling to Los Alamos, NM - recognized as one of the development and creation places of the atomic bomb—the primary objective of the Manhattan Project by Los Alamos National Laboratory during World War II. Here we will do “History of the Secret City Walking Tour” with a local guide. Discover the secrets of Los Alamos, home to J. Robert Oppenheimer during the Manhattan Project. Learn why Oppenheimer and Groves chose Los Alamos as the Secret City for the Manhattan Project. Visit an Ancestral Pueblo site, step inside the homestead-era Romero Cabin, and hear about the Los Alamos Ranch School. After lunch we will visit Taos Pueblo, a village that is one of the oldest continuously inhabited communities in North America. It’s home to nearly 4,500 people. This evening we stay in Alamosa, Colorado and will do a pizza party at the hotel to end our day. (B, D)

Day 7 Denver, CO

A visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park is where we begin today. The park contains the tallest sand dunes in North America, up to 750 feet tall. The dunes cover an area of about 30 sq mi and are estimated to contain over 1.2 cubic miles of sand. A stop for lunch will be made in Pueblo, CO before we arrive in Colorado Springs to learn about Cadet life at the US Air Force Academy. Our day ends in Denver, CO at our accommodations. (B)

Day 8 Kearney, NE

We make our way through Colorado and into Nebraska today. Lunch is included at the Golden Spike Tower in North Platte, the heart of the Union Pacific Railroad and get a spectacular view of the world’s largest rail yard. Tonight we will stay in Kearney, NE. (B, L)

Day 9 Home

We’ll travel back home today treasuring the memories of our fun adventure to the awe inspiring Balloon Fiesta. A stop will be made for an included lunch along the way. (B, L)