Gone With the Wind Travel announces Rocky Mountaineer train trip

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Gone With the Wind Travel, the official travel agency of the UTU for Life program, has announced two travel opportunities for 2007.

A National Parks Tour is being offered from May 7-13, 2007, including visits to Las Vegas, Grand Canyon National Park, Monument Valley, Painted Desert, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park.

And, a five-day travel packages to Canada on the Rocky Montaineer are available from April through October. See below.

This package starts at only $959 per person, with a two-night Las Vegas extension available for only $140 per person.

The complete itinerary is as follows:

Day 1 – LAS VEGAS. Welcome to exciting Las Vegas, also known as “Sin City!” Use you first day in Las Vegas to relax, or do some independent exploring. Your tour director is on hand this evening to answer any questions.

Day 2 – LAS VEGAS–GRAND CANYON. Cross the desert and the old Mohave gold-strike country, passing through Williams, located on historic Route 66 and Kaibab National Forest, to arrive in the Grand Canyon by mid-afternoon. Marvel at one of the natural wonder of the world as you experience the breathtaking view. You will have plenty of free time to wander along the canyon rim and you can even stay overnight in Grand Canyon National Park.

Grand Canyon

Monument Valley

Monument Valley

Day 3 – GRAND CANYON–MONUMENT VALLEY. If you missed the sunset over the canyon, the sunrise is just as impressive! There is time for an optional helicopter flightseeing tour of the Grand Canyon – definitely a thrill of a lifetime. Later, take a scenic drive across the Kaibab Plateau and through the amazing Painted Desert. Continue into Monument Valley, where the weathering action of wind and water has carved famous sandstone spires and towers that rise hundreds of feet above the valley floor. You’ll stay overnight at historic Goulding’s Lodge, with its panoramic views of the valley. Take a dip in the pool and admire the western sky, or explore the Goulding’s Museum and Trading Post, part of the set built for John Wayne’s film, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon. Monument Valley was featured in scores of movies, from John Ford’s Stagecoach to Forest Gump. Take a walk back in time with this wonderful collection of movie memorabilia and Indian artifacts.

Day 4 – MONUMENT VALLEY–LAKE POWELL–PAGE. On this morning, your Jeep tour is a memorable way to experience Monument Valley. Then head to Page and visit the Glen Canyon Dam, holding back the waters of the Colorado River in Lake Powell, the second largest man-made lake in the United States. In the afternoon, how about taking an optional Antelope Canyon cruise, which takes you onto the lake and into the tight winding canyons?

Day 5 – PAGE–BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK. Our optional early morning flight provides another unique perspective of Lake Powell. This beautiful sightseeing flight also includes Glen Canyon Dam, Wahweap Marina, Tower Butte, and Rainbow Bridge, the largest natural arch on earth. Then travel into Utah along the Grand Staircase to Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is famous for its unique geology, where erosion has created bizarre shapes including slot canyons, windows, fins, and spires called “hoodoos.” Tinted with numerous colors, these rocks create a wondrous landscape. Make sure to have your camera and plenty of film with you.

Day 6 – BRYCE CANYON NATIONAL PARK–ZION NATIONAL PARK. Zion is an ancient, Hebrew word meaning “a place of refuge or sanctuary.” Once a refuge for Mormon pioneers, Zion National Park’s striking landscapes of steep canyons and stone towers carved out by rushing streams over millions of years will mesmerize you. There is plenty of time to explore the park: take the park shuttle, see the visitor’s center and the museum, take a leisurely hike, do some bird-watching or join a park ranger to learn more about the animals, geology, plants and human history. You’ll stay overnight close to Zion National Park borders.

Day 7 – ZION NATIONAL PARK–LAS VEGAS. On our orientation tour of St. George, the most important Mormon community in southern Utah, we’ll make a photo stop at the famous Mormon Temple. Mid-afternoon arrival at McCarran Airport in Las Vegas for guests with homebound fights. (Please schedule flights after 3:30 p.m.) The trip ends late this afternoon at the Stratosphere in Las Vegas.

This package includes the services of a professional tour guide, lodging in quality hotels transportation provided by a private, deluxe, air-conditioned motorcoach.

A non-refundable deposit of $200.00 per person is required at the time of booking. Final payment is due by March 23, 2007.

Trip cancellation insurance is available. The price is 109.00 per person and and must be paid with your deposit. Ask for details.

These trips are available only to UTU for Life program members. If the trips do not sell out, other UTU members will be permitted on a first-come first-serve basis. Also, all first time travelers will receive a rebate of their annual UTU for Life dues ($9) plus an additional $9.

For complete details, for airline tickets, or to make reservations, call the UTU’s designated travel agency, Gone With the Wind Travel, toll-free at 800-886-4989 or at 216-221-2121, or e-mail Marcia Naso at marcia@gwtw.webmail.com.
 

Rocky Mountaineer train trip
•Two days aboard the spectacular Rocky Mountaineer® in your choice of RedLeaf Service or GoldLeaf Service.

•Day 2 Vancouver to Kamloops -- Travel aboard the Rocky Mountaineer from Vancouver to Kamloops in the interior of British Columbia. Enroute, you will pass through the fertile Fraser Valley and the scenic Fraser Canyon. One of the canyon’s true highlights is Hell’s Gate, where you will watch water torrent past the canyon’s walls at its narrowest point. Upon leaving the Fraser Canyon, the train will follow the Thompson River to the city of Kamloops. Overnight in Kamloops.