Tour Video

Tour Description

Your package includes deluxe transportation and accommodations, all listed tour fees, and 11 meals.

There’s just something magical about trains. Something that gives us a sense of wonder and nostalgia, which reminds us of our childhood dreams of traveling across the west. This unforgettable journey on the trains of yesteryear will bring out the child in all of us. A journey that winds through the beautiful Rocky Mountains shrouded in autumn splendor. As the locomotive blows its whistle, the sound echoes down the valley and over the mountain top; prepare your senses for a breathtaking adventure. We will travel through rugged mountain passes and past Golden Aspens, stunning mountain panoramas, rivers, gorges, and the Garden of the Gods National Natural Landmark. Talk about Making Memories! These will be memories you will treasure for a lifetime!

Day 1:

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Today our journey kicks off as we make our way westward toward the mountains, but first, we must cross the Great Plains. Use this day to meet some of your fellow traveling companions because the only thing better than making an incredible memory is sharing it with a friend. We will be staying the night in Salina, KS.

Day 2:

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Meals: Breakfast

The second day of our journey begins with a short trip to Victoria, KS, to visit the Basilica of St. Fidelis, better known as The Cathedral of the Plains. This 1908-1911 Romanesque-style Roman Catholic church features 48 stained glass windows imported from Germany. This beautiful cathedral is described as an unexpected and charming slice of Europe right in the middle of a small Kansas town. After our stop, we will head to our overnight in Stapleton, CO, near Denver. In the distance, we can see the Rocky Mountains waiting for us

Day 3:

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Meals: Breakfast

Today’s adventure starts in Denver, known to many as the “The Mile High City.” You will feel like you’re on top of the world as we travel over Rocky Mountain National Park’s Trail Ridge Road, which crests at over 12,000 feet. Be sure your camera is charged and ready; there are plenty of overlooks for amazing pictures while experiencing the subalpine and alpine worlds. Our overnight brings us to Frisco, CO

Day 4:

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Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

Today there is even more excitement at every turn! After lunch, we will enjoy a driving tour on breathtaking Rim Rock Drive in the Colorado National Monument. You will experience one of the grandest scenic drives in the American West. Rim Rock Drive offers 23 miles of twists and turns above sheer-walled, red rock canyons. Towering monoliths exist within a vast plateau and canyon panorama, containing nimble bighorn sheep that you may be able to see along the drive. We depart this exhilarating experience and travel to Montrose, CO, for our overnight. Dinner is included at our hotel

Day 5:

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Meals: Breakfast

Today is the day we’ve been looking forward to; we will board the first of several trains on our journey. The excitement builds as we arrive in Silverton, CO. Silverton, once a former mining camp, is now a National Historic Landmark District. After some free time for shopping and lunch, we will board the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. The Society of American Travel Writers dubbed this train one of the “Top ten most exciting train journeys in the world.” We can experience this for ourselves as we hear the conductor shout “All aboard” and begin our remarkable train journey through magnificent mountain scenery and the steep walls of the Animas River Gorge to Durango, Colorado. Our lodging for tonight will be in Durango, CO

Day 6:

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Meals: Breakfast

Our day starts with some extra free time this morning for shopping and exploring the Old West town of Durango. After leaving Durango, we will see some more incredible scenery as we make our way towards Canon City, CO, for our overnight stay.

Day 7:

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Meals: Breakfast

The anticipation builds this morning as we depart our hotel for the Royal Gorge Train Depot to climb aboard Colorado’s most scenic train for a journey through the spectacular Royal Gorge. Since 1879, these tracks have followed the winding, tumbling Arkansas River deep within the soaring 1,000-foot granite cliffs of Colorado’s grandest canyon. Our train returns to the depot, where we again board our bus to ride to the top side of the Royal Gorge. The Royal Gorge Bridge is the highest suspension bridge in the world. You can walk across the bridge, peer down some 956 feet to the river below, and see the railroad tracks you just crossed. After thoroughly enjoying this National Historic Landmark and soaking up the incomparable scenes, we head for Colorado Springs, CO, for two nights.

Day 8:

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Meals: Breakfast

We leave our hotel this morning and make our way to our last train ride for this trip. We soon arrive at the Pikes Peak Cog Railway for a “straight up the mountain” train ride. Since 1891, Pikes Peak Cog Railway has taken millions of people on an unforgettable trip past cascading streams and forests of Aspen and Pine to the 14,115-foot summit of Pikes Peak. The world’s highest cog railway reveals lovely panoramas that inspired the writing of the song, America the Beautiful. After returning to the depot and having lunch on your own at Manitou Springs, we will enjoy a guided tour of the fascinating red rock formations in the Garden of the Gods before returning to our hotel for the night.

Day 9:

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Meals: Breakfast, Dinner

We are homeward bound as we leave the mountains and start across the plains. One must marvel at what a vast and beautiful country with which we’ve been blessed. We will be staying tonight in Salina, KS. But before we call it a day, Making Memories would like to take everybody out tonight for a farewell dinner.

Day 10:

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Meals: Breakfast

We will be arriving home today. This has been a grand tour, and we hope you have enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed planning it for you. All good things must end, but you will have time on the ride home to reminisce with your traveling companions about all the glorious nature God has prepared us to see and experience. We hope we get the chance to travel together again and make more memories.