American Rockies and New Mexico

Denver • Rocky Mountain National Park • Pikes Peak • Taos • Santa Fe • Albuquerque • Billy the Kid's Wild West • Carlsbad Caverns • White Sands • Bosque del Apache Bird Sanctuary • Silver City • Scottsdale
The American Rockies are as impressive as their Canadian counterpart, and this tour contains some of the USA’s most thrilling drives as we follow the range south from the Rocky Mountain National Park down into New Mexico and the valley of the Rio Grande. Criss-crossing the great watershed of the Continental Divide, our journey delights in the soaring grandeur of the country’s national forests, plunging valleys and remote farmlands. We spend time in picturesque small towns whose farm buildings, boardwalks and bandstanded squares reflect the old-fashioned courtesy of residents and innkeepers accustomed to the gentler pace of life. Along the way we experience such highlights as the glittering magnitude of White Sands National Park, the descent into the caverns of Carlsbad and the ascent to breathtaking heights of Pikes Peak Cog Railway. We come close to nature, no more so than at the Bosque del Apache Park, where a dedicated team has created a year-round sanctuary for the rarest of birds, preserving their wetlands and growing and cropping vast acreages of corn to feed them. We travel glorious scenic byways and see the unique adobe architecture and mosaic tiling of New Mexico. Hotels throughout are first-class and in Denver, Sante Fe and Las Cruces we stay three nights in order to do full exploratory justice to these areas, while day by day, under blue skies and cottonwool clouds, we witness the effect of changing light on the mountainsides in a constantly shifting perspective of views and colours that become simply ravishing at sunset.DAY 1 LONDON • DENVER
We begin with Titan HiTours Home Departure Service to London Heathrow Airport and your direct scheduled British Airways flight to Denver. On arrival we transfer to the Crowne Plaza.

DAY 2 ROCKY MOUNTAINS
Today we leave Denver to enjoy a fascinating excursion and our first taste of the magnificent Rocky Mountains. We enjoy spectacular views of the city from our vantage point as we stop to marvel at the red rock formation crafted by nature into a natural amphitheatre before continuing to the Buffalo Bill museum and gravesite. Our picturesque journey then takes us to Idaho Springs for our lunch stop. We continue around Echo Lake before returning to our hotel in the afternoon with time to relax.

DAY 3 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
A close encounter with the magic of the Continental Divide is provided in today’s comprehensive tour of Rocky Mountain National Park. We make our way along the high valley of the Big Thomson River for a stop at Estes Park. On the east side the mountains fall abruptly to the Great Plains, the deep valleys scooped out by glaciers; across the Divide in the west is Phantom Valley through which flows a source stream for the Colorado River. We return in the evening to our hotel.

DAY 4 MANITOU SPRINGS • COLORADO SPRINGS
A winding mountain road takes us to Pine Valley Forest, where a thick surrounding of woodland, broken by the occasional sight of a chalet perched on the mountainside, opens dramatically on Crystal Lake. A further climb with stunning views brings us to the characterful alpine town of Manitou Springs with its long main street and plentiful choice of luncheon places. This afternoon we ride the Pikes Peak Cog Railway to the 14,120ft summit with time at the top to admire vistas that inspired Katherine Lee Bates to pen the famous verse ‘America the Beautiful’. We travel tothe Garden of the Gods and take time to view the astounding red rock formations under the backdrop of the Pikes Peak summit before continuing to Colorado Springs and the Academy Hotel.

DAY 5 TAOS • CARSON NATIONAL FOREST
We journey south this morning and, after our coffee stop, cross the border into New Mexico through a series of small towns that lead to Taos, in whose venerable central square we have the opportunity for lunch. This afternoon we enter Carson National Forest through foothills with snow-speckled mountains in the distance and are soon absorbed once more in the awesome tranquillity of this world. A further ascent takes us literally over the forest tops to view mountain ranges stretching spectacularly into the distance. We continue to Santa Fe and the Hilton Hotel, located in the compact heart of this unique city.

DAY 6 BANDELIER NATIONAL MONUMENT • LOS ALAMOS
This morning we travel to Bandelier National Monument where we discover remnants of ancient cliff dwellings stretching for two-and-a-half miles along the base of a red rock canyon. Later we continue through Los Alamos which sits 7,300 feet above sea level between the Jemez Mountains and the floor of the Rio Grande Valley some 1,700 feet below and view the stunning scenery of the cliffs and canyons. We return to our hotel this afternoon for another free evening.

DAY 7 SANTA FE
America’s oldest state capital is truly a city for the stroller and its intersecting wooden-colonnaded streets of adobe houses and quaint shop fronts converging on the historic Plaza yield up their charms to the casual browser. You will want to see the Loretto Chapel and its ‘miraculous staircase’, to take coffee and relax in the unhurried Santa Fe way, to shop for the unusual in indigenous craftmanship - and no doubt enjoy an evening stroll and sampling of the fine restaurants so close at hand.

DAY 8 ALBUQUERQUE • BOSQUE DEL APACHE BIRD SANCTUARY
Leaving Santa Fe, we take the scenic Turquoise Trail along the east side of the Sandia Mountains to Albuquerque’s lovely old town. This afternoon we travel to the Bosque del Apache Bird Sanctuary where, after watching a fascinating video on this amazing ongoing project, we ride the birdviewing route with stops at strategic points. Later we drive into the Wild West territory of Billy the Kid, to the mountain resort of Ruidoso and the Lodge at Sierra Blanca, our base for the next two nights.

DAY 9 RUIDOSO • LINCOLN
Today we journey to the Hubbard Museum of the American West which chronicles the history of horses in New Mexico and the important role they played in the development of the state. The centrepiece of the museum is the "Free Spirits at Noisy Water" monument where seven massive bronze horses have been superbly sculpted poised in flight across the landscape. Later we visit the historic village of Lincoln, where Billy the Kid terrorised the neighbourhood. With some 40 restored buildings including the general store, old courthouse and rock tower, the town largely retains the characteristic charm of the Wild West. We travel back to Ruidoso and have time to explore the downtown area and take lunch before returning to our hotel.

DAY 10 CARLSBAD CAVERNS • LAS CRUCES
This morning we journey to Roswell with its unique history where tales of an alien encounter shroud the town in mystery, and here we visit the UFO museum. Later we visit the amazing Carlsbad Caverns National Park where we descend by lift into one of the largest cave formations in the United States where we view the astonishing stalagmites and stalactites which hang and jut into miles of colourful caverns. We travel south into Texas and make a short stop at Guadalupe Mountains National Park to view the magnificent Guadalupe Peak, the highest in Texas. We continue west, back into New Mexico and the Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces, our base for the next three nights.

DAY 11 LAS CRUCES • OLD MESILLA
Today you have the opportunity of visiting Old Mesilla, one of the least changed and oldest of New Mexico’s characteristic adobe towns, where you can explore many craft shops and art galleries. This evening you may wish to take an optional dinner excursion to old Mesilla and perhaps an opportunity to watch the spectacular evening sunset colours on the mountain overlooking the town.

DAY 12 WHITE SANDS • RAILWAY MUSEUM
The dazzling sight of undulating hills of gypsum sand, up to 60ft in height with the purity of newly fallen snow, is one of the world’s wonders at the vast White Sands National Monument which we visit today. We take a loop tour through the dunes and see the trees with 30ft roots needed to gain a foothold in this lunar landscape. Later we visit the International Space Hall of Fame before our day concludes with a visit to the great model train exhibition at Alamogordo, where many miles of track of different gauges extend over the five rooms of an old railway shed. The whole exhibit was created by an 86 year-old enthusiast who, with his younger helpers, is usually on hand to share his enthusiasm. We return to our hotel for a free evening.

DAY 13 CITY OF ROCK STATE PARK • SILVER CITY • SCOTTSDALE
Our drive takes us today through the City of Rock State Park and one of the oldest mines in America, an open-cast copper working mine one by one-anda- half miles in size with a depth of 1,800 feet. We make a coffee stop at Silver City, which still has the appearance of a cowboy town in a Western film, with low-slung verandad buildings and signs for fortune telling and painless dentistry. Leaving Silver City we once again cross the Continental Divide on our way to Lordsburg and our lunch stop. This afternoon we travel into Arizona to Scottsdale and the Hyatt Place Hotel.

DAY 14 SCOTTSDALE
A day to relax in the Arizona sunshine, or perhaps make a trip to the mall, which houses such popular stores as Nordstrom and Saks.

DAY 15 SCOTTSDALE
Today we depart for Phoenix Airport and our direct scheduled British Airways flight to London Heathrow. OR EXTEND YOUR STAY - CALL FOR DETAILS

DAY 16 LONDON
Arrival at London Heathrow where our staff will greet you and transfer you to Titan transport for your journey home to your front door.Duration 16 days, 14 nights in hotels – 3 Denver, 1 Colorado Springs, 3 Santa Fe, 2 Ruidoso, 3 Las Cruces, 2 Scottsdale & 1 in flight.

Titan HiTours VIP Home Departure Service™

Check-in service by Titan staff.

Scheduled British Airways direct flights

Services from an experienced Titan HiTours tour manager.

First class air-conditioned coaching

Accommodation as specified in brochure or of a similar standard.

Excursions, tours and entrances as detailed in the itinerary.

Hotel porterage (1 bag per person).

All airport taxes, security charges and the UK Air Passenger Duty and applicable fuel surcharges.

Celebration Offer - Free bottle of wine (Valid for 2010 departures only)