The photos that follow were the last photos taken in the Grand Canyon on June 29th. The remainder of the photos were taken on our way back to Las Vegas. A stop was made in Seligman, Arizona (Route 66). We drove through the Mojave Desert.
The photo of the group that was taken in Utah will also appear below. The photo was given to us at the end of our Farewell Dinner. The red border on the first photo is part of the jacket the photo came in. I can't recall why I included the same photo twice in original site. I may have tried to touch up the second one with a photo program I had at the time.
During the trip, we got to see a lot of wild animals. We saw Pronghorn Sheep, Bighorn Sheep, Black Bears (including cubs), a Wolf/Coyote, a Fox, Deer, Bison and Elk. The animal I wanted to see, and didn't get to see, was the Moose.
All in all, it was great tour. The Trafalgar brochure described it as "lively", and it was.
Our Tour Director, Bob, and the bus driver, Mike, were both great. Bob gave us a lot of information about what we were seeing and areas we were visiting, and Mike made sure we got from place to place in a safe and timely manner.
Though some people got sick, it was mostly over in a day or two. Norovirus? It was rumored that the Norovirus had hit many people hard in Yellowstone. Thank God no one was hospitalized, and we were able to complete the trip. Bob reminded us often to sanitize/wash our hands and to drink a lot of water.
Would I recommend this trip to others? Definitely yes. However, those with mobility issues should keep in mind that there is a lot of walking and on many days, we got off and, on the bus, often. Also, the altitude of the places visited changed daily which may affect one's breathing.
The hotels were all good, some better than others. My favorite hotel was the Adoba in Rapid City. The food was very good in most locations. At our rest stops, we avoided eating in fast food restaurants, especially if there were choices.
The lodge (Yavapai) in Grand Canyon was operated by the same company, Xanterra, as the one in Yellowstone. However, I found Yavapai was better.
This tour allowed us to sample beautiful places in Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and Wyoming. We also made a stop in Idaho and made a U-turn in Nebraska.
America is a beautiful country! I hope my photos capture this beauty.
