My first Road Scholar trip couldn't have been better! And our guide, Marilyn, was superb. People asked me what I was going to do when I got home and I said, "Plan my next trip, of course!"

This was our first Road Scholar trip and what an experience it was! We were looking forward to seeing Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons, and Mt. Rushmore, and they more than lived up to our expectations. Their natural beauty and grandeur are magnificent and, in the case of Mt. Rushmore, such an impressive human achievement. And while we would have been content if we had done nothing more during our trip than see those three national treasures, the trip provided so many more sights and experiences, some of which were much more than I expected. On the first full day, after a morning at Mt. Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial, we went in the afternoon we went to Custer State Park where we saw impressive numbers of buffalos, then finished the day by going to The Mammoth Site in Hot Springs, SD, where a number of mammoths bones (bones belonging to 60 mammoths at last count) were discovered less than 50 years ago. It was a wonderful learning experience to complete our first day. And thanks to Marilyn Hovland, our energetic and knowledgeable tour leader, every day of our tour was filled with surprising sights and learning experiences that made that day and the entire trip even more eventful, even on days when we mainly anticipated clocking miles and miles on the bus to get to our next major stop. On the bus, Marilyn kept us informed with videos on places we would be seeing, snacks to keep us going to our next meal, personal stories, and a good sense of humor. We highly recommend this program. We accomplished in 5 and a half full days what it would have taken us at least 3 weeks to do. Last but not least, we want to thank our great driver, Ron Carlsrud, for his skill, professional demeanor and unfailing cheerfulness, and Marilyn’s husband who helped out at the start and end in Rapid City, and took the group photo at Mt. Rushmore.

We have been on 7 Road Scholar trips and thos one ranks among the best mostly because of Marilyn, our tour guide.

This is an exceptional program, informative and excellent in every way. I would highly recommend it as a "do not miss" opportunity to see the land and people of the great west. Marilyn Hovland, the tour director, is absolutely outstanding!

This program was great. This is our third Road Scholar program in one year. Marilyn Hovland made it special. We will continue to travel with you

Please feel free to use any of my comments above. This was an extraordinary experience....right length of time, right pacing of the activities. I credit Marilyn Hovland with all she did to make this adventure wonderful.

My wife and I had a wonderful time on the trip. The accomadations were very nice, the food was good, the bus was confortable, the tour guide was first rate and everything went smoothly and on schedule. We even had a bonus attraction not on the tour on the way back to SD from WY.

Our guide was fantastic, our bus driver was fantastic, and our group was fantastic. If I could relive the experience I certainly would. Thanks to EVERYONE for making mu "dream trip" a dream come true. Kathy (Waukesha, WI)

I am so happy that my husband and I decided to enroll
for this program.
It was wonderful from the beginning to end.
In large part due to our Group Leader, Marilyn.
You might think that covering such a large area on a
bus would be uncomfortable & even boring.
Not so on this bus!! Marilyn kept us entertained,
and kept delicious snacks coming.
There were videos & games. The miles flew by and we
had such a good time.
The hotels were very good. I had wondered about the
historic Hotel Irma in Cody, Wyoming. I wasted my
time giving it a thought. It was so charming and has
a great Main Street (downtown) location.

The last day Marilyn gave us a surprise...Devil's
Tower. She managed to fit it into our busy schedule
and everyone was thrilled. Many of walked around the
base which is 1.3 miles.

Staying at Old Faithful Inn was better than I could
have imagined. Old Faithful was right outside our
window. In fact, it was like our window was a
picture frame for it.

We made many memories that will bring us smiles
for years to come.

Who knew that the Rushmore experience would be so exhilarating and meaningful! Yellowstone, the Tetons, the hills areas in S. Dakota so breathtaking. The museums and interpretive centers that Marilyn picked out were educational and interesting, and I will never forget the experience of the Mammoth Center and viewing the bones as they were found. We also saw several very good tapes reviewing the Indians, history, and geology of the area. Thanks to Marilyn my first Road Scholar trip was great, and I am looking forward to the next one.

This was a fabulous trip. Our director, Marilyn, was well organized and very pleasant and positive. By the end of the first night, Marilyn knew everyone's name! One person didn't want to get up early to see Mt. Rushmore and Marilyn explained that we needed to arrive early because crowds of people come a little later! She was absolutely correct and after we had some time to ourselves, crowds of people began arriving! I chose this program because I had not seen Mt. Rushmore and the bonus of seeing Yellowstone and the Tetons clinched the deal!
This has been the only trip I have been on where we had specific assigned bus seats that were rotated daily. This was a great idea because everyone eventually got to seat in either the front seat or the second seat.
I highly recommend this trip! It was fun, educational and a "trip to remember"!

What an unbelieveable week! We visited four of America’s most fabulous vistas…the stately grandeur of Mount Rushmore, the bears, bison and rugged beauty of Yellowstone, the awesome elegance of the Tetons and the mysterious Devil’s Tower. With Cody’s formidable Buffalo Bill Museum included, we participated in a glorious adventure indeed. The journey was orderly yet casual with plenty of time for sightseeing and photo ops. Although obviously secondary to the scenery, the food and facilities were always far more than adequate, even outstanding at times. Ultimately making all of this so memorable was the consistent excellence of the coordinator. Her organization was flawless, and she surprised us regularly with those “little things” that define greatness.