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Please note: This expert may not be available for every date of this program.
Activity note: Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon: Program Registration: 5:00 – 5:30 p.m. After you have your room assignment, come to the Road Scholar table outside the meeting room to register with the program staff and get your welcome packet containing the up-to-date schedule that reflects any changes, other important information, and to confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please ask for your packet when you check in. Orientation, 5:30 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. We will be accompanied by a Northern Arizona University naturalist who will serve as our Group Leader, leading hikes and field trips unless specified otherwise. Please bring a refillable water bottle on the program and on all hikes. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner: We will enjoy a dinner buffet catered by the hotel restaurant, plus coffee, hot and iced tea, and water; other beverages available for purchase.
Evening: At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead. Be sure to prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Activity note: Driving approximately 165 miles; about 3 hours. Hiking approximately .75 miles; about 3/4 hour; gravel path with some steps and uneven footing.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: Once checked out of the hotel, we will board the motorcoach for our transfer north toward Zion National Park. Along the way, our instructor will enhance our travel time with insights into the geology, plants, animals, and human history of the region. We’ll travel through the Basin and Range Province, the upper Mojave Desert, and the Virgin River Gorge, en route to the Colorado Plateau and Zion National Park. Upon arrival to the Zion Lodge area we will transfer by free park shuttle to the Grotto picnic area.
Lunch: Within the towering cliffs of Zion Canyon, we’ll enjoy a box lunch.
Afternoon: After lunch we will begin our explorations from the Grotto picnic area walking back to the Zion Lodge area Nestled at the base of stunning canyon walls, the grounds of the Zion Lodge invite people to linger among its shady cottonwood trees and grassy field. At the Lodge, your Group Leaders will give an overview of the area and offer activities at one or more locations. Activities may include walking the Lower Emerald Pools Trail, the Grotto Trail, or a historic walk around the Zion Lodge. Mid-afternoon we will depart Zion Canyon for the town of Springdale and check-in to our hotel. We will have an opportunity to settle in and relax before gathering for dinner.
Dinner: At a local restaurant in the town of Springdale, we’ll have plated meals with soft drinks, coffee, tea, milk, water included; other beverages available for purchase.
Evening: We will gather to discuss free time choices in the park tomorrow. Our Group Leader will provide us detailed park information and shuttle maps. We’ll discuss how the park and Springdale shuttle systems operate and have an orientation to many of the park’s highlights, viewpoints, trails, and features. The Group Leader will also discuss dining options in town for dinner on your own tomorrow.
Activity note: Getting on/off Zion Park shuttle; driving about 16 miles round-trip, approximately 90 minutes riding time with stops. Elective walking about 3-4 miles round trip according to personal choice, approximately 4-6 hours; paved and unpaved trails. Lower Emerald Pools trail: 1.2 miles round trip 70 ft. elev. gain. Riverside Walk 2.2 miles round trip; paved, relatively level. Bring day pack to carry your sack lunch, water bottle, sun protection.
Breakfast: Hotel breakfast buffet.
Morning: In keeping with current park group protocols, today will be dedicated to independent exploration. We will gather in the hotel lobby with our Group Leader to be sure everyone is properly outfitted with the essentials of being out in the field for the day including water, sunscreen, hat, and other weather-related gear. The Group Leaders will review how the park shuttle operates; discuss the many viewpoints and features in the park available to explore; how to return to the hotel using the shuttle system; and answer any questions. We will also have sack lunches distributed. Using our vehicle(s), we will transport as a group from the hotel to the Zion Visitor Center where the Group Leader will confirm our group entry into the National Park. From the Visitor Center, we’ll then stroll across the plaza to the free Zion Canyon shuttle bus terminal where our park exploration and access into Zion Canyon will begin.
Lunch: Sack lunches in the field at your leisure at a location of our choice.
Afternoon: Continue independent explorations in Zion National Park. Return to the hotel according to personal choice by utilizing the National Park Shuttle and Springdale town shuttle bus system.
Dinner: Dinner is on your own in the quaint town of Springdale, where you can enjoy a variety of restaurants, bars, gift shops, art galleries, and more. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions.
Evening: At leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Activity note: Driving about 85 miles, around 1.5 hours, to Bryce Canyon National Park. Walking about 1 mile along Bryce Canyon rim; approximately 1 hour; about 100 feet of change in elevation; unpaved trail. Elevation is approximately 8,000 feet at Bryce Canyon.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: We’ll board the motorcoach and travel to Bryce Canyon National Park, one of America’s smaller national parks, covering only 56 square miles. Bryce is renowned for its unique geological features, carved by nature into hoodoos and pinnacles of an amazing palette of colors. Along the way we will travel through the one mile long Zion-Mt. Carmel tunnel and stop at Checkerboard Mesa to hear why it has horizontal layers and vertical cracks. We will also discuss how the vegetation and habitat changes from the valley floor 2,000 feet below us. Then, we will climb the Grand Staircase via US 89, heading up Long Valley, rich in early Mormon pioneer history to Bryce Canyon National Park.
Lunch: At Ruby’s Cowboy Cafe, we will enjoy a variety of lunch entree choices. A trip through the salad bar and a nonalcoholic beverage will be included.
Afternoon: After lunch, we will travel to the visitor center and then on to the canyon rim for a hike. A one mile trail winds along the rim through Bristlecone pine, spruce and fir trees. All along the trail, we'll have great views of the Bryce Amphitheater with rows of hoodoos, fins and spires of red, pink and yellow rock. In the late afternoon, we will check into our hotel.
Dinner: At a local restaurant, we’ll have a delicious dinner with a wide variety of choices plus soft drinks, lemonade, milk, coffee, tea, water; other beverages available for purchase.
Evening: Evening at Leisure.
Activity note: Driving about 50 miles total throughout the day; approximately 2 hours total drive time, with stops. Walking approximately 3 miles total: sunrise walk is less than 1/4 mile roundtrip, paved; Queen's Garden walk is about 2 miles roundtrip with 320 feet loss/gain of elevation; walk to Yovimpa Point is approximately 1/2 mile roundtrip, paved.
Breakfast: At the hotel, we will have a plentiful buffet, featuring an assortment of hot and cold items, eggs, breakfast meats, biscuits and gravy, French toast, pastries, potatoes, yogurt, and fruit, plus coffee, tea, water.
Morning: Before breakfast there will be an elective motorcoach trip to Bryce Point where early risers will be rewarded with a spectacular sunrise over the richly colored hoodoos of Bryce amphitheater. Here we will watch both the brightening eastern horizon and the hoodoos transformative color change below the rim. After sunrise viewing, we will return to our lodge for breakfast. After breakfast, the group will rejoin and depart for a day in the national park. Our first stop will take us back to the rim of Bryce Canyon and a short walk to Sunrise Point. From Sunrise Point, we will have a couple of hikes to choose from. The more ambitious choice is a 1.8 mile roundtrip hike with a 320 foot loss/gain of elevation - to the Queen's Garden. Led by one of our Group Leaders, we will hike below the canyon rim and experience an entirely different view of the hoodoo filled landscape. You may elect to turn around part way down, or you may choose to walk with our other Group Leader along the rim on the relatively level gravel path. Late morning we will reconvene at the motorcoach and depart for to the far southern reaches of the park via the scenic drive to Rainbow / Yovimpa Point.
Lunch: At Rainbow / Yovimpa Point, at 9,115 feet above sea level, we’ll enjoy a boxed lunch.
Afternoon: At Rainbow/ Yovimpa Point, we’ll have a photo opportunity before setting out on a short walk through high woods of many types of conifers to Yovimpa Point. From here, we’ll enjoy expansive views from the top of the Grand Staircase and Navajo Mountain to the east, and the Kaibab Plateau to the south. After walking back from Yovimpa Point, we’ll return to the hotel.
Dinner: We'll walk a short distance from our hotel to dinner and entertainment at Ebenezer's Barn and Grill. We will enjoy a dinner of pre-selected choices from a buffet, plus coffee, tea, soda or water; other beverages are available for purchase.
Evening: During dinner, we will enjoy a country music show before returning to the hotel for a relaxing evening at leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Activity note: Driving approximately 185 miles total throughout the day; about 4 hours total of driving time. Walking up to 1.5 miles, about 2 hours, total throughout the day; about 1/2 mile around Pipe Spring National Monument mostly paved, flat terrain; walk to Bright Angel Point is approximately 1/2 mile down roughly 150 feet; mostly paved, somewhat steep and exposed terrain.
Breakfast: Hotel buffet.
Morning: Checking out of the Lodge, we will begin our journey towards our third national park of the program. We’ll board the motorcoach for the southbound trip to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We will travel down the several steps of the Grand Staircase and move on to Arizona where we will visit Pipe Spring National Monument. Upon arrival at the park we will orient to the park's museum exhibits, video and ranger demonstration stations. In addition we will meet a park ranger for an introduction and subsequent self guided exploration of Winsor Castle – a fort built by Mormon settlers fort beginning around 1870 – and the surrounding grounds Mid-morning, we will depart Pipe Spring National Monument and travel up the western flank of the Kaibab Plateau. After nearing 8,000 feet elevation, we’ll arrive at the historic Jacob Lake Inn for lunch.
Lunch: At the Jacob Lake Inn, a pine-surrounded log structure with a fireplace and a wonderfully homey feel, we will enjoy some of its home-cooked fare with a plated meal. Coffee, tea, soft drinks, water included.
Afternoon: We’ll then continue southbound across the Kaibab Plateau through forests of Ponderosa pines, spruce, fir and quaking aspen, as well as huge meadows—more reminiscent of Montana than Arizona. En route, we’ll learn through an onboard lecture why fire is important to the health of Ponderosa pine forests and what happens when fires are suppressed for 100 years. As we travel, we may see the unique Kaibab squirrel, wild turkey, and deer. Upon arrival, we'll take a half-mile roundtrip hike on a inclined paved trail to Bright Angel Point, a promontory at an elevation of 8,148 feet that offers panoramic views of Roaring Springs, Bright Angel, and Transept Canyons, as well as the inner gorge of the Grand Canyon. After our walk we will check into our cabins, get settled in and relax before dinner. Note that the Frontier Cabins in which we will be staying are historic log cabins that were built in the 1930s. They enhance the rustic ambiance of the North Rim. Please be aware that the cabins are smaller and cozier than average modern day lodgings.
Dinner: In the dining room of the North Rim Lodge, we will have a 3-course plated meal featuring a choice of entrée, plus a non-alcoholic beverage; other beverages available for purchase. As we dine, we’ll enjoy magnificent canyon views through huge picture windows.
Evening: After dinner, the remainder of the evening will be at your leisure. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Activity note: Driving approximately 90 miles total throughout the day; about 2 hour, with stops. Walking approximately 2 miles total for the day, about 2 hours combined: nature walk is about 1 mile; Transept Trail hike about 2 mile rim hike; all are unpaved, rolling trails with about 200 feet of elevation change.
Breakfast: Lodge buffet.
Morning: If you would like, rise early on your own to take a short walk and experience a sunrise over the canyon to the east. After a leisurely breakfast, we’ll check out of our cabins and load our luggage. We’ll then decide how to spend our mornings with our Group Leaders offering a guided walk on the Transept Trail, or a nice stroll through the Ponderosa Pine forest along the rim and on the Bridle path, back to the lodge. Depending on the interest of the group, additional time on the rim or additional stops at points of interest en route to Kanab will be added to today's activities.
Lunch: In the field, we will have boxed lunches.
Afternoon: After lunch, we’ll depart the North Rim for Kanab Utah. Along the way we will continue to learn about the geologic history of the "Grand Staircase" of Southern Utah. Mid-afternoon we will check into our hotel with time to freshen up before dinner.
Dinner: At a favorite local Kanab restaurant, we will enjoy a variety of entrée choices and sides, plus coffee, tea, water.
Evening: After dinner, we will have the opportunity to explore downtown Kanab. Centrally located on Main St., your hotel is in the perfect location for short walks to local art galleries and gift shops. Be sure to prepare for check-out and departures in the morning.
Activity note: Hotel check-out by 8 a.m. Driving approximately 210 miles from Kanab to Las Vegas; about 4 hours. Expected arrival at Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport by approximately 11:30 a.m.
Breakfast: At the hotel.
Morning: Once checked out of our hotel, we will depart from Kanab via motorcoach for our return trip to Las Vegas Harry Reid International Airport with expected arrival to the airport by 11:30 AM, followed by transfer to starting hotel. If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!