Wild West, Cowboys and Buffalos End Rapid City

Saddle up for a Wild West family adventure starting with a relaxing afternoon together in Salt Lake City before meeting your travel companions for a rootin’ tootin’ evening Kick-off Party with your Travel Director.

Put on your cowboy hats, pull up your boots and get ready to make memories that will last a lifetime. Experience the rich history and culture of the world’s most humble vegetable – the potato! Visitors to the Idaho Potato Museum will learn about the many facets of the potato industry from planting and irrigation to harvesting and processing. There’s no place better to showcase potatoes than in “The Potato Capital of the World,” Blackfoot, Idaho! Followed by a potato-themed lunch including potato ice cream! Then its off to to Jackson Hole, walk through the town's famous landmark arch of tangled elk antlers and step back in time as you explore the Town Square with its Western boardwalks, craft boutiques and ice cream shops-all surrounded by the majestic Rockies.

Family fun awaits every day of this trip and today is no exception. If the season is right, today is your chance to get out on the water for some adventures. Rise early to float down the Snake River on an optional^, scenic wilderness float trip. It’s the most relaxing way to experience the river as you learn about the history, geology, and wildlife from an expert. guide. Later, discover dramatic shimmering peaks of the Teton range rising above alpine forests and lakes in iconic Grand Teton National Park. Travel onward to your hotel for the night.

Today you’ll enjoy a full day’s exploration of the geothermal wonderland of Yellowstone. You’ll join your Travel Director, marvelling at Old Faithful, the thousand-year old geyser which has been shooting up water every 90 minutes for centuries. We aim to explore as much of the park’s geological wonders, stopping at Lake Yellowstone, which contains the largest number of wild cutthroat trout in North America. see the wonders of the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone whose colours and shapes are a sight to behold. We’ll also view Artists Point, a view point from which you watch in awe as water cascades down the Lower Falls. Our last stop on our Yellowstone exploration is the Mud Volcano home to Dragon Mouth's Spring. After a full day of sightseeing, enjoy a three course dinner at your hotel.

You’ll get a glimpse into “Spirit of the West” at the Buffalo Bill Center for the West museum complex. As you wander through this huge set of exhibits you’ll feel like you’ve been transported back to a time of cowboys and cowgirls, lawmen and brave Native American warriors. The complex includes the Buffalo Bill Museum, Plains Indians Museum, Whitney Western Art Museum, Drapter and Natural History Museum. The museum was founded in 1917 and today holds over 50,000 artifacts. The Musuem has been part of the Smithsonian Affiliates programs for the past 15 years.

This morning we make our way to Gillette, WY and enjoy a Be My Guest lunch at the Durham Bison Ranch. You will be treated to a tour of the 55,000 acre farm housing over 3,000 bison. Next we travel to South Dakota, making a stop at the base of the Crazy Horse Memorial. You’ll gaze in awe of this colossal carved tribute to Crazy Horse, which you’ll learn is the largest mountain carving in the world.

Visit the Ben Reifel Visitor Center, the perfect place to get yourself oriented for your morning visit of Badlands National Park. Learn about the rich earth science, wildlife, history, and more. Explore museum exhibits, visit a working Fossil Preparation Lab, or stop by the park bookstore. Later in the afternoon, enjoy a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER®  Experience with a visit to the Oglala Lakota Living History Village. It is the entry point to the beautiful landscape of the past and present culture, and of indigenous knowledge of Lakota Country on Pine Ridge Reservation. Walk on the trails through displays of living quarters from approximately the 1870’s to the 1960’s with a local guide. Local native artists provide an insight of the culture and tradition through their crafts and storytelling. Your visit contributes to the sustainability and resiliency of the Lakota community.

Today, head for the famous Black Hills of South Dakota to view the giant faces of former American presidents etched in the stone cliffs of Mount Rushmore. This evening, join your fellow adventurers at a MAKE TRAVEL MATTER® Experience and Farewell Dinner featuring your guide Stephen Yellowhawk (or another tribe member).

Your Wild West adventure comes to an end after breakfast. Say so long to your newfound friends this morning. Depart from Rapid City at your leisure.