Grand Circle Trek      

American Experience in 44 days

September 9-October 21 2006

States traveled through:  : Illinois, Tennessee, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, California, Utah, Wyoming and South Dakota

This trip is a fantastic way to see many new and exciting aspects of the USA while having fun crossing America. Experience the old west, Rocky Mountains, cowboy culture, pulsing city life, Big Sky country, open prairies of the Midwest and the Great Lakes while travelling from the Atlantic to the Pacific Oceans!

We start this amazing journey in the windy city, Chicago. Here you can enjoy the view from one of the world’s tallest skyscrapers-Sear’s Tower, eat a famous Chicago deep dish pizza, stroll along the Magnificent Mile or visit interesting museums. As we head west through the prairies we cross the mighty Mississippi. We get closer to the mountains as we pass Badlands National Park and the spiritual Native American Indian refuge of the Black Hills. The movie “Dances with Wolves” was filmed nearby on the vast grassland prairies.

Soon we are in the heart of cowboy country-Wyoming! Whoop it up with real cowboys and cowgirls with line-dancing and live country music at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar in Jackson Hole. Get wet white water rafting the Snake River. We explore one of America’s most prized jewels-Yellowstone National Park. Here we find geological wonders such as Old Faithful Geyser, Mammoth Hot Springs and wild animals such as the American buffalo, wolves, elk, cougar, moose, deer, grizzly bears and mountain goats. Soak in beautiful mountain vistas of the Grand Teton National Park.
Travelling through the desert landscape of we reach the Mormon settlement and home of the 2002 Olympic games, Salt Lake City.

Sail under the Golden Gate Bridge, around Alcatraz and see the city skyline on a private sailboat. Don’t forget souvenirs from Chinatown, Fisherman’s Wharf, Union Square, or a Cable Car ride before we leave San Francisco. Enjoy the Pacific Highway while traveling past Santa Barbara, Big Sur and Monterey. Enjoy the glittering nightlife, shows, shopping and gambling. Next it is on to Los Angeles, Hollywood and Beverly Hills. Here you can go to Universal Studios, Venice Beach and Santa Monica.

Next we head to Las Vegas with a stop along the historic Route 66. Soon we are hiking and helicopter flight-seeing through this marvel, one of the seven wonders of the natural world-Grand Canyon. Continuing through the deserts of New Mexico and Arizona we may see cactus, rattlesnakes and scorpions. As we make our way west through the Lone Star State of Texas we get ready for some steamy jazz, Cajun food and voodoo along the Mississippi River in New Orleans.

We make our way east to the Florida Panhandle and the sugary sand beaches of the Gulf of Mexico. Meet Mickey Mouse at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Check out the swamps of the Everglades where airboats await to take us to see the alligators and other wildlife of the wetlands. Further south we spend some hot nights on the Atlantic beaches of Miami. You have the chance to see where the space shuttles lift off…Kennedy Space Centre at Cape Canaveral.

For old southern charm we stop in Savannah and enjoy the historic riverfront. Continuing north our next stop is Atlanta. Take a drink at Coca Cola’s world headquarters or see the news live at the CNN TV studios. Listen to country music in Nashville. As we wander north soon we say goodbye as we reach Chicago once again.