Wendinger Band & Travel, Inc.
Friday, August 3 Kearney, NE
Our tour begins by meeting the motor coach at our designated pick-up areas for our exciting Northern California & Oregon Coastline tour featuring the beautiful Columbia River. Today we will enjoy rich farmland as we go through southwestern Minnesota and western Iowa to our luncheon stop in Sioux City. This afternoon we’ll be going through the historic city of Omaha, Nebraska on our way to Lincoln, the capital of Nebraska. As we drive Interstate 80 the road becomes the Great Platte River Road, which was the nation’s thoroughfare to the west. Paying tribute to this bountiful history is the Great Platte River Archway Monument. This eight story structure spans the highway much like a bridge and traces the westward migration through murals and life-size figures. Our evening stay is at the Country Inn & Suites in Kearney, Nebraska.
Saturday, August 4 Grand Junction, CO
After breakfast, we will travel the wide, gentle rolling prairie of Nebraska leaving the cornfields of the mid-west behind as we enter into the grasslands & cattle country of the west. We are now traveling on the route once known as the Lincoln Highway. This roadway was the first to provide a direct coast-to-coast automobile route. As we travel into Colorado we will see the breath-taking scenery as we wind around mountain peaks, canyon walls, and rushing streams enroute to Grand Junction, Colorado for our over night stay at the Grand Vista Hotel.
Sunday, August 5 Ely, NV
This morning we will drive along one of America’s most scenic drives, the Rim Rock Drive. This 23-mile route affords magnificent views as the road skirts the edges of the canyon, which can be more than 500 feet deep. After leaving the Colorado National Monument Park we will drive to Ely, Nevada. This evening you will be staying at the historic Nevada Hotel & Gambling Hall where Western hospitality is at it’s finest. Spend your evening with a stroll downtown or a little gambling fun at the attached Gambling Hall.
Monday, August 6 Bishop, CA
This morning we will continue our scenic drive to Tonopah, Nevada for our morning break. This afternoon we will cross into the Golden State of California for our overnight stay at the Holiday Inn in Bishop, California.
Tuesday, August 7 Hayward, CA
Yosemite National Park is our attraction for today. Glaciers transformed the rolling hills and meandering streams of Yosemite. Abraham Lincoln set aside this breath-taking scenic area to become a national park in 1864. Home to majestic rock formations such as Half Moon Dome and El Capitan. For lunch we will have the opportunity to shop and browse in the Yosemite Village . As we leave the park we will travel west toward Oakland and San Francisco for our evening stay at the Hampton Inn in Hayward, CA.
Wednesday, August 8 Eureka, CA
Traveling across the Oakland Bay Bridge to San Francisco Bay, we will pick up a step-on guide for a short orientation about San Francisco. You will have a chance to ride the "world famous" trolley ride of the city. Before crossing the Golden Gate Bridge, you will have a photo opportunity of its vast span, tremendous towers, and sweeping main cables. Then our journey takes us onto Highway 101 towards Northern California. This afternoon our travels take us into giant towering Redwood forests passing through the "Avenue of Giants" where we are dwarfed by trees that average from 500 to 700 years old. Our first stop will be at the "picturesque tree" where people drive their cars through the base of the tree. The tree is over 2,000 years old, before Christ was born. Our evening stay is at the Humbolt Bay Inn in Eureka, California in the heart of the lumber country.
Thursday, August 9 Coos Bay, OR
Today we drive through Redwood National Park which boasts the tallest trees in the world, reaching 368 feet and up to 12 feet in diameter. We will be making a stop at the gift shop of Paul Bunyan and Babe, his blue ox. We continue our scenic drive up the rugged coastline into Oregon. This afternoon we have planned an exciting Rogue River Jet Boat Ride. The Rogue River Canyon abounds in a variety of wildlife including sea lions, bald eagles and more. This evening we will be staying in the resort area of Coos Bay.
Friday, August 10 Portland, OR
As we travel north you will get a glimpse of the Oregon Dunes National Recreational Area. The Sand Dunes await us this morning for a thrilling ride on a giant sand dune buggy across the beautiful white sandy beaches of Oregon. The route clings to the coast as it goes north, sometimes tight roping high above the water and other times running right alongside the shore. We arrive in the scenic town of Newport, a quaint old fishing town nestled along the beautiful Yaquina Bay, for our luncheon stop. You will get a chance during lunch to watch the sea lions sunning themselves on the docks in town. This afternoon we travel our way to Portland, "The City of Roses". One of the stops in the city will be the International Rose Test Gardens. In the golden age of riverboats, steamboats constantly crossed Portland’s busy waterfront. Our evening stay will be in the city of Portland at the Country Inn & Suites.
Saturday, August 11 Moses Lake, WA
Two hundred years ago the Lewis & Clark Expedition ended with the Columbia River and the Pacific Ocean. Today we will travel up the Columbia River seeing sights such as the Bonneville Lock & Dam, Multnomah Falls, and Columbia River Gorge. Glancing to the side we see Mt. Hood. We follow the Columbia River eastward toward the Dalles, where the overland route of the Oregon Trail ended. Dalles is one of the oldest inhabited locations in North America where Native Americans gathered and traded for 10,000 years. Lewis and Clark camped here in October of 1805. This afternoon we will enter the state of Washington to the city of Kennewick, where the mighty Snake River enters into the Columbia River. Our overnight stay will be at the Best Western in Moses Lake, Washington.
Sunday, August 12 Whitefish, MT
This morning’s scenic route takes us to the Grand Coulee Dam. We will be stopping in the Visitor Center where we will be awed with evidence of the dam’s size. At 550 feet high and almost a mile across, it’s one of the largest concrete structures in the world, containing enough concrete to build a 4-foot wide sidewalk twice around the equator. Spokane will be our luncheon stop today. After lunch one more beautiful drive awaits us as we pass through Coeur d’Alene. We will enter Montana working our way into the Rocky Mountains to the city of Whitefish for our evening stay at the Best Western.
Monday, August 13 Amtrak to Minot, ND
An early morning departure by Amtrak will allow us to enjoy the sights of the southern part of Glacier National Park. Your luxury super liner will travel through Montana and North Dakota, in coach class seating. You will disembark from the train in Minot where our motor coach will transport us to our hotel, The Vegas in Minot, North Dakota.
Tuesday, August 14 Home
After breakfast we’ll board our motor coach for the final portion of our northern California and Oregon Coastline Adventure back to Minnesota. We will have an included lunch at the Golden Corral in Fargo.
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