The Great Buffalo Roundup of the Black Hills
featuring Mount Rushmore, Crazy Horse and Deadwood
September 23rd -28th, 2025
$2949 per person (Based Upon Double Occupancy) +$699 (Single Supplement) +$100 per person tax deductible donation to Heard Museum
Includes Roundtrip Airfare Phoenix Book Before March 31st to Save $200 Per Person!
Day One: Arrive in South Dakota. Your northwesterly journey begins in Rapid City. Meet your Tour Manager at 6:00 p.m. for dining suggestions.
Day Two: Crazy Horse Memorial and Historic Deadwood. Travel this morning to the Crazy Horse Memorial where a bus takes you to the base of the scujpture. Return to the visitor center to see the exhibits and film. In historic Deadwood, visit Mount Moriah Cemetery, known as “Boot Hill,” home to the graves of Old West legends like Calamity Jane and Wild Bill Hickok. There will be time to explore the town, see the local street shows and enjoy an included dinner in Deadwood. Meals: B, D
Day Three: Black Hills Gold Factory, Mount Rushmore and the 1880 Train. The day begins at the Black Hills Gold Factory to see how gold jewelry is made by skilled artisans. Then pay a visit to the famed Shrine of Democracy, Mount Rushmore National Memorial. See the memorial and explore the museum. Later, climb aboard the 1880 Train of the Black Hills Central Railroad for the spectacular mountain scenery found along the tracks laid in the 1880s to service the area mines. Return to Rapid City for a stop at the Presidential Statues tribute before dinner and live entertainment at Fort Hays Western Dinner and Show. Meals: B, D
Day Four: The Great Buffalo Roundup and Mammoth Site. Our day starts early in Custer State Park with a pancake breakfast to get ready for the Great Buffalo Roundup. Each fall the ground rumbles and the dust flies as cowboys and park crews saddle up to bring in the thundering herd of nearly 1,300 strong. After an included lunch at the State Game Lodge, travel to Hot Springs, home to the Mammoth Site. This excavation site features the fossils of 58 woolly mammoths at the world’s largest site of its kind. Meals: B, L
Day Five: Wall Drug Store and Badlands National Park. Begin the day at the Chapel in the Hills, a quiet retreat nestled at the foot of the Black Hills. Then stop at famed Wall Drug Store, a unique shopping emporium featuring
Deposit & Final Payment Deposit of $200 per person is due to secure reservations. Final payment due date is 60 days prior to departure. Reservations are taken on a first come, first served basis.
Travelers Protection Plan (TPP) – $349 per person This nonrefundable fee waives all cancellation fees when we are notified of cancellation one day before the tour departs. If you must leave the tour early due to personal illness, illness or death of a member of your immediate family, TPP guarantees full refund for any unused services after the departure of the tour. Other benefits include medical expenses for illness and injury, emergency transportation, 24 hour hot line, and lost or stolen baggage assistance
Return air transportation is included ONLY if your air tickets were provided by Mayflower Cruises & Tours. If you purchase the optional Travelers Protection Plan (TPP), you will be refunded all payments, including deposit amount, less the TPP premium amount Cancellation Charges Without Traveler’s Protection Plan (TPP)
· 61 days or more: Deposit Amount
· 60 to 31 days prior: 20% of tour cost
· 30 to 15 days prior: 30% of tour cost
· 14 to 1 day prior: 40% of tour cost
· Day of departure or early departure from tour: 100% of tour cost
· No refund on unused portions of the tour
Exclusions: Mayflower Cruises & Tours reserves the right to alter its refund and cancellation policy when a substantial amount of cancellation or postponement of travel is attributable to: conditions resulting from an act of God, natural or man-made disaster, fire, government action, civil disorder, war, hostilities between nations, or unavailability of transportation through no fault of Mayflower Cruises & Tours.
Monument Valley & Canyon de Chelly
May 28th -30th, 2025
$999 Per Person (Based Upon Double Occupancy) $215 (Single Supplement) +$100 per person tax deductible donation to Heard Museum
Day One: We’ll travel north with a stop for lunch, on self, at Cameron Trading Post. A haven for travelers since 1916, this trading post boasts an expansive dining room, with a huge stone fireplace and tall picture windows, offering a view of the Little Colorado River Gorge. We’ll enjoy the ambience, along with a terrific menu that runs from burgers to salads, and includes local favorites. After lunch we’ll explore the Grand Canyon via the East Entrance at Desert View, offering a unique opportunity to visit the world-famous Desert View Watchtower. Later we’ll travel to beautiful Monument Valley, check into our rooms at Goulding’s Lodge, and after a refresh, gather for a fabulous Welcome Dinner. We’ll experience an extraordinary evening showcasing a traditional Navajo Storyteller, while enjoying a delicious Navajo taco buffet, served with homemade frybread and all the fixin’s, included.
Day Two: Breakfast is included at the hotel. Later we’ll set off on a 2.5 hour jeep tour, covering more than 30 miles of secluded back-country, to discover the restricted areas of Monument Valley, a sacred homeland to the Navajo, who are the Keepers of Monument Valley. We’ll learn about the history of the Ancestral Puebloans, early Native American peoples, famously known for their petroglyphs, pictographs and their spectacular cliff dwellings. We’ll visit all of the famous monoliths of Monument Valley The Mittens, John Ford’s Point, Three Sisters, North Window, Totem Pole, Yei Bi Cheis and Artist’s Point. These are the real life backdrops for Hollywood Westerns such as Stagecoach, The Searchers, How the West was Won, and so many more. Afterwards we’ll enjoy lunch, on self, before boarding our Transits headed for Canyon de Chelly and the Thunderbird Lodge. Owned and operated by the Navajo Nation, the historic Thunderbird Lodge will be our cozy headquarters for the night. We’ll take some time for a refresh before setting out this evening for our own driving exploration of the South Rim of Canyon de Chelly. Later we’ll return to the hotel for dinner, on self. Thunderbird Lodge sits on the site of a trading post that was built in 1896. The restaurant, housed in the trading post’s original building, famously serves traditional Native American dishes, along with American favorites.
Day Three: Breakfast is included at the hotel. After breakfast jeeps will arrive to take us on a half-day tour of Canyon de Chelly. We’ll be led by our Navajo guides, who will explain the significance of man-made structures and symbols while also sharing the natural points of interest. Heavy-duty six-wheel-drive touring vehicles are equipped with padded seats to provide a good experience. The tours stop frequently for photo opportunities, to visit ancient sites, Navajo farms and rock art. When the tour is over we’ll head back to the hotel for a buffet style lunch, featuring all-America favorites, included. After lunch it’s back in the Transits, and we’re headed for home, with plenty of stops and great sightseeing along the way. We hope you’ll join us for this remarkable tour!
It’s easy to make a reservation for an OVERNIGHT Van or Motorcoach Tour. Simply call us, or fill out our online reservation form. We’ll ask you for a bit of information and a $100 nonrefundable deposit.
Wondering why that deposit is nonrefundable? Kindred Tours has made deposits to hotels, vendors, attractions… sometimes months in advance, and that money is often nonrefundable to us. Your final payment for OVERNIGHT Van or Motorcoach Tours will be due 45 days prior to your departure date. Final payments are nonrefundable. On rare occasions Kindred Tours may need to cancel a tour prior to departure. If this happens, we’ll notify you as far in advance as possible. You, of course, will receive a full refund for the cost of your tour, or you can transfer your credit to another tour of your choice.
ONE-DAY Van or Motorcoach Tours must be paid for when you make your reservation. Reservations can be made either by phone or online. One-day tours are nonrefundable within 30 days of the tour.
Call Your Reservations In 480-497-2478
Trail of the Ancients Scenic Byway
featuring Mesa Verde & Chaco Culture National Parks
October 20th -23rd, 2025
$949 per person (Based Upon Double Occupancy) $231 (Single Supplement) +$100 per person tax deductible donation to Heard Museum
The Trail of the Ancients is a modern-day drive that connects the migration routes of America’s first peoples the Ancestral Puebloans who occupied a vast region of the American Southwest for over 2,000 years. The only National Scenic Byway that was designated primarily for its archaeological sites, the trail passes through some of the southwest’s most protected places. With no particular right or wrong way to explore this multi-state trail—which the Federal Highway Administration says is 480 miles in total—we’ve planned a route that takes us through the trail’s most iconic sites, including Mesa Verde and Chaco Culture National Parks.
Day One: We’ll leave the Valley headed for Farmington, New Mexico, enjoying plenty of pitstops along the way, including a stop for lunch, on self, at the Painted Desert Diner at Petrified Forest National Park. Late afternoon, we’ll check into the Holiday Inn Express, and after a refresh, we’ll head out to enjoy a festive Welcome Dinner, included.
Day Two: Breakfast is included at the hotel. Back in the Transits we’re headed for Chaco Culture National Park. Chaco Canyon is home to the densest and most exceptional concentration of pueblos in the American Southwest. The park preserves one of the most important pre-Columbian cultural and historical areas in the United States. Between 850 to 1250 CE (Common Era), Chaco Canyon was a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo Peoples. Chacoans quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber from great distances, assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century. Many Chacoan buildings may have been aligned to capture the solar and lunar cycles, requiring generations of astronomical observations and centuries of skillfully coordinated construction. Climate change is thought to have led to the emigration of Chacoans and the eventual abandonment of the canyon, beginning with a fifty-year drought commencing in 1130. Chaco Canyon is a World Heritage Site and considered sacred ancestral homelands by the Hopi and Pueblo people, who maintain oral
accounts of their historical migration from Chaco and their spiritual relationship to the land. We’ll enjoy a picnic lunch, included, while exploring Chaco Canyon. Late afternoon we’ll head back to our hotel, and after a refresh we’ll gather for our own Happy Hour, included, before heading out to enjoy dinner on self.
Day Three: Breakfast is included at the hotel. Back in the Transits we’re headed for Mesa Verde National Park. For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth. Early afternoon we’ll travel to historic Durango, Colorado, where we’ll enjoy lunch, on self, with several wonderful restaurants to choose from. Later we’ll visit Aztec Ruins National Monument, a Chaco Canyon outlier, home to some of the best-preserved Chacoan structures of its kind. We’ll learn about the ancestral Pueblo people in the park's museum and explore the Aztec West great house to see exceptionally advanced architecture, original wooden beams, and a restored Great Kiva. Aztec Ruins is a deeply sacred place to many Indigenous peoples across the American Southwest. Early evening we’ll return to our hotel, and after a refresh we’ll gather for our own Happy Hour, included, before heading out to enjoy dinner on self.
Day Four: Breakfast is included at the hotel, then it’s bags out and we’re headed for home. We’ll enjoy plenty of great sightseeing along the way, as well as a stop for lunch, on self, at the fabulous La Posada Hotel the last of the great railroad hotels. The La Posada is home to the award winning Turquoise Room said to be the best restaurant in the Four Corners region offering an affordable lunch menu that features regional contemporary Southwestern Cuisine, with an occasional tribute to the great days of the Fred Harvey Company. We’re revving up our engines for this remarkable road trip and we’d love to have you join us!
Would you like to know more? We recommend The Mystery of Chaco Canyon, available free on Prime Video. Narrated by Robert Redford, this documentary examines the ancient ruins of Chaco Canyon, describing and demonstrating the intricate and precise astronomical alignments among the many buildings spread over a wide desert area. These alignments, along with other evidence, support the theory that Chaco Canyon was a major ceremonial center.
