Colorado & New Mexico Frontiers

Arrive in Denver

Arrive in the Mile High City. Guests who booked their air with YMT will be met by a YMT representative and transferred to their hotel. The evening is at your leisure.

Alamosa via Colorado Springs

Start your tour at the Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs. It features towering red sandstone formations jutting hundreds of feet in the air against the snow-capped backdrop of Pike’s Peak. The Garden of the Gods is one of Colorado’s most photographed sites, and you will have plenty of time to appreciate and document these spectacular views.

Next, enjoy a fun stop at the Colorado Springs Ghost Town Museum, an indoor collection of historic structures and everyday artifacts from over a century ago. Housed in a stone building used by the Colorado Midland Railroad, the Ghost Town Museum takes you all the way back to Colorado’s Wild West. You’re invited to man a pan at the museum’s gold trough (weather permitting)!
This afternoon visit to Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, where North America’s tallest dunes rise over 750 feet high against the rugged Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve spans over 30 miles, and contains over 5 billion cubic meters of sand to create the largest sandbox in North America. Check into your hotel in Alamosa and enjoy the evening at your leisure.(B)

Durango via Pagosa Springs

Visit Pagosa Springs, found at the base of the Continental Divide, known for its amazing natural hot springs, plentiful sunshine, and small-town charm. Arrive in Durango, in time for lunch on your own.

Step into the past and experience the lives of one of America’s oldest cultures, the Pueblo people, on your visit to the cliffside dwellings of Mesa Verde National Park. The park includes more than 4,000 archeological sites dating back to A.D. 550, including cliff dwellings and mesa top sites from the Ancestral Pueblo peoples who lived here for more than 700 years. (B)

Durango

Take an unforgettable train ride from Durango to Silverton on the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, in the open air Gondola carriage, which has been in continuous operation between Durango and Silverton since 1882. Enjoy panoramic vistas and an authentic experience on this line built to haul silver and gold ore.

Your next stop is historic Silverton, where you will enjoy time in this National Historic Landmark founded in 1874 in the San Juan Mountains. After the railroad reached the town in 1882, the surrounding region experienced a mining boom that lasted until the 1910s.
This afternoon, you have an opportunity to visit 4 states at one time! The Four Corners Monument marks the quadripoint in the Southwestern United States where the states of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah meet. It is the only point in the United States shared by four states. (B)

Taos

This morning you will visit Aztec Ruins National Monument, where you will see preserved structures constructed by the Pueblo Indians. Archaeological evidence puts the construction of the ruins in the 12th and 13th centuries.

Drive to Taos, enjoy time to for lunch on your own before visiting the Spanish Colonial-style adobe San Francisco de Asisi Mission Church. The church is one of Taos’ most iconic structures and was the subject of several paintings by Georgia O’Keeffe and photographs by Ansel Adams.

Continue to Santa Fe for an evening at leisure. (B))

Santa Fe to Albuquerque

This morning enjoy a panoramic walking tour of Santa Fe, including Loretto Chapel and Central Plaza. After lunch on your own, you will visit Palace of the Governors, an adobe structure that has served as the seat of government for the state of New Mexico for centuries. Continue to Albuquerque for an evening at leisure. (B)

Albuquerque

Your final stop of the trip will be Albuquerque. Visit the one-of-a-kind Albuquerque Balloon Museum. The mission of the museum is to inspire a spirit of exploration, discovery, and achievement through experiences that engage visitors in the history, science, sport, and art of ballooning. Spend your final evening on tour enjoying the charming city of Albuquerque at your own pace. (B)

Depart for Home (B)