Archive for February, 2010

Iron Mountain Road: Escorted Vacation to South Dakota from Indianapolis

February 28, 2010

Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation to Iron Mountain Road in South Dakota from Indianapolis

This tour will transport you to an amazing world of mountain scenery and wide open spaces!

Custer State Park Buffalo Roundup (click here for itinerary)
(6 days, 5 nights)

Previous posts related to this tour:

If you look at the photo above, you can see Mt. Rushmore through the tunnel. This is Iron Mountain Road, which is part of scenic US Route 16A. According to Wikipedia,

Portions of US 16A are known as the Iron Mountain Road. The route includes most of the tunnels on the South Dakota state highway system, including the only four-lane tunnel in the state, just north of Keystone. Part of the highway is also a boundary of the Black Elk Wilderness. The Iron Mountain portion of the road is not maintained in the winter. The road, like several other scenic roads in the Black Hills, was originally laid out by Governor Peter Norbeck, specifically to create a very scenic, slow-speed road for tourists.

Here is a video of travel along the road, and the driver goes through tunnels, too:

On this tour, you will experience Iron Mountain Road in its full glory!

As you can see from the number of blog posts we’ve done for this tour, there is an incredible amount to see on this tour. Highly recommended! We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.

Photo by Kimon Berlin; used with permission.

–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team

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Carlsbad Caverns National Park: Escorted Vacation to New Mexico from Indianapolis

February 28, 2010

Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation to Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico from Indianapolis

Our upcoming balloon festival tour has a lot more to it than the world’s most spectacular ballooning event!

Scenic New Mexico and Balloon Fiesta (click here for itinerary)
(8 days, 7 nights)

Previous post on this tour: Albuquerque International Balloon Festival

This tour includes two trips to Carlsbad Caverns National Park, whose caverns are among the most spectacular in the world.

According to Wikipedia,

The primary attraction of the park for most visitors is the show cave, Carlsbad Caverns. Visitors to the cave can hike in on their own via the natural entrance, or take the elevator (the exit for everyone) directly to the Underground Lunchroom some 750 feet below. Approximately two thirds of the park has been set aside as a wilderness area, helping to ensure no future changes will be made to the habitat.

Carlsbad Caverns includes a large cave chamber 3rd largest in the Americas and 7th largest in the world, the Big Room, a natural limestone chamber which is almost 4,000 feet long, 625 feet wide, and 350 feet high at the highest point.

Here is a really nice video tour of the Caverns:

Much better to see it in person, though! This will be the trip of a lifetime, so why not give it a try? We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.

Photo by Mav; used with permission.

–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team

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Posted in Guaranteed Departure, Travel Infomation, United States, Upcoming Tours | Leave a Comment »

Charlottetown: Escorted Vacation to Prince Edward Island from Indianapolis

February 26, 2010

Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, from Indianapolis

We have a wonderful St. Lawrence River cruise coming up that we’re sure you’ll enjoy.

Discover the Magdalen Islands and St. Lawrence River Cruise (click here for itinerary)
(10 days, 9 nights)

Previous blog post on the Magdalen Islands

One charming destination on this tour is Charlottetown, the capital of the Province of Prince Edward Island. The photograph above is of the provincial capitol building. Here is what Wikipedia has to say about this fantastic little city:

The city’s streetscape with a centrally planned downtown core containing many Victorian-era houses and buildings is an attraction, as well as the waterfront redevelopment project. Popular attractions within the city include the provincial legislature at Province House, which hosted the Charlottetown Conference, as well as Founders Hall, a recently redeveloped railway maintenance building which now houses an interactive trip through history tracing the development of Canada as a nation.

The Confederation Centre of the Arts provides live theatre, including the Charlottetown Festival during the summer months, as well as a nationally ranked art gallery. Several other small theaters and galleries can be found immediately surrounding the Confederation center including the Mac (MacKenzie theatre), the Arts Guild, and Pilar Shepard gallery.

Here is a great video about Charlottetown:

Please take a look at the itinerary–this is truly a marvelous tour! We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.

Photo by Aconcagua; used with permission.

–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team

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Notre-Dame Basilica: Escorted Vacation to Montreal from Indianapolis

February 10, 2010

We have several outstanding tours to Canada in 2010. This is one that will provide memories to last a lifetime!

Ontario, Quebec and the St. Lawrence Seaway (click here for itinerary)
9 days, 8 nights)

One very interesting part of this vacation is a tour of Montreal, one of the world’s most intriguing cities. Included in this tour is a visit to Notre-Dame Basilica (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Montréal), a most fabulous place of worship!

According to Wikipedia,

The church’s Gothic Revival architecture is among the most dramatic in the world; its interior is grand and colourful, its ceiling is coloured deep blue and decorated with golden stars, and the rest of the sanctuary is a polychrome of blues, azures, reds, purples, silver, and gold. It is filled with hundreds of intricate wooden carvings and several religious statues. Unusual for a church, the stained glass windows along the walls of the sanctuary do not depict biblical scenes, but rather scenes from the religious history of Montreal.

The sanctuary was finished in 1830, and the first tower in 1843. On its completion, the church was the largest in North America. The interior took much longer, and Victor Bourgeau, who also worked on Montreal’s Mary, Queen of the World Cathedral, worked on it from 1872 to 1879. Stonemason John Redpath was a major participant in the construction of the Basilica.

Here is the official website, which has many amazing photographs.

And here is a très charmant (as they say in Quebec) video about the basilica:

Ah, Montreal–city of romance, city of adventure! What amazing things will you experience there? (Actually, if you look at the itinerary, you will see!)

This is truly an amazing vacation, so why not give it a try? We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.

Photo by IP Singh; used with permission.

–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team

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Zion National Park: Escorted Vacation to Utah from Indianapolis

February 3, 2010

Interlude Tours: Escorted Vacation to Zion National Park from Indianapolis

Canyon Country & Native American Experience (click here for details)
(7 days, 6 nights)

Previous posts about destinations included in this tour:

As you can see by the itinerary, this tour offers a veritable cornucopia of national park experiences, including Grand Canyon National Park.

Let’s a look, however, at the lesser known Zion National Park, which is quite spectacular in its own right. According to the official website,

Utah’s First National Park

Massive canyon walls ascend toward a brilliant blue sky. To experience Zion, you need to walk among the towering cliffs, or challenge your courage in a small narrow canyon. These unique sandstone cliffs range in color from cream, to pink, to red. They could be described as sand castles crowning desert canyons.

Wikipedia provides additional information:

Zion National Park is a national park located in the Southwestern United States, near Springdale, Utah. A prominent feature of the 229 mi.2 park is Zion Canyon, 15 miles (24 km) long and up to half a mile (800 m) deep, cut through the reddish and tan-colored Navajo Sandstone by the North Fork of the Virgin River. Located at the junction of the Colorado Plateau, Great Basin, and Mojave Desert regions, the park’s unique geography and variety of life zones allow for unusual plant and animal diversity. Numerous plant species as well as 289 species of birds, 75 mammals (including 19 species of bat), and 32 reptiles inhabit the park’s four life zones: desert, riparian, woodland, and coniferous forest. Common plant species include cottonwood, Cactus, Datura, Juniper, Pine, Boxelder, Sagebrush, yucca , and various willows. Notable megafauna include mountain lions, mule deer, and Golden Eagles, along with reintroduced California Condors and Bighorn Sheep.

Here is an incredible video about hiking in the park. It gives a good view of the spectacular red rock formations.

This will truly be the journey of a lifetime–so why not give it a try? We welcome reservations from Indianapolis, where we are based, or from any location in the United States or Canada.

Photo by Diliff; used with permission.

–Matt
The Interlude Tours Blog Team

•For immediate service, please call (317) 913-0387 or email us
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