Boarding in Eveleth, Virginia, Hibbing, Grand Rapids, Duluth, Cloquet, Little Falls, Brainerd, Aitkin

America’s Old West & Cowboy Country

Yellowstone & Grand Teton National Park, Medora, ND; Billings, MT; Old Faithful Snow Lodge in Yellowstone; Casper & Cheyenne, WY; Deadwood, Wall, & Watertown, SD

September 8 - 19, 2010
John Denver knew what he was talking about when he wrote the words to “Rocky Mountain High”. From the pink and brown sands of the Dakota Badlands to the rugged mountains of Yellowstone National Park, this tour will offer endless opportunities to marvel at the beautiful country we live in. Think bucking horses, cowboys and Native Americans, the Pony Express, the Oregon and California Trails, gamblers, gun-slingers, “Gold!”…. and the Black Hills. You’ll dive deeply into many historic moments that made America what it is today. Join us as we embark on a trip of a lifetime…..America’s Old West and Yellowstone National Park.
Prices in (US Funds)
Per person Double Per person Triple Per person Quad Single Traveler
$1,699 $1,489 $1,369 $2,419
Your Twelve Day Tour Include the Following;
  • Motor Coach Transportation from Duluth, Iron Range, Grand Rapids, Brainerd and Little Falls
  • One Night in the Historic Western Town of Medora, North Dakota (AmericInn)
    Plus drive through the Theodore Roosevelt National Park & North Dakota Badlands
  • One Night in Billings, Montana (Hilton Garden Inn)
    We’ll also tour the Little Big Horn Battle Site the following day en-route to Yellowstone
  • Three Nights in in Yellowstone National Park at the “Old Faithful Snow Lodge”
    We’ll enter from the Northeast entrance (Red Lodge and Cooke City) through Beartooth Pass to Yellowstone NP. Spend the following day soaking up the magnificent beauty with a narrated tour of Yellowstone’s historic sites!
  • One day dedicated to touring The Grand Teton National Park with a step on guide/park ranger.
  • One Night in Casper, Wyoming …. aka “The Heart of the Old West”(LaQuinta)
    Visit Fort Caspar Military Post and National Historical Trails Interpretative Center where you‘ll learn about the Oregon Trail and the pioneers who traveled it. Plus enjoy the “Painted Past” tour, where you’ll meet folks dressed as prominent characters who lived in Casper in the 1890‘s!
  • Two Nights in Cheyenne, Wyoming, (Little America Hotel & Resort)
    Enjoy a city tour of Cheyenne to include time at your leisure to explore. We’ll also take you to bison ranch, where you can take a real train ride out in the middle of a herd AND eat a yummy buffalo burger!
  • One Night in the Black Hills - Deadwood (Hampton Inn Deadwood at Four Aces Casino)
    Enjoy an evening of gaming in Deadwood. Spend the following morning exploring the Black Hills. Visit Historic Fort Laramie en-route to Deadwood to include a film and talk with a park ranger.
  • One Night in Wall, South Dakota (Best Western Plaines Motel)
    Drive through Badlands National Park and visit the famous Wall Drug Store and Cafe
  • One Night in Watertown, South Dakota (Comfort Inn of Watertown)
    Lunch break in Mitchell, South Dakota and the Terry Redlin Art Center in Watertown.
  • 17 Meals are included - Taxes and Tips for included meals (11 Breakfasts, 1 Boxed Lunch & 5 Dinners)
  • Luggage Handling, Tips for Step-on-Guides and for the Porters (does not include tip for escort or driver)
  • Escorted by a Happy Trails Tours Representative.
  A few things you should know about the America's Old West and Yellowstone National Park tour:
Reservations/ Deposits: Reservations are taken on a first-come, first-served basis. No reservation is considered solid without a financial deposit paid. This tour lists pricing for 30paying travelers. If less than 25 travelers register, the tour may need to be re-priced or run the risk of cancellation. We’ll contact you well in advance if this becomes a concern. Always send in your deposit money “early on” so we know how “healthy” a tour actually is. People who wait until deadline dates often are surprised to hear a tour had to be cancelled. If Happy Trails Tours cancels the tour, all monies paid to Happy Trails Tours is fully refundable, as well as, any insurance premiums you may have purchased for this tour.
Final Payments / Documents / Cancellations: Final documents are expected to arrive in late July with final balances due July 1, 2010. $150 per person deposit is due with reservation & fully refundable with cancellations made by April 1, 2010. Monies returned with cancellations made after April 1, 2010, is contingent to what Happy Trails Tours receives back from charters, hotels, tour companies, and restaurants. No refunds with cancellations made after July 15, 2010.
Travel Insurance: Travel insurance is available to help defray monies lost due to illness, family emergencies, acts of war, etc...at an additional charge. It can offer peace of mind and financial security. Pre-existing conditions are waived if the insurance purchased within 12 days of your initial deposit paid. Call our office for a travel insurance brochure.
Payment Types: We do not accept credit cards for payment. Checks and money orders are accepted.
Dress Code: The tour is completely casual. Warm jackets are suggested (and layering clothing helps too) since evenings up in the mountains can get pretty cool. Be comfortable and casual. (Cowboy boots, hats and spurs OK, too!!)
Changes: Happy Trails reserves the right to adjust this schedule for the benefit of all traveling. We have no control over hotels, charters, attractions or restaurants. If we have to make a change, we’ll replace it with something of equal value or more. Thank you for your understanding.
Disclaimer: Happy Trails Tours acts only as an agent for the various independent suppliers that provide hotel accommodations, transportation, theater, or other services connected with this tour. Such services are subject to the terms and conditions of those suppliers. Happy Trails Tours, INC and their respective employees, agents, representatives accept no liability whatsoever for any injury, damage, loss, accident, delay, or any other default of any company or person in performing these services. Responsibility is not accepted for losses, injury, damages or expenses of any kind due to sickness, weather, strikes, hostilities, wars, terrorist acts, acts of nature, local laws or other causes. All services and accommodations are subject to the laws and regulations of country in which they are provided. Happy Trails Tours INC is not responsible for any baggage or personal effects of any individual participating in the tours/trips arranged by Happy Trails Tours. Individual travelers are responsible for purchasing a travel insurance policy, if desired, that will cover some of the expenses associated with the loss of luggage or personal effects.
Hotels: Hotel rooms requested are all non-smoking with two beds requested. (May be queen or doubles and king beds for couples are often substituted unless otherwise requested differently on the reservation form.) Note: all rooms inside Yellowstone National Park are non-smoking. They don’t have air-conditioning, televisions nor pools.
Click here for printable reservation form to mail to: Happy Trails Tours, PO Box 432, Forbes MN 55738

“America’s Old West” & “Yellowstone National Park” September 8-19, 2010


Miles: 600? (Travel Hours: 12 hrs) Destination: Medora, ND
Dinner included
5:00 AM - Stops will be made to pick folks up along the way with specifics yet to be announced. Breakfast, paying on own, at the Forest Lake Restaurant. Other stops along the way will be made as the day goes along. Move into Mountain Time once we get to Mandan, ND.
5:30 PM - Estimated arrival to your hotel in Medora, North Dakota. The little town of Medora has loads of western history…including home to Theodore Roosevelt! It’s boardwalks, saloon, and western town atmosphere draws thousands of tourist here annually! You’re going to love this place! Dinner, included, is at the Rough Rider’s Hotel.

Miles 284 (Travel Hours: 4-½ ) Destination: Billings, MT
Breakfast included
8:45 AM - After a nice deluxe continental breakfast this morning, we’ll travel to Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
First we’ll see a short film in the Visitor’s Center and make time to see Teddy’s cabin before taking the motor coach into the park for a sightseeing drive. You’ll see “Prairie Dog Town” and the lovely North Dakota Badlands in this 1-½ hour drive.
12:00 - 2:00 PM - The afternoon will allow a bit of time to shop in historic Medora and time to grab a bite to eat before traveling to Billings, MT, our home for tonight.
6:30 PM - Arrive to Billings, MT. (There are lots of restaurants within walking distance of the hotel.)

Miles 195 (Travel Hours: 4-¾ ) Destination: Yellowstone NP Breakfast and Boxed Lunch included
8:00 AM - Board the bus after breakfast and we’ll travel to Crow Agency, Montana.
Here’s where we’ll visit the battle site of Custer’s Last Stand at the Battle of the Little Big Horn. We’ll see a film that tells the story of the battle, then walk a short distance to where the battle occurred. A park ranger will be there to explain in more detail how this historic event unfolded. Because we still have a lot of hours to travel to Yellowstone, we’ll have “boxed lunches” made up in Billings and bring them along. This will save time on the road and bring us in earlier today to Yellowstone NP. We’ll back- track to Billings, then head south to Red Lodge taking Beartooth Pass to the northeast entrance into Yellowstone. It’ll be an unbelievable drive with spectacular scenery! Have your cameras ready!
6:30 PM - Estimated arrival to the Snow Lodge. (All properties in Yellowstone are non-smoking. They do not have TV’s, air-conditioning or swimming pools. It does have a restaurant on site. We’ll be here three nights.

(6-7 hour day of touring) Yellowstone NP Sightseeing
Breakfast and Dinner included
9:00 AM - 4:00 PM - After a full breakfast, included at the lodge, we’ll board the bus with a step-on-guide and drive through Yellowstone National Park. We’ll make stops to see Old Faithful, Inspiration Point, Artist Point, and other tourist attractions one would expect to see while in Yellowstone before returning to the hotel to spend the evening. Tonight, a nice dinner is included, to enjoy at your leisure at the lodge.

(6-7 hour touring day) Grand Teton National Park Breakfast included
8:00 AM - After a full breakfast, we’ll travel board the bus for the Grand Tetons.
The Grand Teton National Park is a wonderful place to visit any time of year, but fall is especially magical for a number of reasons. Beautiful fall colors, wildlife, and few crowds make for a wonderful and relaxing time of year. In general, fall in the Tetons last from the beginning of September until about mid-October. But like all natural events, fall depends on local climatic conditions. The amount of rainfall and the nighttime temperatures both play important roles in determining fall colors. While no one can accurately predict exact “peaks” of fall colors, in the Tetons, the third week in September has historically been about the peak for fall colors. And of course, some years are better than others! No matter when you come in the fall, the park holds many wonders to explore.
Upon the conclusion of our touring, we’ll return to the Old Faithful Snow Lodge for our last night’s stay in the park.

Miles 290 (Travel Hours: 7-½ ) Destination: Casper, WY
Breakfast and Dinner included
8:00 AM - After a full breakfast, we’ll say good-bye to Yellowstone and travel to Casper, WY, also known as the “Heart of the West”. Stops for coffee breaks and lunch will be made as the day goes along. We try to stop every 2-½ to 3 hours for stretching, meal breaks and comfort stops.
5:00 PM - Estimated arrival to Casper’s La Quinta Inn.
Tonight we have a great dinner planned at Sanfords in the historic district before taking you on a “Painted Past” Walking tour. Here you’ll meet six characters from 1890 who lived in Casper…all whom had pretty colorful pasts. You’ll love this tour!!! We’ll return to the hotel around 8:30 pm tonight.

Miles 177 (Travel Hours: 2-¾ ) Destination: Cheyenne, WY
Breakfast and Dinner is included
8:45 AM - After a deluxe continental breakfast, included, we’ll visit a few sites in Casper before traveling to Cheyenne.
Our first visit will be to the National Historical Interpretative Center. This stops highlights the pioneer trails and other important routes that have been such an integral part to our nation’s history. Another neat stop we‘ll make before lunch is the Fort Caspar Military Post. Casper was the “crossroads” for the Oregon Trail, the California Trail, the Pony Express Trail, and the Mormon Pioneer Trail. This westward migration route shaped U.S. history. We’ll get lunch in Casper, paying on own, before traveling to Cheyenne, our home for the next two nights.
4:30 PM - Estimated arrival to Cheyenne’s Little America Hotel.
Cheyenne, established in the late 1860’s, was named for the tribe of Plains Indians that once roamed southeastern Wyoming. It became over-run by gamblers, cowboys, speculators, shopkeepers, estate salesmen….thus earning the name “Hell on Wheels”. Needless to say, it has some very colorful history, which lends itself to this “America’s West” tour we have planned for you! Relax tonight and enjoy this lovely resort property, getting dinner at your leisure tonight.

(Local Touring) Cheyenne Sightseeing
Breakfast and dinner included
9:00 AM - After a full breakfast, we’ll board the bus and tour the Cheyenne sights with an area step on guide.
We’ll also have ample time to explore the historic area and even do a bit of shopping at the Wranglers Store! (Hey, you might need some boots or a cowboy hat!) The late afternoon brings us to another really fun attraction! We’ll visit a real bison ranch where a train ride awaits, as well as, an included dinner. Here you can get a yummy buffalo burger, beef burger or chicken burger!
6:30 PM - Estimated arrival to the hotel after a fun day of exploring Cheyenne!

Miles 300 (Travel Hours: 6) Destination: Deadwood, SD
Breakfast included
8:00 AM - After a full breakfast, we’ll begin our journey to the Black Hills
As long as we’ll be traveling along U.S. 26, we’ve decided to visit Fort Laramie National Historic Site. This 832 acre site, is an important fur trading post that served to aid in the migration to Oregon and California. There are eleven structures, including 1874 cavalry barracks. This is an amazing stop and we didn’t want you to miss out on it! Lunch, paying on own, will be at the Silver Dollar in Lusk, an hour further down the road. Lusk, another cool little western town, has red-colored cliffs just to the west, which the American Indians obtained material for paint. Also, the ruts can still be seen where the Cheyenne and Black Hills Stage Line route ran.
4:00 PM - Estimated arrival to Deadwood’s, Hampton Inn Four Aces Casino. You’re located right in the historic district. The evening is yours to spend as per your own agenda - gaming or walking around the town! Enjoy.

Miles 94 (Travel Hours: 1-½ hours ) Destination: Wall, So Dakota
Breakfast included
9:00 AM - After breakfast, we’ll take a drive through the Black Hills - (Specifics yet to be announced- as per our poll on registration form).
We’ll stay in the Black Hills until mid-afternoon before traveling to Wall, SD. About 1-½ hours down the road, we’ll enter the Badlands National Park Visitor Center. It takes about 1 - 1-½ hours to drive through this 244,000 acre park when adding in photo stops. We’ll also see the film at the Visitors Center and take time to view some of the exhibits there. Dinner will be at the famous Wall Drug before checking into the Best Western Plains Motel.
7:00 PM - Estimated arrival to our hotel in Wall Drug.

Miles 387 (Travel Hours: 5-½) Destination: Watertown, SD
Breakfast included
7:00 AM - After our deluxe continental breakfast, we’ll say good bye to Wall and begin our journey to Watertown, SD.
Stops will be made for coffee breaks, lunch and comfort stops, as the day goes along. The reason for an early departure today is because we’ll lose an hour traveling to Watertown. We move back into Central Daylight Savings time in Murdo, SD before our lunch break. It’s the only way we can actually make our afternoon appointment to see the Terry Redlin Art Center. Our lunch stop is planned for Mitchell (Corn Palace country) where folks can pay on own. In the late afternoon, we’ll visit Terry Redlin Art Center. Our visit will include a short film, an orientation of the facility and coffee and cookies upon our arrival! Time has been made for the “gift shop” before checking into our hotel nearby.
5:45 PM - Estimated arrival to the Comfort Inn in Watertown. (They have an I-Hop located next door).

Miles 438 (Travel Hours: 9-½ ) Destination: HOME
Breakfast included
7:30 AM - After breakfast, we’ll begin our travel homeward. Be sure to leave a little extra room in your suitcase for all the wonderful memories you’ll have made on this westward journey to North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming and South Dakota. Our journey home will take us through Fargo and home eastward through the towns of Detroit Lake, Park Rapids, Walker and Grand Rapids. (The same route we took going just in case folks board here and need to be dropped off.) We’ll make Park Rapids the town where we’ll make our lunch break. Other stops will be made as the day goes along. 4:00 PM - Estimated arrival to the Grand Rapids ~ 4:45 PM to Hibbing ~ 5:15 to Virginia ~ 5:30 to Eveleth ~ 6:30 PM to Duluth.
Click here for printable reservation form to mail to: Happy Trails Tours, PO Box 432, Forbes MN 55738
Disclaimer: Happy Trail Tours are arranged and operated by Marge Ellis @ Happy Trail Tours INC, PO Box 432, Forbes, MN 55738. Happy Trail Tours, INC and its employees act only as agents for others (airlines, bus lines, hotels, restaurants, theaters, etc.) in providing services included in the tours. No liability shall be incurred by Marge Ellis, Happy Trail Tours, INC or its employees because of injury, monetary, or property loss, or other complications experienced by tour members.
Occasionally a change will occur in a tour listed. Whenever possible, we'll replace it with something of equal value or more. Happy Trail Tours always reserve the right to adjust any scheduled itinerary for the benefit of all traveling.
Information deemed reliable but not guaranteed.
Happy Trail Tours, PO Box 432, Forbes MN 55738 (218) 744-4159 or toll free (800) 635-7779