This spectacular new tour is designed to highlight some of the less-visited parks of the desert Southwest. This spring tour departs on Amtrak’s Texas Eagle from Chicago, returning on the Southwest Chief. These comfortable double-decker Superliner trains follow legendary routes. The Texas Eagle traverses the Union Pacific over the renowned Missouri Pacific and “Sunset” routes. The Southwest Chief is the successor of the famed Santa Fe “Super Chief/El Capitan” and follows the Burlington Northern/Santa Fe’s mainline over the Rockies across Raton Pass as it rolls on the “Santa Fe All the Way” east.

This tour includes two rides on New Mexico’s new “Rail Runner” commuter service. The line utilizes portions of the former Santa Fe El Paso-Albuquerque branch, the Raton Pass mainline, and an entirely new railroad to provide service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe and between Albuquerque and Belen. You ride both routes. The line to Santa Fe is literally a brand-new railroad for over 25 miles!

Tour highlights include a two-night stay at the beautiful Gage Hotel and a visit to Big Bend National Park, which contains an amazing diversity of plant, animal and bird life in a remarkable mountainous terrain. You also visit Guadalupe Mountains National Park, which includes Guadalupe Peak, the tallest mountain in Texas. This mountain range showcases part of the vast inland sea that covered this area over 250 million years ago.

Famous Carlsbad Caverns National Park also is located in the Guadalupe Mountains. These limestone caverns are immense; and you will be touring the Big Room before visiting the Living Desert Zoo. Another lovely stay is at the Lodge at Cloudcroft, a 1911 hotel built by the El Paso and Southwestern Railroad System to replace the 1899 log hotel which burned down. You also visit White Sands National Monument, a 275 square- mile area of snowy white dunes located south of Alamogordo.

Your visit to Albuquerque has a two-night stay in the Old Town area with a tram ride to the summit of Sandia Peak and rides on the new Rail Runner Express commuter service round-trip to Santa Fe, where you spend the day. Other activities are noted in the itinerary below.

Please note some of the hotels used have no elevators or are non-smoking. In order to fully enjoy this tour, participants should be able to climb two flights of stairs and walk a half-mile on fairly level terrain. One of the hotels being used is at 8600 feet elevation.

• View Prices and Dates
• Tour Highlights
• View Itinerary
• View Tour Images

Call 877-929-7245 for rail fares and schedules from
your city to and from Chicago.

• Experience Amtrak's magnificent Texas Eagel and the Southwest Chief, two of the most beautiful rail trips in North America.
• Two rides on New Mexico’s new “Rail Runner” commuter service.
• A visit to Big Bend National Park, Carlsbad Caverns National Park, White Sands National Monument, Big Bend National Park and Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
• Tram ride up to the 10,378 foot summit of Sandia Peak
• A visit to the New Mexico Museum of Space History and the Museum of the Big Bend

• Roundtrip rail and coach fares from Chicago
• 10 nights lodging
• Sightseeing passes
• 18 meals
• Services of a professional tour director
• All Transfers during the Escorted Portion of the tour
• All motorcoach transportation
• Luggage handling during the escorted portion of the tour

Day One, Sunday, April 19 (D for sleeping car passengers)
Depart Chicago on the Texas Eagle; overnight on train. Your train departs Chicago’s Union Station at 1:45 p.m. for west Texas. Your route this afternoon follows the Union Pacific’s former Gulf, Mobile and Ohio route through the “Land of Lincoln” as you roll southwest through Bloomington, Springfield and Alton, Illinois. You cross the Mississippi before a mid-evening stop at St. Louis, then continue south overnight on the UP’s former “Mopac” lines. Sleeping car passengers have dinner in the diner included, and you overnight on the train.

Day Two, Monday, April 20 (B,L,D for sleeping car passengers)
En route on the train. You continue on your rail journey. Dawn finds you in the foothills of the Ozarks leaving Little Rock. You enter Texas at Texarkana and move from the piney woods to the verges of the “Hill Country” as you ride south through Dallas, Fort Worth, Waco and Austin. The Texas Eagle combines with the Sunset Limited tonight in San Antonio. You again overnight on the train.

Day Three, Tuesday, April 21 (B,L for sleeping car passengers; D for all)
Alpine Texas; Museum of the Big Bend; to Marathon. Breakfast and lunch are eaten on the train before you arrive in Alpine TX about 1:30 p.m. This morning’s route takes you on the former Southern Pacific “Sunset Route”, now operated by the Union Pacific. The land changes from high plains to ragged desert mountains. At Del Rio, you soar over the Pecos River just north of its confluence with the Rio Grande on the famed Pecos High Bridge. The courthouse of the feared Hanging Judge Roy Bean, who billed himself as “The Law West of the Pecos”, was located here.

Upon arrival at Alpine, you are met by your motorcoach and visit the Museum of the Big Bend to learn about the area in which you will be traveling over the next few days. You then depart on a short drive to Marathon, TX, an extremely small village with a wonderful hotel at the gateway to Big Bend National Park. The historic Gage Hotel (built at the turn of the century) still stands; but your rooms are in a small complex of modern Southwest-styled rooms built around a courtyard next to the hotel. Each room is uniquely furnished with antiques from the old west, and the swimming pool (with a waterfall!) is delightful. Dinner is included this evening.

Day Four, Wednesday, April 22 (B,L)
Touring in Big Bend National Park. After an included breakfast at the Gage, you re-board your motorcoach and drive south for an hour to Big Bend National Park, an 800,000 acre wonderland of geology, botany and biology located in southern Texas. The Rio Grande River borders the park for 118 miles, and the park itself encompasses part of the Chihuahuan Desert, the Chisos Mountain Range and steep canyons. The geology is both volcanic and fault-block, plant and animal life is prolific and unusual, and the scenery is magnificent. Half the bird species found in the U.S. migrate through Big Bend, and spring is a prime time to spot them. Lunch today is at the Chisos Mountain Lodge, located in the heart of the park inside the cone of an ancient volcano. Here truly is some of the most magnificent (and least-known) scenery in the west!

Day Five, Thursday, April 23 (B,L)
Guadalupe Mountains National Park. After another included breakfast, you drive to Van Horn for lunch before entering Guadalupe Mountains National Park. These mountains are the uplifted remains of the Capitan Reef Complex, an inland sea which covered parts of Texas and New Mexico in pre-historic times. In the 19th century, Mescalero Apaches lived here before they were driven out by the U.S. Cavalry to make room for settlers. Remains of a Butterfield stage station and the Frijole Ranch can be seen during your visit. You then continue to Carlsbad, NM and overnight at the Best Western Stevens Inn.

Day Six, Friday, April 24 (B,L)
Carlsbad Caverns National Park; Living Desert Zoo and Gardens. This morning’s touring begins with a visit to Carlsbad Caverns, a series of limestone caverns carved into the Guadalupe Mountains in New Mexico. Your visit includes a self-guided tour of the Big Room, which is 8 acres in area with a ceiling over 250 feet high. You then continue on to the Living Desert Zoo and Gardens, which contains plants and animals of the Chihuahuan Desert, including gray wolves. After a short drive to Artesia, you have an included luncheon before driving on to Cloudcroft, NM, a tiny mountain hamlet located over 8600 feet in elevation. Here you stay the night at The Lodge, a beautiful historic 1909 former Southern Pacific Railroad hotel with a spa, fitness room and shopping in the village.

Day Seven, Saturday, April 25 (L)
White Sands National Monument; Toy Train Depot and Miniature Train; Museum of Space History. Your day begins with a visit to White Sands National Monument, located south of Alamogordo. The visitors’ center has a film and exhibits about the history of this location, and the sight of these vast and starkly white dunes so far from any ocean is amazing. In Alamogordo, you visit the Toy Train Depot, which has hundreds of model trains on display. In addition, you ride a 16” gauge train. Following your included lunch, you visit the New Mexico Museum of Space History, which has exhibits of the space programs of all countries and launch shuttles and spacecraft. You then drive to Socorro, where you overnight at the Best Western Socorro Hotel.

Day Eight, Sunday, April 26 (L)
Sandia Tram; Albuquerque. You drive to Albuquerque this morning and begin your sightseeing with the tram ride up to the 10,378 foot summit of Sandia Peak, where You enjoy an included luncheon before returning. The forested summit provides sweeping views of nearly 100 miles into the vastness of the New Mexico uplands. Your motorcoach takes you to your hotel for the next two nights, the Best Western Rio Grande Inn. Following your check-in, there is free time to enjoy the Old Town area, which lies outside your hotel. Over 150 shops, restaurants and attractions can be found in this area.

Day Nine, Monday, April 27 (L)
Rail Runner Express; Santa Fe. This morning your motorcoach takes you to the depot to ride the new Rail Runner Express commuter rail, which is scheduled to be open all the way to Santa Fe by next year. The route initially follows the traditional line to Santa Fe, then turns onto a completely new alignment from Bernalillo, constructed in some places in the median of I-40. Upon arrival in Santa Fe, you visit the San Miguel Mission and ride the tram tour for an overview of the village. Your Farewell Luncheon is at the famous La Fonda restaurant, followed by free time before returning by rail on the new line to Belen and back to Albuquerque late this afternoon. You arrive at your hotel in time for dinner.

Day Ten, Tuesday, April 28 (L,D for sleeping car passengers)
Isleta Pueblo Mission; depart on Southwest Chief. In mid-morning you visit the Mission of the Isleta Pueblo, located south of Albuquerque. The pueblo was initially established in the 13th century, and St. Augustine Church was built in 1612 on the main plaza. You return to Albuquerque and board the Southwest Chief departing at 12:55 p.m. for Chicago. The route follows a very scenic line through Apache Canyon and over Raton Pass as you roll east on the BNSF mainline. You overnight on the train.

Day Eleven, Wednesday, April 29 (B,L for sleeping car passengers)
Dawn finds you in the rich farmlands of eastern Kansas. You stop at Kansas City and cross the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers before speeding across Illinois enroute to Chicago. Arrival is scheduled for 3:20 p.m. in Chicago, where your tour ends.

   

   

   

 Departure Dates:

• April 19-29, 2009

 Per Person Rates:

• $2,099 per person (double occupancy)
• $2,499 per person (single occupancy)