GeoWorld Travel USA Tour Geology Trip and Holiday

Itinerary 

Days 1 - Arrive in Bozeman, Montana.  Meet at a hotel near the airport at 18:00. Bozeman is the northern gateway to Yellowstone. It is possible to fly to Bozeman from several US cities including Seattle, New York, Chicago, Denver, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas or Phoenix-Mesa. If you are flying to Bozeman from outside the USA, you will need to fly to one of these cities first and then take an internal flight. You may consider arriving a day early to recover from the jetlag and to visit the excellent dinosaur exhibit in Bozeman’s Museum of the Rockies.

Day 2 - Yellowstone National Park and World Heritage Site - We leave Bozeman and drive south making a few short geological stops in the Paradise Valley before entering Yellowstone National Park by the North Gate.  Yellowstone is an active volcano and has produced some of the largest rhyolitic eruptions known on earth. It also hosts the world's largest concentration of hydrothermal features with more geysers than the rest of the world combined. Yellowstone is the world's first National Park, and a World Heritage Site. Our first stop in the park is Mammoth Hotsprings with its striking travertine terraces. We then proceed to Sheepeater Cliffs to see columnar basalt before stopping at Obsidian Cliffs. We then have lunch at   Norris Geyser Basin, Yellowstone’s oldest and hottest thermal area with Porcelain Basin. Here we find the world’s tallest geyser, the 400-foot Steamboat Geyser. We then drive to the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone making several stops on both sides of the gorge. This amazing canyon not only boasts 2 huge waterfalls but also allows us to examine the internal geology of a hydrothermal basin.  We then drive on to Tuff Cliff to learn about the Yellowstone Caldera, with a final stop at Terrace Spring before spending the night in West Yellowstone. Drive time: 4hrs.

Day 3 - Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks.  Our first stop of the day is Firehole Canyon where we examine rhyolite lava flows that have erupted since the caldera formed. We then travel on to Fountain Paint Pots in the Lower Geyser Basin and learn how acidic fluids attack the rock forming mud pots. Our next stop is the Midway Geyser Basin, famous for the gorgeous Grand Prismatic Spring, the park’s largest hot spring. Midway is also home to Excelsior Geyser’s 200ft by 300ft crater. We then proceed to the Upper Geyser Basin, home to at least 150 geysers packed into just one square mile, including the world’s most famous, Old Faithful. Old Faithful erupts regularly, and we will wait to see an eruption. We will also eat our lunch and take a walk around some of the other geysers. We then return to the car and pass along the Yellowstone Lake, briefly stopping at the West Thumb Geyser Basin before leaving the southern entrance of the Park and entering the Grand Teton National Park with its rugged mountain views. In Grand Teton we make several stops including at Jenny Lake. We spend the night in the town of Alpine. Drive time: 3hrs30.

Day 4 - Fossil Butte National Monument. This morning, we drive south along the Idaho and Wyoming boundary to reach Fossil Butte National Monument, the site of the famous Green River fish fossils which can be found in fossil shops and museums all around the world. The Monument has a wonderful museum and a scenic walk up to the old fossil quarry. The collection of fossils is not allowed in US National Parks and Monuments, however, if the weather conditions are suitable, we plan to also visit a nearby 'pay to dig' quarry on private land where we will be able to collect our own fish fossils. The night is spent is the nearest town, Kemmerer. Drive time: 4hrs.

Day 5 - Uinta Mountains and Dinosaur National Monument. In the morning, we drive through the Bridger Basin the discovery area of Eocene mammal fossils including the famous Uintatherium. We then drive along the Flaming Gorge Unitas National Scenic Byway stopping in the Sheep Creek Canyon Geological Area. The route crosses the Uinta Mountains, before dropping down into Vernal where we have lunch. In Vernal we can also make a quick visit to the Utah Field House of Natural History State Park Museum to see the Eocene Mammals and Dinosaur exhibits. After lunch we visit Dinosaur National Monument and spend the whole afternoon at this wonderful site. In the Quarry Exhibit Hall, located over the world-famous Carnegie Dinosaur Quarry, we see a wall of approximately 1,500 dinosaur bones including Allosaurus, Apatosaurus, Camarasaurus, Diplodocus and Stegosaurus, along with several others. The rocks are from the famous Morrison Formation from the Late Jurassic, 149 million years ago. The monument was founded in 1915 and was the site of several important early dinosaur discoveries. We will also walk the 1.2 mile Fossil Discovery Trail that links the Quarry and the Visitor Centre. Along the trail several dinosaur bones can be seen eroding out of the rocks. The night is spent in Rangely. Drive time: 3hr45.

Day 6 - Dinosaur tracks and dinosaur discovery sites.  Our first stop of the day is the Colorado town of Dinosaur. Here we can pose for photos with the street names which are all different types of dinosaur. We then proceed on south crossing the Bookcliff Mountains via Douglas Pass to reach the Grand Valley at Fruita. In Fruita we visit Dinosaur Hill, the discovery site of Brontosaurus now called Apatosaurus.  After lunch in Fruita, we then drive on to the Trail Through Time, in the Rabbit Valley. Here we walk the trail and can see dinosaur bones still in the rocks!  After lunch we visit the Copper Ridge Dinosaur Tracksite, where the tracks of a sauropod dinosaur can be seen turning. Our final stop of the day is the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Tracksite where more than 200 individual tracks from 8 different types of dinosaurs, along with a crocodile resting trace can be seen. We arrive in Moab where we will spend two nights. Drive time: 5hrs.

Day 7 - Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park.  Our hotel is only 15 minutes’ drive from the entrance to Arches National Park and we make an early start, arriving at dawn, as the park opens. The park is home to nearly 2,000 sandstone arches as well as spires, hoodoos, fins, salt valleys, canyons, and graben valleys. Our first stop is the park’s most famous arch: Delicate Arch. This is followed by Panoramic Point where we get an understanding of the structural geology and salt doming, which was instrumental in forming these arches. We then proceed to another famous arch, Double Arch. This is followed by Balanced Rock, Petrified Dunes Viewpoint and Courthouse Towers. At Park Avenue we take a short hike to admire the beautiful sandstone formations. We then have a stop for an excellent view of the Moab Fault before ending with the National Park Visitor Centre. We then drive about 40 minutes to reach Dead Horse State Park, here we have our picnic lunch and get excellent views of the Colorado River cutting through 150 million years of geology from the Jurassic to the Permian. Adjacent to the State Park is Canyonlands National Park, and our first stop in the National Park is Upheaval Dome, an enigmatic geological structure, that has been variously interpreted as a meteorite impact structure or a salt dome. We then visit Green River Overlook followed by Grand View Point Overlook, both of which are rated by many as the two finest viewpoints in the park. We then to return to the same hotel in Moab for a second night. Drive time: 4hrs.

Day 8 – Goosenecks and Monument Valley. We have a free morning in Moab, allowing you to catch your breath and to have a bit of a rest. You may wish to take the opportunity to browse some of the town’s many shops, or to watch the world go by at one of the town’s cafes and restaurants. We then drive to the town of Blanding to buy a picnic lunch. Once we’re on the road again, we stop at Comb Ridge, a classic example of a monocline, the rocks here range in age from Permian to Jurassic. The next stop is the famous sombrero-shaped Mexican Hat Rock which is a resistant unit of Permian aged rock precariously perched on a softer unit of Permian rock. We reach Goosenecks State Park for our picnic and to see the wonderful, incised meanders in the San Juan River.  We then continue to Monument Valley Tribal Park, where we see the spectacular rock monuments that are an icon of the American west. The monuments carved out by fluvial erosion are made of Permian aged rock with a Triassic aged cap. The night is spent in the nearby Indian Reservation town of Kayenta. Drive time 3hrs 30mins.

Day 9 - The Grand Canyon National Park and World Heritage Site. Our first stop of the day is the Tuba City dinosaur trackway. These early Jurassic theropod dinosaur tracks are on Navajo land and a local Navajo guide will explain them to us. We then drive on having a pause at Cameron to reach the eastern entrance to the Grand Canyon National Park.  The Grand Canyon is a World Heritage Site and is one of the world's most famous geosites. Our first stop in the National Park is Desert View, here we can see all the way down to the Colorado River and Precambrian rocks at the base of the canyon. We also have our lunch here. We then travel along the eastern rim with photo stops at Navajo Point, Lipan Point and Moran Point to reach the Grand Canyon Visitor Center. After a look around the centre we take a National Park bus to Hopi Point and walk the gentle and flat 'Trail of Time' along the canyon rim. The trail ends at the Yavapai Geology Museum, which has interpretive boards and stunning views. From the Museum we take another bus to the South Kaibab Trail Head and Yaki Point. Those who still have the energy can optionally hike 200 metres down the into the canyon, a 2 mile return walk down and up the South Kaibab Trail, to Ooh Aah Point, to see the sunset. Alternatively, it can be seen from the rim at Yaki Point. The night is spent in Tusayan which is a short drive south of Grand Canyon Village. Drive time: 3hrs.

Day 10 - Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument and Meteor Crater. In the morning, we drive through the San Fransisco Volcanic field to reach Sunset Volcano Crater National Monument.  This volcano is a cinder cone and erupted between 1040 and 1100. At the monument we visit the visitor centre and take two short walks to examine the lava flows. We then drive to Flagstaff where we have lunch. After lunch we drive on to Meteor Crater, one of the best-preserved meteor impact craters in the world.  We spend 2 hours visiting the amazing visitor centre which is on the rim of the crater with great views looking down into it. The night is spent in Holbrook. Drive time: 3hr45.

Day 11 - Petrified Forest National Park. This National Park is so named because of its fossil trees. We enter the park at the southern entrance stopping first at the visitor centre which has an excellent museum. Here we walk the 0.4 mile Giant Logs Trail which features some of the largest and most colourful logs in the park. Old Faithful, at the top of the trail, is almost ten feet wide at the base. We then proceed on to the 0.75 mile Crystal Forest Trail, named for the presence of beautiful crystals that can be found in the petrified logs; this trail offers one of the best opportunities to experience the petrified wood deposits. The next stop is Jasper Forest where we have a panoramic view over an area with a high concentration of petrified logs. The next stop is Blue Mesa where we get wonderful views. Our final stop is Newspaper Rock where 2000-year-old petroglyphs can be seen. We then exit the National Park from the north entrance and drive via the scenic Tonto and Apache-Sitgreaves National Forests to reach Phoenix where we will spend our last night. Drive time: 5hrs. 

Day 12 - Depart from Phoenix, Arizona. Phoenix has an international airport with direct flights to many US and European airports.