SPECIAL BLACK FRIDAY 2022 TOUR PREVIEW

Hi everybody, I'm JD Conroy and welcome to a very special Black Friday edition of American Classic Tour TV. Now on today's episode, we're going to preview six tours coming in 2022, and there will be a special Black Friday discount on these tours. If you sign up for any of these tours by next Friday, December 3rd of 2021, you'll save $200 off per person per tour on any of the tours, any of the six tours I talk about today. This offer is only valid for new reservations. Before we get into our tour preview, I've got two important updates for you. The first is yesterday was Thanksgiving. So on behalf of our entire American Classic Tours team, I want to say thank you to all of you American Classic Travelers for being part of our travel family. Now there's a couple other things that our team here at American Classic Tours is very, very thankful for this year. The first is, as many of you know, well, as all of you know, 2020 and 2021 were a couple interesting years, especially for a small travel company, family business like us. It was a rough 16 months not being able to travel, but this is a very important but, we are so excited to say that we are back and better than ever. We operated our first tour in August, and since then, we've led 20 tours. Almost all of the tours that we've led have been sold out. We are back and better than ever. We've been back now, I can't believe I'm saying this, for almost five months. Next year is shaping up to be by far the biggest year in American Classic Tour history. Those tours I'm about to preview today, if you are interested, do not delay. Many of our tours next year are already almost sold out. My second update is we are offering gift cards here at American Classic Tours. With Christmas coming up, I wanted to let you know this today so that you can notify your nieces, nephews, your kids, your grandkids, that what you want for Christmas is to travel with American Classic Tours. It's really easy. Tell your relatives. They can just call our office. They can ask for any amount they want and put it in your name, and it'll be good. The gift card they purchased for you will be good through the end of 2023. That's it for the updates, folks. Let's get on to our tour preview. Enjoy the show. If you're looking for unforgettable scenery, big open skies, and a step back in time to the Old West, you'll want to join us on our Black Hills and Badlands Tour next year. Some highlights of this tour include Badlands National Park, where wind and water erosion have carved an eerie world of deep gorges, saw-edged spires, and grassy-topped buttes, creating a fabulous painted landscape. Hear about the Fort Laramie Treaty of 1868, Custer's expedition to the Black Hills that started the Gold Rush of 1874, Jack McCall, Calamity Jane, and Potato Creek Johnny on a guided tour of the historic western town of Deadwood. Travel Scenic Byway 14A to Spearfish Canyon, where some scenes of the movie Dances with Wolves were filmed. View Bridal Veil Falls, Little Spearfish Falls, and Rufflock Falls. Travel to Custer State Park and check into the State Park Game Lodge for a four-night stay. This historic lodge served as a summer White House for Presidents Coolidge and Eisenhower. Take a Buffalo Jeep ride into the backcountry of Custer State Park to observe the largest buffalo herd in North America. Keep your eyes open for bighorn sheep, mountain goats, antelope, deer, elk, and turkey, and we'll visit the Crazy Horse Memorial. Next we'll make our way to one of the most iconic places in America, truly a bucket list item, or should be a bucket list item, for every American, and that is Mount Rushmore. And this tour also features a guided tour of the Black Hills, where you'll see Iron Mountain, Needles Highway, Keystone, Sylvan Lake, and more. Next up we have our Southwest National Parks tour, and personally this is my favorite American classic tour. I just love this tour, and the reason I love it so much is it features five national parks in just nine days. It's full of unforgettable scenic drives, and it features multiple experiential hotels, hotels that are memorable, that are attractions in and of themselves. Let's take a look at our itinerary. We'll fly into Salt Lake City to begin our tour, and we'll check into the luxurious five-star Grand America Hotel, which features charming traditional decor, and of course comfortable accommodations. On day two, we'll take a guided tour of Salt Lake City, where we'll learn about its fascinating history with the Mormons, Brigham Young, and the Great Migration. We'll learn all about this history as we tour Mormon Temple Square. We'll see the famous Mormon Temple, a beautiful structure, and we'll go inside the Mormon Tabernacle, home to the famous Mormon Choir, to hear the building's world-class acoustics. We'll take a guided tour of Utah's state capitol building before we disembark on a scenic drive to Moab. Now, Moab sits right in between two national parks, Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park, and we'll check in, and we'll stay for a couple nights at an absolutely unforgettable lodge, the Red Cliffs Lodge. The lodge sits right here, perfectly on the bend of the Colorado River, amidst these towering red cliffs. The lodge is home to a horse ranch, a winery, and the Moab Museum of Film and Western Heritage. Many of the classic westerns were shot in the Moab area, including the John Wayne movie Rio Grande. The next morning, we'll tour Arches National Park. It's named Arches National Park because it's home to over 2,000 natural sandstone arches. If you've ever seen a movie that is set on Mars, it was probably shot at Arches National Park. Arches is home to this incredible Martian-like landscape. Later that afternoon, we'll just head across the road to tour Canyonlands National Park. Now, if Arches is named for its arches, Canyonlands is named for its canyons. Canyonlands is home to these sweeping views of endless canyons. It's just a beautiful national park. That night, we'll head back to the Red Cliffs Lodge, where we'll enjoy a cowboy steak cookout right here. We'll enjoy our dinner at the lodge overlooking the Colorado River. Next, we'll journey on an unforgettable scenic drive to Monument Valley. Monument Valley is perhaps the most iconic scene of the American West. It sits on the border of southern Utah and northern Arizona, in the middle of Navajo Nation. While we're there, we'll learn about the history of the Navajo, and you'll stand right here to take a photo of these three famous mitten buttes that have come to be a symbol of the great American West. Next, we'll journey to Lake Powell National Recreation Area. Lake Powell is actually a man-made lake. The Colorado River was dammed up during the LBJ administration by the engineering marvel of the Glen Canyon Dam. We'll learn about the construction of the Glen Canyon Dam, and we'll take a sunset cruise on Lake Powell. The colors of this lake are incredible. They offer a beautiful contrast, the bright blue water and the red canyon walls. Next, we'll take another unforgettable scenic drive across the Navajo Bridge, past the Vermilion Cliffs Grand Canyon. You'll have a free evening and morning to watch the sunset and the sunrise on the beautiful Grand Canyon. Now, I'm sure many of you have been to the Grand Canyon, but for those of you who haven't, seeing it in person, well, I'll just say you have to see it in person. It is mind-bending. I remember looking at it for the first time, and it's like your mind is stretched in awe. You can't even grasp what you're looking at. It is so big, so vast. It's really beautiful. We'll go from the giant, mind-bending magnificence of the Grand Canyon to the small, intimate amphitheaters of Bryce Canyon National Park. Bryce is filled with these unique pinnacle-shaped rock formations called hoodoos. These hoodoos sit in Bryce's many painted canyons or amphitheaters. Next, we'll journey to our fifth and last national park that we'll see on this tour, Zion National Park. Zion is my favorite of the five national parks on this tour because of the beautiful contrast of its bright green vegetation at the bottom of the canyons and the huge red rock canyon walls. From there, we'll head to Las Vegas, where we'll end our tour with a one-night stay at the Bellagio Casino and Resort. It's really nice. After being out in nature for eight days, surrounded by these beautiful red rock canyons, it's kind of nice to end your tour back in civilization in the bright lights of Las Vegas. You have a free night on your own to go see shows, to do some gambling, if you'd like to do that, or to just enjoy the luxury of your hotel room. Next up, we have our Grand Tetons Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks Tour. Now, we call this tour American Majesty because it is home to some of America's grandest, oldest national parks. If we take a look at our map here, the orange circle on this map represents the tour I just went over, the Southwest National Parks. On that tour, we're going to be mostly in Utah and northern Arizona and a little of Nevada. Now, the blue circle up top, that represents where we'll be on this national parks tour, mostly in northern Wyoming and Montana. Now, this tour features three national parks. The first is Grand Tetons, and if I were to describe Grand Tetons in one word, I would say it is picturesque. It's home to probably the most beautiful mountain range in North America, the Grand Tetons Mountain Range. While we're at Grand Tetons National Park, we'll take a float trip down the Snake River, we'll take a gondola ride to the top of the Rendezvous Mountain, and you'll have plenty of time to explore and shop in the upscale western town of Jackson Hole. Next, we'll make our way to Yellowstone, and if I were to describe Yellowstone in one word, I would say it is wild. Okay, Yellowstone is wild in two ways. First, it's home to some of the world's most unique or wild geothermal features, such as the Grand Prismatic Spring, Mammoth Hot Springs, and of course, Old Faithful. But it's also wild because it's probably the best place in the continental United States to see wildlife. We'll be on the lookout for bison, elk, otters, wolves, and more. And then we'll make our way to our third national park, which is Glacier National Park, and if I were to describe Glacier in one word, it would be mighty. While we're in Glacier, we'll take a ride on the Going to the Sun Road. We'll enjoy magnificent scenery. We'll be on the lookout for wildlife such as grizzly bears, mountain goats, and more. There's something so special about the changing of seasons and the changing of nature's colors. If you love autumn, and if you love fall foliage, you're definitely going to want to join us on this Autumn in the Adirondacks tour next year. Some highlights of this tour include a guided tour of Albany, where you'll see New York State's State Capitol building. We'll take a guided tour of Saratoga Springs, a historian Victorian city known for its natural mineral springs and spas, American Revolutionary monuments and battlefields, and thoroughbred racing. We'll take cruises on two beautiful lakes, Lake Placid and Lake George. We'll take a guided tour of the West Point Military Academy. We'll learn about the life and times of our 32nd President, Franklin D. Roosevelt, at his home, gravesite, and Library and Presidential Museum in Hyde Park, New York. While in Hyde Park, we'll also take a guided tour of the Vanderbilt Mansion, overlooking the scenic Hudson River Valley. We'll take a scenic fall foliage train ride along mountain-lined banks of the Hudson River from Poughkeepsie to Manhattan. We'll spend the last couple of days of our tour in New York City, where we'll take in a Broadway show. We'll take in a guided tour of New York City, where we'll see Central Park, 5th Avenue, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Wall Street, Times Square, and more. Another great option for you fall foliage lovers is our Rocky Coast of Maine tour. The cornerstone of this tour is Acadia National Park, and folks, Acadia is probably the best place in America to visit during the month of October. It's home to picture-perfect rocky coastline, and you're not going to beat its beautiful fall color. This tour is also filled with charming coastal New England towns like Camden, Booth Bay Harbor, Kennebunkport, Bar Harbor, Portland, and Portsmouth. We'll spend the last couple of days on this tour in Boston, where we'll tour the historic Freedom Trail to take in Boston's rich history. And if you're like me and you love lobster, you'll have a couple chances to have a lobster dinner on this tour. Coming next fall, we have our Columbia River cruise, and I love this tour. I think the Columbia River Gorge is one of the most overlooked travel destinations in all of America. The Columbia River is America's most scenic river. It is home to towering green river bluffs, majestic mountain ranges, picturesque river views, and the best part of this tour is the vantage point through which we will take in all of this beauty, and that is the American Queen Steamboat Company's opulent American Empress, a beautiful cruise vessel which we'll be traveling along for this entire tour. The American Empress is known for its elegance. From its sophisticated lounges to its lovely dining areas, the American Empress takes you back in time to experience one of America's oldest travel traditions, the luxurious riverboat cruise. On board, you'll enjoy gourmet dining, world class entertainment from the Empress's elegant show lounge. You can listen to lectures from the American Empress's resident river lorien to learn about the river's history, wildlife, geology, and more. Take in the Columbia River's stunning scenery and wildlife from one of the Empress's outdoor decks, and of course, you'll enjoy comfortable accommodations from on board the ship. So I led this tour back in October of 2018, and one of my favorite memories from this tour was waking up each morning, grabbing my cup of coffee, and heading out to my private veranda balcony where I could sit and watch the sunrise over the beautiful Columbia River bluffs while I enjoyed my morning coffee. Let's take a look at a map of our tour. We'll fly into Portland and we'll stay just outside of Portland for our first night in Vancouver, Washington. The next day, we'll board the American Empress and we'll actually head west to the mouth of the Columbia River where the river meets the Pacific Ocean at Astoria. Then we'll begin our journey east on the river through Stevenson, the Dalles, and the Tri-Cities all the way to Clarkston, and from Clarkston, we'll journey by land to Spokane where we'll fly home. Some highlights of this tour include a guided tour of Portland, and Portland is a pretty city and it's especially pretty at this time of year as the city's hills and bluffs are covered with colorful fall foliage. We'll visit Portland's Chinese Garden and its picturesque Portland Rose Garden, and of course, while we're in town, we'll have to try some of Portland's famous Voodoo Donuts. This Portland donut shop has become a sensation due to its creative and sometimes PG-13 donuts. We'll visit Astoria, Oregon. This small town is an absolute hidden gem. It sits where the Columbia River meets the Pacific Ocean, and we'll go to the top of the landmark Astoria column to get an amazing view of the mouth of the Columbia River. You'll be standing right here taking this exact picture you see here on your own camera if you join us on this tour next year. Astoria is more than just pretty scenery, though. It has a fascinating history. In 1805, Lewis and Clark and their expedition party, after a year of traversing across North America, they were making their way down the Columbia River, and as they neared the mouth of the Columbia River, they noticed a subtle tide, and I'm sure they looked at one another and were overcome with a feeling of euphoria, knowing that they were just miles away from their goal, from their destination of making it to the Pacific Ocean. Unfortunately for Lewis and Clark and the rest of their team, the euphoria did not last long. What they were hoping for when they arrived at the Pacific Ocean was that they would be picked up by a ship that would bring them home. Well, this turned out not to be the case. They were stuck in Astoria for the winter of 1805, and they spent this brutal winter at Fort Klatsop, which is pictured here, a small, log, wooden fort, and it was right here that Meriwether Lewis committed himself to writing in detail about their great expedition west, all the plants and animals they came across, and the different Native American tribes they met. As we journey back eastward on the river, we'll take in some awesome sights on our included premium shore excursions. We'll see Multnomah Falls, Mount Hood. We'll tour the Bonneville Lock and Dam, the region's first hydropower source. We'll travel through the Hood River Valley's scenic Fruit Loop. We'll visit the historic Bee Reactor and other important parts of the Manhattan Project National Historic Park in Richland. And we'll take in Nez Perce National Historic Park before we travel to Spokane to fly home. Now there's one more thing I wanted to say about this tour. Now I've led 50 tours over the last four years at American Classic Tours, and in my conversations with so many of you over the last four years, it seems to me that there's two groups within our American Classic Travel family. There's a group of you who love cruising, in addition to going on land tours with us, you're big cruisers. And then there's another group of you who haven't really ever cruised or don't cruise very often. Well, I want to address both of these groups, okay? The first group, you cruisers, you who love to cruise, who go on maybe ocean cruises across the world or river cruises on Europe, if you've never done an American river cruise, I would highly recommend it. And like I said, at the beginning of this presentation, there's never been a better time to try out an American river cruise. And I've talked to many people who have done both the European and the American river cruises, and they really like the American river cruises in addition to the ones they do in Europe. Now, the second group of people, all of you who have never cruised or don't cruise very often, I would recommend considering this tour. It's an amazing way to see this region of the country. So there you have it, folks. That's our special Black Friday preview of tours coming in 2022. Remember, if you sign up for any of these tours by December 3rd, any of the six tours I talked about today, you'll get a $200 discount per person, per tour. This discount is only valid for new reservations. So call 847-548-3333 to make your reservation today. And folks, on behalf of our team, again, we want to wish you a very, very happy holidays, and we can't wait to see you in 2022.