Mormon Battalion & The California Saints Tour

This morning, meet your guide, Glenn Rawson, then board the motorcoach and depart Salt Lake City. Travel west across the salt flats with a rest stop in Wendover. Continue across northern Nevada with a stop in Elko for lunch on your own. After lunch, enjoy touring of the California Trail Interpretive Center. Between 1841 and 1869, up to 250,000 people sold their belongings, packed wagons, and set out for the west. The California Trail Interpretive Center offers an interactive experience that immerses visitors in the unforgettable histories of those who endured this 2,000 mile trek. Spend the rest of the afternoon traveling to "The Biggest Little City in the World," Reno. Join the group for a welcome dinner at a local restaurant, then check in for overnight.

Lodging: Eldorado Resort Casino at THE ROW (or similar)

Meals: D

Depart Reno and enjoy a scenic drive into the Sierra Nevada Range. Arrive at Donner Memorial State Park and Museum for touring. Explore the history of the area and the people who came into this part of the Sierra, including local Native Americans, the Donner Party, and builders of the transcontinental railroad. Cross over and descend the west of the Sierra on your way to Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park for a picnic lunch and touring. The best place to start your tour of Marshall Gold Discovery State Historic Park is at the visitor center and museum. Interpretive exhibits and programs tell the story of the gold discovery and make it come alive. About seventy percent of the town of Coloma is included in the park and features buildings that have survived from the gold rush, as well as many other reminders of that tumultuous period. The Gold Discovery Museum features gold-rush-era exhibits as well as exhibits on the Native Americans, the people of many cultures who came to California during the gold rush, and the agricultural history of the area. A number of films about the gold discovery and early mining techniques are also available upon request. Next take a drive on the Mormon Emigrant Trail to see some historic sights before arriving in Sacramento for a two night stay. Dinner is included at a local restaurant this evening.

Lodging: Embassy Suites by Hilton Sacramento Riverfront Promenade (or similar)

Meals: L, D

After a leisurely morning, enjoy touring of the California State Railroad Museum, one of the best in the nation. Throughout the main building, 21 meticulously restored locomotives and cars and numerous exhibits illustrate how railroads have shaped people's lives, the economy, and the unique culture of California and the West. Historic train rides (an optional activity) are available throughout the day. The rest of the day is free to explore Old Sacramento on your own. Optional transfers to the Sacramento Temple will be available.

Lodging: Embassy Suites by Hilton Sacramento Riverfront Promenade (or similar)

Meals: B

After breakfast, depart Sacramento and continue your education on the saints who come to California as you arrive at The Comet - 1846 - First Sail Launch historical marker. Take a little side trip to Ripon to visit the New Hope Marker, this is where the group settled and planted the first wheat in California. Next arrive at the Oakland Temple Visitors Center to view the monument to the Ship Brooklyn which landed in Yerba Buena in July of 1846. This town was a Mormon settlement for a number of years and later changed it's name to San Francisco! Arrive in San Francisco for a historical walking tour. Most people know about San Francisco’s architecture, steep hills, beautiful bridges and cable cars, but few know of a group of Mormon pioneers that arrived by ship in 1846 and helped build the city by the Bay. This religious community known as the “Brooklyn Saints” was the first group of immigrants to arrive in California by sea after it became U.S. Territory. Surprisingly, San Francisco, not Salt Lake City, was the first city built by Mormon pioneers in the West. Arrive Fisherman's Wharf with some free time to explore on own. Depart San Francisco and travel south the Central Valley and Santa Nella for overnight.

Lodging: Hotel Mission De Oro (or similar)

Meals: B

Continue south through the Central Valley, also known as the Salad Bowl of America due to the amazing amount of agriculture. Pass through the San Fernando Valley, then enter the Los Angeles Basin, pass by Dodger Stadium and arrive in China Town with free time for lunch on own. After lunch, visit the Fort Moore Mormon Battalion Memorial Monument. The Mormon Battalion finished building Ft. Moore in time to raise the US flag for the July 4th, 1847. Depart LA and travel south to Palm Springs for overnight. Evening is free to explore on own.

Lodging: Homewood Suites by Hilton Cathedral City Palm Springs (or similar)

Meals: B

Today you will have the opportunity to see for yourself and gain some understanding of the grueling march of Mormon Battalion that brought them into California. After departing Palm Springs, journey by bus out into the Anza-Borrego Desert of California where we visit Box Canyon and Warner Ranch. In the afternoon, see firsthand the very sight that the Battalion saw when they reached the end of their journey, Mission San Luis Rey. It will be a powerful and moving day. Then arrive in San Diego and check in for a two night stay. The evening is free to explore on your own.

Lodging: Best Western Plus Hacienda Old Town (or similar)

Meals: B, L

After a leisurely morning, arrive a the Mormon Battalion Historic Site for touring. The Mormon Battalion played a significant role in the early settling of what is now San Diego, California. Having suffered much because of the arduous trek from Council Bluffs, Iowa, they could finally rest and try to regain their strength there on the shores of the Pacific Ocean. After this historic experience, The rest of the day is free to explore San Diego by way of Old Town Trolley Tours. Old Town Trolley Tours is the best way to see the city. The tour is also designed so that you can hop on and off and explore on your own at any time. Their fleet of orange and green trolleys travel frequently throughout San Diego and over the iconic San Diego-Coronado Bridge to Coronado on a continuous 25-mile loop visiting various neighborhoods with 11 destination stops including Old Town, Seaport Village, Gaslamp Quarter, Coronado, Balboa Park and more. Optional transfers to the San Diego Temple will be available.

Lodging: Best Western Plus Hacienda Old Town (or similar)

Meals: B

Enjoy some additional time in Old Town San Diego this morning. Depart the hotel but before leaving San Diego, visit Presidio Park and the 15ft statue of a Mormon Battalion Soldier that marks the site of Fort Stockton. Travel north to San Bernardino for lunch on own and to learn about the Bulls at Rancho San Bernadino. Continue across the Mojave Dessert with a rest stop in Barstow before arriving in Las Vegas for overnight. This evening, join the group for a farewell dinner at a local restaurant and recount all you have learned about the Saints in California.

Lodging: DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Las Vegas Airport (or similar)

Meals: B, D

It will be a day of travel as you depart Las Vegas and make your way northward and there are sure to be plenty of church history stories along the way. After a rest stop in Mesquite, return to Utah passing through St. George and Cedar City with a stop for lunch on own in Beaver. Continue the northbound drive and arrive in Salt Lake City to conclude your tour in the late afternoon.

Meals: B