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| Daily Itinerary: |
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| Day 1 | Sat., February 22nd Basque & the Bakersfield Sound (L, D)
Travel through Central Valley during spring blossom season. Enjoy a family-style Basque lunch before visiting the Kern County Museum where you will learn about the “Bakersfield Sound” – the country music genre created by Merle Haggard, Buck Owens, and other musicians in the honky-tonks of Bakersfield. Travel to the high desert community of Ridgecrest, where dinner is included at a local restaurant. Overnight at the Hampton Inn.
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| Day 2 |
Sun., February 23rd Discover Death Valley (B, L)
Enter Death Valley through the Panamint Valley, stopping at Stovepipe Wells for an opportunity to climb the Mesquite Flat Sand Dunes. Lunch is served at the Oasis (formerly the Furnace Creek Inn), an elegant hideaway since 1927. After lunch, discover the Harmony Borax Works and stand 282 feet below sea level at the salt flats of Badwater, the lowest spot in the Western Hemisphere. Arrive for a two-night stay at the Ranch at Furnace Creek, where you may swim in a pool naturally kept at 87 degrees and explore the mining and their historic artifacts.
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| Day 3 | Mon., February 24th A Ghost Town & Opera House (B, L)
Visit the ghost town of Rhyolite, once a gold mining town of 5,000. Return to Furnace Creek for lunch and then visit Amargosa Opera House founded by a dancer from New York City who fell in love with Death Valley. Visit Zabriskie Point, one of the most beautiful overlooks in Death Valley. Tonight you may take a night walk with a park ranger, with thousands of stars above.
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| Day 4 | Tues., February 25th Wild Horses & Allensworth (B, L)
Tour the Regional Wild Horse and Burro Facility where staff from the Bureau of Land
Management will explain how they protect the well being of wild horses and burros. In the
afternoon arrive at Colonel Allensworth State Historic Park. Established in 1909 as a colony for African Americans looking for a better life. Stay overnight in Lemoore at the Tachi Palace Casino Resort where you have the option of tempting Lady Luck!
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| Day 5 | Wed., February 26th Murals and the Vintage Press. (B, L)
The quaint small town of Exeter is known for its 27 fabulous murals. After touring the murals dine at the elegant Vintage Press before returning home.
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