See where other planners have taken their groups in the November 2020 issue of Where We’ve Been.
Croswell Tours
Williamsburg, Ohio
Trip: Black Hills and Badlands
Date: August 2020
Using social distancing precautions, Croswell Tours took a group to some of South Dakota’s most famous attractions, such as Mount Rushmore, Custer State Park, the Crazy Horse Memorial, Badlands National Park and Historic Deadwood.
“Mount Rushmore is always a tour favorite, especially the lighting ceremony. Our group had a fantastic time and especially enjoyed the guided tours of the Black Hills area and Deadwood. They were able to see a variety of wildlife as well. Since we own our own buses, we were able to reconfigure them from 54 to 30 seats, spacing them out fairly well. This has been really popular with our passengers. They have loved the extra space on board. We have included motorcoach munchies on all our tours, which is just a Croswell goodie bag of snacks to enjoy along the way.”
— Melissa Taylor, tour administrator
Blessed Byways Tours
Oskaloosa, Iowa
Trip: Santa’s Lost His Marbles
Date: November 2019
Blessed Byways Tours sent a group on a mystery tour of Kansas. The group visited lesser-known attractions for an eclectic and fun tour. Some of the Kansas stops included Old Brick Town in Wichita, the historic Beaumont Hotel in Beaumont, a decorated outhouse in Elk Falls, Mr. K’s Farmhouse in Abilene and a dinner served by the Harvey Girls in Leavenworth.
“Before we left, we contacted hotels, restaurants and attractions where we would be stopping and told them what we would be doing. We asked if they would hide marbles for our folks to find. They really got into it. We dressed as Mr. and Mrs. Claus and handed out little plastic treat bags with Santa’s face on them for folks to put found marbles in. The winner of the grand prize was the traveler who found the most of Santa’s lost marbles.”
— Burdell and Charlotte Hensley, owners
