For over two decades, we have been tailoring comprehensive bus and walking tours to the hallowed sites where American history unfolded. By laying eyes upon the scene, and walking the ground in conversation with the most authoritative and passionate guides, we gain a fuller understanding of the events that transpired there.
REGISTRATION NOW OPEN: 3rd Central Coast Conference
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— just announced --
SELDOM
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Featured Speakers:
BROOKS SIMPSON, Professor of History, Arizona State University GORDON RHEA, Attorney General of the United States Virgin Islands LESLEY GORDON, Professor of History, University of Alabama LORIEN FOOTE, Professor of History, Texas A&M University HOLLY PINHEIRO, Associate Professor of History, Furman University DAVID POWELL, Author and Historian DEAN CALBREATH, Pulitzer-winning Investigative Journalist KEVIN LEVIN, Boston-based educator, Author and Historian |
Stanton Center Theater
The Stanton Center, on Custom House Plaza, Monterey.
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OCTOBER 2025 (tour)
Strangers in their Own Land
The Apache Tragedy in Old Arizona and New Mexico
October 13-20, 2025 luxury van tour with Neil Mangum
SOLD OUT! Put your name on the WAITING LIST
Geronimo (far right) & Apache Warriors (C. S. Fly)
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Starting & ending in Phoenix, this one-of-a-kind tour will explore a broad array of Arizona Apache Wars sites, including a number of museums, ruins, and sites associated with Crook's Tonto Basin Campaign, and the Cibecue Creek battlefield.
The itinerary places a strong emphasis on the Chiracahua Apache with visits to Cochise's Stronghold, Fort Bowie and Apache Pass, and the Geronimo Surrender Monument. Additionally (because we're there) we'll see two Civil War battlefields (Valverde, and Picacho Peak), the astounding Pima Air & Space Museum, and historic Tombstone.
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AUGUST 2026 (tour)
The Flight of the Nez Perce (8 days)
and the Battle of the Little Bighorn (1 day)
August 22–September 1, 2026 MOTOR COACH tour with Neil Mangum
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We'll follow the Nez Percé National Historic Trail from Spokane, Washington to Great Falls, Montana, through some of the most beautiful landscapes of the American West, including the Nez Percé route through Yellowstone National Park. The tour will visit all of the major sites of this epic, 1,170-mile journey. Along the way, we'll detour for a one-day examination of the Battle of the Little Bighorn (where once upon a time Neil Mangum served as Superintendent). The year 2026 marks the 150th anniversary of the battle. [After years of fantastic tours, this will likely be the final outing with Neil as our guide. Visit the tour page to reserve your seats. ]
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Ride in comfort: lay-back seats, USB outlets, & on-board restroom
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Above: Neil Mangum on the Bear Paw Battlefield, during our 2022 tour. Right: The Keogh Sector at the Little Bighorn.
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June 2027 (tour)
The Wilderness & Spotsylvania
Exclusive hiking tour with historian Gordon Rhea
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On this entirely unique, four-day tour, Gordon will conducts hikes along every step of the NPS trails on these two battlefields, interpreting along the way. He'll also take the group to some rarely-seen private sites, to discuss the monumental opening battles of Grant's 1864 Overland Campaign. Headquarters hotel will be in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
Other tours in the hopper . . .— The Modoc War of 1872-1873
— Civil War to Cold War in New Mexico — The Portolá Expedition of 1769-1770 |
Gordon Rhea and Dave Woodbury following the Overland Campaign of 1864
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Earlier this year . . .
Seldom Heard History of the Civil War Era
the 2nd Central Coast Conference, May 2-4, 2025, Monterey, California
[Above: David Woodbury, Edda Fields-Black, Anne Woodbury]
THANK YOU to everyone who attended the Central Coast Conference in early May. It was a stellar program—informative, fascinating, and deeply moving. THANK YOU to all of the presenters who took the time to travel from such far-flung places as Oregon and Boston and the Virgin Islands. And thanks to Vikki Bynum for coming through with online presentations after being trapped at the airport for a full day after an airport ordeal for the ages. CONGRATULATIONS to Dr. Edda Fields-Black, whose COMBEE book was awarded the 2025 Pulitzer Prize for History the day after the conference. |
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