Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
78
is available at the Moab Information Center or through the
Moab Area
Travel
Council
(
&
800/635-6622
or 435/259-8825; www.discovermoab.com).
Opportunities for
pleasure boating
are available on many of the region's lakes and
reservoirs. Lake Mead, Lake Mohave, and Lake Havasu, what many call Arizona's “West
Coast,” offer plenty of water fun (see chapter 15). In New Mexico, Elephant Butte Lake
is one of the best and most beautiful spots for boating (see chapter 11).
FLAT
WATER CANOEING & KAYAKING
Okay, so maybe these sports don't jump to
mind when you think of the desert, but there are indeed rivers and lakes here (and they
happen to be some of the best places to see wildlife). By far the most memorable place
for a flat-water kayak tour is Lake Powell. Multiday kayak tours are offered by
Hidden
Canyon Kayak
(
&
800/343-3121
or 928/645-8866; www.diamondriver.com/kayak),
which charges $760 to $1,000 for 4- to 6-day trips. Guided kayak trips are also offered
by
Kayak Powell
(
&
888/854-7862;
www.kayaklakepowell.com), which charges $495
for a 2-day tour, $695 for a 3-day tour, $795 for a 4-day tour, and $895 for a 5-day
tour.
There are also a couple of companies that rent canoes and offer trips on the Colorado
River south of Lake Mead. See chapter 15.
12
SPECIAL
INTEREST TRIPS
The Southwest is in the process of developing a network of special-interest trips that
we're certain will expand even more in upcoming years.
ACADEMIC TRIPS
Those who like a scholarly bent to their vacations can hook up with
Southwest Semi-
nars
(
&
505/466-2775;
www.southwestseminars.org) and their “Travels with a Scholar”
program. This organization offers tours throughout the Southwest, led by museum direc-
tors, historians, geologists, archaeologists, anthropologists, and authors. Southwest
Seminars is able to arrange visits to sites that are not open to the general public, such as
archaeological sites, petroglyph panels, volcanic calderas, contemporary Indian pueblos,
and Native artists' homes and studios. Each Monday at 6pm, they offer a talk given by a
regional scholar, well worth checking out.
Learning Expeditions, a program run by the
Arizona State Museum,
occasionally
offers scholar-led archaeological tours, including a trip to Navajo and Hopi country. For
information, contact the marketing department at the
Arizona State Museum
(
&
520/
626-8381;
www.statemuseum.arizona.edu). Through its Ventures program, the
Museum
of Northern Arizona,
in Flagstaff (
&
928/774-5213;
www.musnaz.org), offers educa-
tional camping, backpacking, and hotel-based tours primarily in the Colorado Plateau
region of northern Arizona. Trips range in length from 1 day to 1 week.
Old Pueblo Archaeology Center,
in Tucson (
&
520/798-1201;
www.oldpueblo.
org), is a nonprofit educational and scientific organization that, throughout the years, has
led numerous archaeology-oriented trips around Arizona.
Crossing Worlds Journeys &
Retreats,
in Sedona (
&
800/350-2693
or 928/203-0024; www.crossingworlds.com),
offers tours throughout the Four Corners region. Trips visit the Hopi mesas as well as
backcountry ruins on the Navajo reservation. Journeys of self-discovery are a specialty of
this company.
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