The Active Vacation Planner - American Southwest - page 79

The Nature Conservancy ( & 520/622-3861; www.nature.org), in both Tucson and
Santa Fe ( & 505/988-3867; www.nature.org), has preserved some of the Southwest's
finest land, parts of which are open to the public for hiking, bird-watching, and nature
study. The organization operates educational field trips.
ADVENTURE & ART TRIPS
One excellent operator is Santa Fe Mountain Adventures ( & 800/965-4010 or
505/988-4000; www.santafemountainadventures.com), which combines such outdoor
adventures as hiking and river running with cultural activities such as visits to pueblos or
museums. A collaborative effort in conjunction with Outside magazine, the business is
ecoconscious.
If you'd like to turn a trip to the Grand Canyon into an educational experience, the
Grand Canyon Field Institute ( & 866/471-4435 or 928/638-2485; www.grand
canyon.org/fieldinstitute) offers a variety of programs from early spring to late fall.
Examples include day hikes, photography and painting classes, backpacking trips for
women, mule-assisted treks, archaeology trips, and guided hikes and backpacking trips
with a natural-history or ecological slant.
If you'd like to pursue an artistic adventure, check out the week-long classes in such
media as painting, Native American pottery making, and weaving offered by Taos Art
School ( & 575/758-0350; www.taosartschool.org). This organization is especially
known for its weaving and horseback-riding creative “odyssey.” Open since 1989, the
school is a virtual campus in which classes go where they need to be. For instance, a
painting class on Georgia O'Keeffe is held in Abiquiu, a Pueblo pottery class at Taos
Pueblo, and a class on the churches in New Mexico is held at five different churches in
the region. The fees vary from class to class and include lodging and meals.
Some of the world's most outstanding photographers convene in Santa Fe at various
times during the year for the Santa Fe Workshops, held at a delightful campus in the
hills on the east side of town ( & 505/983-1400; www.santafeworkshops.com). Most
courses are full time, lasting a week. Food and lodging packages are available.
Great Expectations ( & 800/663-3364; www.greatexpectations.com) offers an
“Opera in Santa Fe” trip, which focuses on more than the opera, but also partakes of this
world-class entertainment.
FOOD & WINE TRIPS
Jane Butel Cooking School, in Albuquerque ( & 800/473-8226 or 505/243-2622;
www.janebutel.com), offers week-long and weekend packages with a hotel stay and full-
participation classes. The weekend classes are held in noted chef and television personal-
ity Jane Butel's home kitchen in Corrales, a village along the Rio Grande on the edge of
Albuquerque. The week-long classes are in Santa Fe.
If you'd like to learn how to cook Southwestern cuisine while you're in Arizona, con-
sider taking a cooking class from celebrated Tucson chef Janos Wilder. The 2-hour classes
are offered at his eponymously named restaurant at the Westin La Paloma Resort, and
cost $50 each. Contact Janos in Tucson ( & 520/615-6100; www.janos.com). In Phoe-
nix, you can take 1-day cooking classes at the JW Marriott Desert Ridge Resort
( & 800/835-6206 or 480/293-3976; www.jwdesertridge.com). Classes cost $45.
Sedona's luxurious Enchantment Resort ( & 800/826-4180 or 928/282-2900; www.
enchantmentresort.com) offers cooking demonstrations several days a week. Cooking
classes are also offered at the Cottage Place Restaurant in Flagstaff ( & 928/774-8431;

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