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Learning experience: Education Vacations: Offer Adventure Travel for Body and Mind

R. Daniel Foster

Jet Skis. Hammocks. Umbrella drinks. Beach sunsets. Horses. Kayaks. Canoes. Catamarans.

Words you associate with "vacation," right? Now, take off your sunglasses, blink, and try this list:

It's not as obvious as a rum-saturated umbrella drink, but this index is associated with fabulous vacations all the same, The idea of going on a trip to learn may raise pubescent memories of dismal battleship-memorial tours with Mom and Dad, but those days are long gone. Today's learning vacations offer relaxation, exercise, adventure, discovery and the deep satisfaction that comes from exploring a long-neglected hobby.  Make no mistake, though: An educational vacation can still be a vacation - you don't have to spend your time off in an airless classroom taking tests.

Whether you want to perfect your harmonica wail, learn how to tell a planetary nebula from a globular cluster, master the saxophone, become an expert in navigating by compass, or discover what the F-stops on your camera do, there's a learning trip out there for you. And while some programs involve classrooms, others fuse adventure with knowledge by using the outdoors as an instructional venue. Some of the best learning trips are found near mountains, lakes and windswept ocean beaches. At North Cascades Institute, nestled in Washington's tallest mountains, the "Hangin' with the Bats" weekend program focuses on exploring bat caves and identifying species, with a chance to hike and bike the surrounding Wenatchee National Forest by day.

After a trip like that, you'll have plenty to regale your friends with when they ask, "So, what did you do on your vacation?" No mumbling about free HBO in the hotel: You can talk about using ultrasonic equipment to eavesdrop on bat calls, the bizarre mating habits you witnessed and the look and feel of a stretched bat wing in your hand - even the mounds of bat guano you trudged through. Sure, it's not typical backyard barbecue talk ... but you're not a typical guy.

For precisely that reason, scouting out an educational trip that suits your unique interests requires some work. We've got some great sources to get you started, but don't feel limited by them. Opportunities for this kind of travel are everywhere. Look for programs run by your local college, university or community adult-education center. Science centers, museums and aquariums also often operate weekend or weeklong field trips combined with in-class learning time. Whenever possible, talk with people who have been on a trip similar to the one you're planning. In the meantime, check out our sampler of some of the best learning trips around:

• Alaska's Denali Wilderness Lodge is the perfect isolated spot to start exploring Alaska with the help of trained naturalists. The lodge's vacation packages include guided horseback rides and nature hikes. Excursions to nearby Anderson Mountain feature explanations of the region's geological formation. Horseback expeditions are conducted off-trail, crossing rivers, forests and the outback. Bring a compass.
  
  A stay at the lodge can be combined with treks to the Great Alaska Fish Camp and Safaris, overlooking the Kenai Mountains on the Kenai peninsula. There are no naturalist guides here. Instead, you may encounter men like intermittent resident Scotty Boyd, who often lives off berries and roots and shoots his own meat for dinner. Sporting a hip-holstered .357 magnum, wide-brimmed hat and knee-length Australian oil coat, Boyd shares his mountain-man wisdom on how bears live, mate and ceaselessly scrounge for food.
  
• Native Ed-Ventures gives vacationers an inside look at the Indian tribes of the Flathead Indian Reservation in northwest Montana.
  
  Manager Marianne Gopher puts together itineraries for small groups (any individual can hop on one) in which you camp out in teepees, help set up camp, join in a powwow and generally live like a member of the Salish, Kootenai and Pend d'Orieille tribes. The experience, she says, is far from a generic guided tour through a reservation done up in picturesque dioramas for city folk.
  
  "Tribe members act as your guides, taking you fishing, horseback riding - you essentially become a part of their daily life," Gopher says. "At powwows, you can learn native dances and songs, and swap stories around a campfire. We don't put on a show and take you back to a romanticized 19th-century experience."
  
  In addition to vividly illustrating what Native American life is really like, Native Ed-Ventures itineraries can focus on activities like hiking, fishing, horseback riding, mountain biking and river floating.
  
• North Cascades Institute in Washington offers dozens of back-country field seminars, using the half-million-acre North Cascades National park and Mt. Baker Snoqualmie National Forest as its playground. Rain forests, rugged ocean shoreline, wildflower meadows and mountain ridges double as classrooms.

Source: http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1608/is_n9_v14/ai_21099915