If the Colorado Plateau calls to you and you are not sure how to answer, consider a Venture with the Museum of Northern Arizona. Let experienced naturalists, scientists, writers, and artists guide your outdoor adventuring across the 130,000 miles of mountains, mesas, and canyon lands in the four corners region of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico.
MNA’s 2005 Ventures are now scheduled and registration is open. Ventures are outdoor adventures with an educational emphasis that range from a day to more than a week. They range from learning about prehistoric woven sandals to hiking the Grand Canyon rim to rim, while sleeping in a tent or a charming historic lodge.
Through Ventures 2005 you can excavate a dinosaur with MNA paleontologist Dr. David Gillette or participate in a hands-on service learning project at a Hopi farm and orchard. You can float down the San Juan River or explore the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument’s sandstone spires and graceful arches. You can dine in a restaurant located in the heart of a vast wilderness area or over a campfire with a meal prepared by your outdoor chef.
“Ventures offer amazing opportunities that encourage people to form deep, long lasting bonds with the landscape, cultures, and diverse biological wonders of the Colorado Plateau,” says Ventures Manager Tracy Anderson. “These programs and trips reflect MNA’s institutional mission and values. For over twenty-five years, Ventures have been welcoming people from all around the world to join us in the front and backcountries of this exceptional region to explore, learn, and have fun.”
Besides the 33 scheduled trips to choose from, you also can design your own Venture through MNA’s Custom Tour program. These are “no worry” trips. MNA will design and organize a one-of-a-kind educational adventure or a cultural experience for your group.
“If you are interested in a 2005 Ventures trip, but the scheduled dates don’t fit into your personal calendar, or you have the desire to explore an educational interest or ‘dream destination’ that isn’t represented in the current schedule, please contact us. MNA’s experienced staff will work with you to develop your ideal custom trip,” says Anderson.
MNA will coordinate as many or as few of the arrangements as you need—from educators and guide services, permits, meals, transportation, and rental gear, to behind-the-scenes collection tours of the Museum’s world-class collections, service learning trips, cultural performances, elegant receptions, and lodging. When you join MNA for a Venture or Custom Tour, you will become a part of an enthusiastic community of learners and adventurers who are inspired by this unique corner of the world.
Explore the Plateau by foot, van, boat, or horseback. Experts in biology, geology, archaeology, anthropology, fine art, and creative writing guide you through the rich natural wonders and cultural heritage of a region. Four tiers of activity levels accommodate most physical abilities and schedules:
- Encounters are workshops or day trips with van support and include easy to moderate hikes.
- Excursions are hotel based trips and include easy to moderate day hikes.
Explorations provide vehicle and base camp support and include moderate to strenuous day hikes. - Expeditions enter remote regions by foot, boat, or bike and camping is part of the experience.
MNA Director Robert Breunig began the Ventures program in 1977 when working as museum curator. “To be on the Plateau is to know the Plateau,” he says. “Ventures help us complete the goal of fostering a deep relationship between people and the Plateau.”
The program’s success is based on MNA’s enduring relationships. Some of the Hopi guides are from families who began relationships with Museum founders Harold and Mary-Russell Ferrell Colton more than 75 years ago. Some of MNA’s educators have been with the Ventures program since it began.
Geologist and guide Wayne Ranney interprets the geologic story of the Grand Canyon’s backcountry and the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument. “I followed my dream to remain a kid at heart and continue my explorative nature in the biggest playground on earth—the Colorado Plateau,” says Ranney who has led more than 60 MNA Ventures. “We inspire a sense of love and appreciation for the landscape. Ventures are designed to be fun. We often visit waterfalls, hidden slot canyons, petroglyph sites, or vista points that take people’s breath away.”
An example of an excursion is National Park Treasures: North Rim, Bryce, and Zion. This historic lodge-based, five-day Venture visits parks on the historic Union Pacific Railroad line. Denise Traver, a historian and former Grand Canyon National Park ranger, leads a motor coach tour of the railroad’s original Loop Tour. The Chaco Phenomena is an exploration lead by MNA Senior Curator of Anthropology Dr. David R. Wilcox. This four-day Venture of Chaco Canyon explores what has been called “downtown Chaco,” the ritual site for the Chacoan core community. Archaeologist Don Keller leads a three-day San Juan River Raft Trip expedition exploring and interpreting the archaeological sites found in the side canyons along the San Juan River. One of the encounters, An Introduction to Hopi Culture, offers a daylong introduction to traditional and contemporary Hopi culture, history, and art. Hopi cultural consultant Susan Secakuku guides this trip and offers it three times in 2005.
Ventures 2005 also includes service learning trips. “As is the case for all Ventures, service learning programs allow people to explore and learn about the Colorado Plateau with expert educators—plus an added bonus of working on volunteer projects that provide Venturers with an opportunity to give back to the places we respect and love,” explains Anderson. “The Museum works closely with land management agencies to develop service learning projects. Projects are created around identified needs and goals of the places we visit, thereby creating a meaningful and mutually beneficial experience for all involved. Trip leaders and agency representatives lead each service learning project and provide in the field training, so previous experience is not required and we have a lot of fun while preserving and protecting the landscapes and cultural sites of the Plateau.”
Connect with the natural world through the Ventures 2005 schedule at www.musnaz.org. Ventures Manager Tracy Anderson can be reached at 928/774-5213, ext. 220 or at tanderson@mna.mus.az.us.
The Museum of Northern Arizona seeks to inspire a sense of love and responsibility for the beauty and diversity of the Colorado Plateau through collecting, studying, interpreting, and preserving the region’s natural and cultural heritage. The Museum sits at the base of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountains in Arizona, and is located three miles north of historic downtown Flagstaff on Highway 180. It is open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Day.