Experience the Natural Wonders of the Southwest

Get a close-up view of all the area's wonders—animal, plant, reptile and insect—with a tour of the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. Described by the New York Times as “the most distinctive zoo in the United States,” this combination zoo/natural history museum/botanical garden offers you the chance to view more than 300 species of animals and 1,200 kinds of plants in their natural settings. On your way to the museum, you'll drive through Saguaro National Park, which preserves the most magnificent Saguaro forest in the world. Includes transportation, guide, admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own at the museum. Be sure to wear comfortable shoes and sunscreen.

If you've never seen the Grand Canyon or the Red Rock country of Sedona, this may be the perfect time to do it ― in the company of JASNA friends. Tour price includes deluxe motor coach transportation, guide, two nights lodging at the Grand Canyon Squire Hotel, two continental breakfasts, one dinner, admission into the Grand Canyon National Park, and luggage handling. Cameras are a must, as well as comfortable shoes.

Day One: Meet at the Radisson Phoenix Airport Hotel at 3333 E. University Drive for a 2:00 p.m. departure for the Grand Canyon. A complimentary shuttle is available from the Phoenix airport to the Radisson; just make sure you are going to the correct hotel, since there are three Radisson hotels by the airport. The group will stop for dinner in Flagstaff and arrive late in the evening at the Grand Canyon Squire Hotel.

Day Two: You will spend the entire day at Grand Canyon National Park on the South Rim.  Following a morning tour of the Grand Canyon, you will be at leisure the rest of the day to enjoy the condors, museum, hiking, ranger program, and more.

Day Three: The group will depart in the morning for Sedona and the Red Rock country, and will arrive in the early evening at Loews Ventana Canyon Resort in Tucson. 

Important Planning Information

Planning your flights and ground transportation:  Because this tour departs from Phoenix and returns you to the conference hotel in Tucson, we recommend that you do one of the following: 1) book a “multi-city” flight itinerary, flying into Phoenix and departing from Tucson or 2) sign up and pay for a seat on a shuttle from Loews to the Phoenix airport on the AGM Registration Form. Arizona Shuttle does not provide door-to-door service from Tucson to the Phoenix airport, so we will charter van transportation from Loews to the Phoenix airport based on the number of reservations we receive. The advantage to you is that you won't have to arrange for transportation from the hotel to the Arizona Shuttle pick-up location in Tucson. 

Where to stay if you need to arrive the day before the tour departs:  Our tour company, Convention & Group Services, has arranged for a special room rate of $149 at the Radisson Phoenix Airport Hotel for the night of October 22 for tour participants who need to arrive in Phoenix the day before the tour departs. The same rate is available for the nights of October 29 and 30, for those who need to spend the night in Phoenix in order to catch an early morning flight home the next day. To reserve a room, call 800-333-3333 or visit www.radisson.com/phoenixaz_airport and use the name Convention & Group Services to get the special rate.

October Weather at the Grand Canyon:  Be prepared for cooler temperatures at the Grand Canyon than in Tucson. In late October at the South Rim of the Canyon, the weather can be variable, with highs from the mid-50s to mid-60s and lows in the low- to mid-30s. For more information, visit the official website of the Grand Canyon National Park.

*Tour cannot be purchased after September 22, 2006.

Nature enthusiasts will want to visit Kartchner Caverns, one of the finest examples of a living cave in the United States. Opened to the public in 1999, this massive limestone cave is virtually pristine, with 13,000 feet of passages and two rooms as long as football fields. Visitors are treated to a rare tour of multi-colored cave formations, including stalactites dripping from 100-foot ceilings, stalagmites, translucent orange bacon strips, and shields of white calcite.

Includes transportation, guide, admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own. (Tour will stop for lunch at a fast food restaurant area near Kartchner Caverns except on October 29.)

A small canyon located just a few miles from our conference hotel, Sabino Canyon is one of the prettiest in the state, with mountain views and sparkling streams. Wildlife flourishes in the preserve, along with cactus and other desert plants. A narrated tram ride gets you up close, and cameras are a must!  If you prefer, you can also walk or jog through the canyon on the paved road. Many visitors ride the tram to the top and walk downhill to the entrance. Includes transportation, guide, tram, admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus.
 

For the adventurous -- an open-air jeep ride in the Sonoran Desert.  Your driver will take you through some of the most beautiful and rugged desert wilderness surrounding Tucson. Includes roundtrip jeep tour, driver-guide, iced soft beverages and bottled water on board.

Discover Tucson's Rich Cultural Heritage

Just four months before Jane Austen was born in 1775, Tucson was founded as a Spanish outpost, providing refuge for travelers and residents within its adobe walls. Over time, it has become a colorful blend of Native American, Spanish, Mexican, and Anglo architecture, art, cuisine and music, and a downtown walking tour of El Presidio Historic District is a great way to experience it. A section of the original adobe fortress wall can still be seen there.

The historic area is also home to The Tucson Museum of Art and the Historic Block—a group of restored houses owned by the museum. You’ll be able to tour La Casa Cordova, a residence dating to 1848 that is typical of the Mexican-style home in Tucson during the second half of the century. Three other restored homes are used to display the museum’s permanent collections of pre-Columbian, Spanish Colonial, Latin American Folk, and Western American art. Of course, no tour of the historic district would be complete without a visit to Old Town Artisans, a 150-year old adobe building with shops and galleries featuring traditional and contemporary art and fine crafts from numerous cultures and countries.

You will also be intrigued by a visit to the Mission San Xavier del Bac, one
of the finest examples of mission architecture in the United States. The present church, built between 1783 and 1797 by Franciscan friars, is a blend of Moorish, Byzantine, and late Mexican Renaissance architecture, and the baroque interior is quite amazing!

Includes transportation, guide, museum admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own in a downtown area restaurant.
 

Learn about the flavorings that make Southwestern cuisine unique. Participants will be driven from the hotel to Culinary Concepts, a unique cooking school. After the instructor has explained the recipes, the group will divide into several cooking teams to prepare the various dishes. The best part: everyone sits down at the end of the class to share the wonderful food! Includes transportation, lunch at Culinary Concepts, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus.

"Taste of the Southwest" Menu:
Starters:
Grilled Salmon, Mango & Grapefruit Salad
Cheese Quesadillas with pico de gallo

Entrees:
Roasted Chipotle-rubbed Game Hens with Tropical Fruit Salsa            
Grilled Flank Steak with Creamy Corn Sauce
Sweet Cinnamon Rice
Zucchini, Chayote and Yellow Squash

Dessert:
Praline Tacos with Chocolate Chile Ice Cream

Explore aviation history at the Pima Air & Space Museum, home of the largest privately owned collection of historical aircraft in the country. View a full-scale model of the Wright Brothers' 1903 Wright Flyer, climb aboard President Kennedy's Air Force One, and gaze at the spectacular, supersonic, SR-71 Blackbird "Spy Plane". More than 250 military and civilian aircraft are on display, along with engines, flight simulators, uniforms and other aviation memorabilia. Some of the aircraft are on loan from the Smithsonian, the U.S. Air Force Museum and the U.S. Navy. 

This tour will also take you to the Titan Missile Museum, the only site of its kind in the world today.  You can descend to almost 35 feet underground and visit the control center where combat crews performed their daily duties. Above ground, you will be able to view the 430,000-pound thrust, first-stage rocket engine that would have propelled the 330,000-pound missile to an altitude of 250,000 feet in just 2.5 minutes.

Includes transportation, guide, all admissions, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own during tour.
 

Explore the Real Old West

Get a close-up look at the rough American West of the 1880s with a tour of Tombstone (“The Town Too Tough to Die”) and nearby Boot Hill Cemetery, the final resting place of many an outlaw. See the O.K. Corral, where the Earps and Clantons faced off and created a legend. Tour the Courthouse, built around 1890, which now serves as a fascinating museum focusing on the history of the area. And, stop by C.S. Fly's Photo Gallery to view his historic images of 1880s Tombstone and fascinating photographs of Apache Chief Geronimo.  

You will also have the opportunity to visit Bisbee, a picturesque, turn-of-the-century mining town that has been transformed into an artists’ colony with antique shops and galleries. Includes transportation, guide, admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own in Tombstone restaurants.
 

Tubac calls itself the town “where art and history meet.” Established in 1752 as a Spanish presidio, it has evolved into a vibrant artists’ colony. Tour the Tubac Presidio State Historic Park and Museum in the village's Old Town, which houses remnants of the military fort. Then, take in the exhibits at the Tubac Center of the Arts and wander through galleries, working studios and gift shops.  No visit to Tubac would be complete without stopping at the nearby Tumacacori Mission, the sister visita of San Xavier del Bac that demonstrates how deteriorated these missions can become if not preserved and restored.

Includes transportation, guide, admission, iced soft beverages and bottled water on bus. Lunch is on your own in Tubac.