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Dear Elderhostel Friend,
This
fall season was
incredibly warm, sunny and short! Time has flown by and Old
Man Winter is knocking on our door. We would like to say
"Thank You" to all of you who came and experienced
the Southwest with us this past year. We are looking forward
to seeing you again, as well as all of you new to NAU
Elderhostel, during 2008 when we celebrate 25 years as an
Elderhostel provider. Be sure to read below about our
exciting news and events for 2008.
Wishing You and Yours the Happiest of Holidays!
-The Staff at NAU Elderhostel
Click image for larger view.
In this issue, we feature:
- Exciting News and Events for 2008
- Three new programs for 2008
- News, Tips & Ideas and Recommended Reading
As always, we love hearing from you! Please don't hesitate
to contact us if you have a story or photo you would like to
share, or think of a topic you would like us to cover. Just
send an email to:
elderhostel@nau.edu
If you do not wish to receive this newsletter in the future
you will find information on unsubscribing at the bottom of
this page.
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Exciting
News and Events for 2008
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As we near the end of 2007, NAU Elderhostel is taking
on an exciting new challenge. Some of you may have heard
that Yavapai College Elderhostel will cease operation as an
Elderhostel provider effective December 31. We will be
taking on as many of their programs as possible. We are very
excited about the new opportunities this provides us and
look forward to adding the excellent programs Yavapai has
been providing to the NAU offerings. We also plan to utilize
the great instructors and staff from the Yavapai programs.
2008 also marks a
banner year for NAU Elderhostel — our 25th year as an
Elderhostel provider! Our original programs took place on
the NAU campus, were lecture intensive on topics including
Grand Canyon geology and native culture and included a final
day trip to the Grand Canyon. Shared bathrooms and cafeteria
meals were another part of these early days of Elderhostel
at NAU. Wow! Have things ever changed. Field trips and
experiential education are more likely the majority of your
program, peppered by the occasional lecture. Stan Beus, now
retired professor emeritus of NAU’s geology department,
taught some of those first classes to Elderhostel
participants in the 1980s and Stan is still teaching for us
on Grand Canyon backpacking trips and Exploring North
America programs to destinations like Zion and Bryce
National parks.
In October 2008 we will be offering a different kind of
Elderhostel program in Flagstaff. It will be a reunion of
sorts, bringing hostelers and our field staff together to
both reminisce as well as to share new experiences together.
Tentatively this celebration will take place in mid-October
2008 and we look forward to having as many of you join us as
possible. More information will be forthcoming as we settle
on a date and specific activities.
Finally, as we close out 2007 we wish to thank you hostelers
for your loyalty to NAU's programs. We wouldn't be
celebrating 25 years together if it weren't for you and we
look forward to making new memories with you during 2008 and
beyond.
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Three
New Programs for 2008
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A Star Party at the Edge of the Universe: Astronomy at Grand
Canyon’s Rim
Prg:
#16157
Dates: Jun 18-23 & Jun 24-29 Price: $765 Single
+$190
Glance down and you will see some of
the oldest exposed rocks from our planet…glance up and you
will behold the origin of our universe--welcome to the Grand
Canyon Star Party! Enjoy two nights of sky watching at one
of the greatest astronomical events of the year as more than
40 telescopes are pointed at the skies above to behold the
wonders of the clear June sky. Begin in Flagstaff, which has
been a center for astronomical study since the late 1800s
and plays a pivotal role in space research.
Learn more
Hiking Arizona’s High Country: Flagstaff, Grand Canyon &
Sedona
Prg: #6112 Dates: Jun 8-13 &
Aug 3-8 Price: $645 Single +$130
 From
lush riparian canyons of Sedona to infinite vistas of the
Grand Canyon, discover the diverse hiking opportunities of
Arizona’s high country. Traverse forests of quaking aspen,
spruce, fir and ponderosa pine as you hike in Flagstaff’s
San Francisco Peaks. Explore the inside of an eroded cinder
cone, exposing its deep red "hoodoos" and sculpted lava
towers. Trek through Sedona’s majestic red rock country,
discovering its hidden creeks, slick rock and vertical
crimson cliffs. Top off your week with a full-day hike into
the Grand Canyon where each footstep taken equals 20,000
years of Earth’s geologic history.
Learn more
Studio Arts: Sculpture in Sedona’s Red Rocks
Program: #6139 Dates: Mar 9-14
Price: $790 Single +$235
This hands-on class is designed for all from beginner to
advanced. Under the tutelage of an award-winning bronze
sculptor, experience the joys and rewards of this malleable
art form. Using water-based clay, you’ll be guided through
various stages of the sculpting process, with attention to
each individual’s preferences/abilities. The week’s
highlight is a special all-day field trip to the beautiful
Granite Hills of Prescott and a visit to a new bronze
foundry.
Learn more |
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News
Lois Castle knits scarves for the children on the Navajo
Reservation.
Jack Garner, film critic and NAU Elderhostel participant,
shared his knowledge of John Ford and Monument Valley while
attending our program in that location.
Learn more about our Monument Valley program
Northern Arizona University has earned an honorable mention
in Sierra magazine's listing of the nation's
"coolest schools" for its efforts to stop global warming.
Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff featured on The Smart
Show, a new
online travel program/Web TV.
Learn more about our Astronomy program where we visit
Lowell.
Alan Roehl shares some photos from "The Classic Grand Canyon
Challenge: Rim to River"
Tips & Ideas
Grow-a-Note Recycled
Holiday Cards
Holiday Recipes at Allrecipes.com
Top 20 travel packing tips by AARP members.
Tips to avoid getting sick while traveling.
Recommended
Reading
The Fourth World of the Hopis: The Epic Story of the Hopi
Indians as Preserved in their
Legends and Traditions
by Harold Corlander
The
Fourth World of the Hopis: The Epic Story of the Hopi
Indians as Preserved in their legends and Traditions, by
Harold Corlander (1971). This book by noted Folklorist and
Novelist, Frank Corlander, brings together traditional oral
accounts of the travels of the different clans and the
various villages of the Hopi people.
We in
the Anglo world think more in terms of the semi-nomadic
people, nearly 2000 years ago, clustering along the water
courses, hunting, and gathering wild crops. Slowly they
developed a more sedentary lifestyle with the domestication
of corn, beans, squash and many other plants, and the advent
of technology such as pottery. Although no longer migrating
annually, they continued to wander back and forth across the
landscape of the southwest. We generally assume that they
did this in an endless search for the basics of life: food,
water, and shelter.
The oral
history contained in this book tells a different story of
what their motivations were. The oral history also tells
that they were searching for places of spiritual harmony
with nature, and that they were fleeing from imperfection
and evil, and that the long journeys were also in
fulfillment of moral prophecy.
The stories tell of origins of the Hopi Clans; life in, and
migrations from, places left behind; early encounters with
the Spanish and Navajo; and origins of and conflict within
communities. Although these stories have myth interwoven
with legend and with history, they are the repositories of
events, but also of purposes and attitudes towards life.
These stories are more revealing of the lives of the Hopi
ancestors than the material culture left behind.
Buy
Review by Jeff Strang,
NAU Elderhostel Coordinator
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Home
Programs
Contact Us
Northern Arizona University
Elderhostel, P.O. Box 5604, Flagstaff AZ 86011, Ph. 1-800-411-3086
Website:
www.nau.edu/elderhostel
Email: elderhostel@nau.edu
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