Winter Newsletter, 2005

• New Web Site
• Upcoming Trips: Northern lights or
sunny beaches?
• News from our Adventurers
• Back by popular demand: Go Greece
• News from the Trail: Fiji – New Zealand
• New Trip: Awesome Aussie
• Bring Lists: What's a stuff sack?

New Web Site

The redesign of the web site Canyon Calling.com is completed. We hope that you enjoy the new format.  Our site contains easily downloadable pictures – they tell the stories of our trips so much better than words.  Every trip has an appropriate photo to match that day's experience.  We've added information that a first-time visitor to our site would appreciate, such as our history and Canyon Callings unique niche in the adventure travel market for women.   

Upcoming Trips: Northern lights or sunny beaches?

We're of course referring to Aurora Alaska, March 24 – 29 and the Hawaiian Islands, April 16 – 22.  There's room for you on both trips.  You'll love the train ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks – everything is white and last year we saw three wolves.  It's wonderful to ride a dogsled and then soak your chilly limbs in the hot springs.  It's fun to see your wet hair freeze white as we stay warm and toasty.  You'll never forget the grand event – the beautiful aurora dancing across the skies.  Perhaps the warmth and green of Hawaii appeals more right now?  There truly are too many highlights to pick the best.  The volcano is always impressive whether the lava is oozing down the slopes or is up close and accessible.  Swimming with wild dolphins is one of the most heartwarming experiences imaginable and who would guess that the cumbersome turtle would look so graceful in the water?  The scents of Hawaii stay with you long after your return.

News from our Adventurers:

Barbara Nachman from Newport News, VA traveled with Canyon Calling to Greece in 2002.  She recently traveled to Morocco and Brazil with Operation Smile. This program organizes medical missions to Third World countries to repair cleft lips and palates of children who would otherwise have no access to such surgeries.  "We leave for India soon" says Barb. "I've met so many wonderful and caring people from all over the world.  I can honestly say this has been one of the best things I've ever been involved with in my life."

Carolyn Jones is an Assistant Dean in the Business School at the University of South Carolina in Columbia and traveled with Canyon Calling in Utah in 2002.  Carolyn led a group of 13 staff and students to Kluj, Romania last summer to help 80 high school students improve their conversational English through the teaching of basic business courses.  "This program gives the high school students hope and exposes them to options in their lives that they never knew existed," says Carolyn. "It gives our college students teaching experience and invaluable immersion in another culture."  She's off to Guadalajara, Mexico in February to set up a similar program for this summer for high school students at Monterey Tec, Mexico.

If you've traveled with us before, we'd love to hear about newsy things happening in your life.  Please email us: funtrips@canyoncalling.com

Back by popular demand: Go Greece

We placed our trip to Greece on hold in 2003 because many of the ancient sites and museums were closed for renovations for the Olympics.  We decided to extend that hold through 2004 because of concerns that terrorists could use the pre-Olympic period as an opportunity to extend their terror to Athens.  Sadly, a bomb in May 04 took lives and destroyed an Athens Police Station so our concerns were justified.  The Olympics were terror-free, a huge success and something the Greeks can be very proud of.  I'm looking forward to our Go Greece trip in May.

News from the Trail: Fiji – New Zealand

Our December trip to New Zealand was great fun and included four from New York and four from Seattle. One of the highlights was when dolphins swam with us at Cathedral Cove and sailed along beside us in the Bay of Islands. This group quickly figured out which shops sold cone ice creams and thus trained the van to pull over automatically! We were forced to spend an extra day in New Zealand when un-seasonal snow closed Queenstown Airport!  However the unexpected drive through Mackenzie Country to Christchurch was exhilarating, as roadside lupins were in full bloom and made for stunning photographs.

While we were there, the New Zealand government passed a nationwide no-smoking ban in all indoor public places and it also passed a civil union bill.  Participants on the trip wanted to know why I was living in America when I came from such a progressive country - a very fair question!  Perhaps it's simply because I love my work and it would be impossible to run these trips from so far away.  Besides I didn't become an American citizen in 2002 just to run off when I didn't like a thing or two.  I told the ladies on the trip that one reason I don't leave is because of outstanding and committed women like them.  One of them was a Human Rights lawyer and another was a geologist cleaning up contaminated mining sites for the EPA. Some of them have been toiling away for women's rights since the sixties.  These women were especially pleased to be photographed at the memorial in Christchurch honoring the NZ women who forced the government to lead the world in granting women the right to vote. 

When folks have asked me over the years where I'm from and I've said New Zealand, the almost automatic reply is "I've always wanted to go to New Zealand."  Your next opportunity to join us is February 8^th and we still have room for two more!  For the first time, I'll be taking a Sedona resident to my homeland, making this trip extra special.  I belong to the Sedona chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners – matter of fact, I'm sharing the presidency this year.  One of our members lost her husband just before Christmas and has decided to join us on this trip as a new beginning.  Welcome Marian!

New Trip: Awesome Aussie

There is so much to see in Australia that the choices can easily overwhelm.  We researched and planned for months before the site inspection in October.  Sydney is a wonderful city and when you visit, you'll find yourself thinking "I could live here."  The Outback and the Tropical North were both more impressive than their reputations – vast stretches of emptiness and lushness respectively.  We loved holding a koala, learning to dive, walking round Ayers Rock and white water rafting.  It was fascinating to see ancient aboriginal rock markings while hiking in the Blue Mountains.  The bird songs in the Aussie bush are just amazing.  Come join us in Australia in October!

Bring Lists: What's a stuff sack?

Stuff sacks help to keep bulky items like fleece and raincoat contained.  They assist you in keeping organized and really matter when you need to find things quickly.  They can be purchased at hiking stores and are less than $5.  Choose bright colors that stand out in the bottom of your day pack in dim light.  The best size is 8" x 10".  I use several on trips – some for dirty clothes and some for stuffing "just-in-case" items into like poly-pros, gloves and wool hat.

Happy Trails, Cheryl