With a dry climate and clear skies, Tucson has long been at the fore- front of aviation and space research. From vintage aircraft, to mighty missiles, to the stars, highly qualified instructors guide you through what’s under the desert sky during classroom lectures and educational field trips. At Pima Air and Space Museum, explore 200 vintage aircraft including an SR-71 and mock-ups of space capsules. At the only remaining Titan Missile site – now a museum – sit at mission control center where, until 1987, nuclear warfare could have started. Take a day trip to Kitt Peak Observatory, where the Hale-Bopp comet was discovered, and view state-of-the-art telescopes and facilities. Join us and explore the mysteries that beckon from the skies.

Accommodations & Meals: Full-service hotel lodging. Free parking. All meals included.

#13287AU | 5 Nights

Babe Ruth said: “Baseball was, is, and always will be the best game in the world.” Experience spring training baseball in Tucson with the dynamic Arizona Diamondbacks, legendary Chicago White Sox, and rising Colorado Rockies, and learn what the Babe was talking about. Attend three Cactus League Spring Training games and expand your knowledge of baseball. Enjoy film clips, classic baseball literature, tales of baseball’s most memorable characters, and toe-tapping baseball music. Hear from team representatives and discuss the fine points of the game with your instructor, Jerry Kindall, retired infielder for the Cubs, Indians, and Twins. Also a three-time National Coach of the Year, Kindall was inducted into the American Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 1997.

This program includes a trip to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum.

Accommodations & Meals: Full-service hotel lodging. All meals included.

#7194AU | 5 Nights

Soak up the sights and sounds of the relaxed lifestyle of the Old Pueblo. Tucson’s spirit of the West welcomed early Spanish, Native American, Asian, Anglo-European, and African-American cultures, all of which influenced an array of history, art, and architecture. Bask in the beauty of the Sonoran Desert as you study the city steeped in the tradition of “Tucson casual.” Field trips include Tucson Botanical Gardens, the tram at Sabino Canyon, the restored San Xavier del-Bac mission, and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, populated by desert animals in a natural setting. See The University of Arizona campus and take in the Arizona Historical Society and State Museums. Experience dining pleasure at a guest ranch and discover Tucson’s history, sophistication, and sense of laid-back leisure.

Accommodations & Meals: Full-service hotel lodging. Free parking. All meals included except for one lunch, which allows you to explore the local cuisine on your own.

#1068AU | 6 Nights

From Tucson, venture south to explore northern Mexico’s rich cultural heritage and natural history. Accompanied by knowledgeable instructors, travel through the Sonoran Desert’s vast natural resources viewing tropical deciduous forests, flowering trees, and columnar cacti. Visit Magdalena, important in the 18th-century mission movement and burial place of Padre Kino. Continue south to Guaymas on the Sea of Cortez and to a pearl farm, then to the 17th-century colonial town of Alamos. Tour restored haciendas and their gardens and walk cobblestone streets. Visit Aduana, site of a mission established in 1630, and see the “miracle cactus” growing on the church wall. Proceed to Navojoa and a boat tour of the Bay of Yavaros wildlife preserve. Meander through mangrove inlets populated by a variety of bird life, including over 400 bird species. Relax, relish a seafood feast on a white sand beach, and enjoy a serenade of traditional Spanish songs in the garden of silent film star Mary Astor.

Much walking required, sometimes over uneven surfaces. Recommended for the active Elderhostel participant. This is a moving classroom. Travel is by motor coach with reclining seats, TV monitors, and bathroom. Journey is 475 miles (one way) through beautiful high desert plateau surrounded by mountains. Passport is necessary. Mexican Visa fee may apply.

Itinerary: Arrive Tucson, 1 night; Sonoran towns of Guaymas, 1 night; Alamos, 2 nights; Navojoa, 2 nights; departures from Tucson. Independent arrivals at Tucson International Airport by 4:00 p.m. Final day, arrive in Tucson at approximately 6:00 p.m. Free parking in Tucson for duration of trip.

Accommodations & Meals: Motel lodging. All meals included.

#1067AU | 6 Nights

Learn foreign diplomacy from veteran Foreign Service Officers who have served in embassies throughout the world. Examine case studies from various countries to illustrate how embassies conduct our government’s business, assist U.S. citizens, promote exports, and deliver humanitarian aid. From this global context of diplomacy, review what the U.S. has sought to accomplish in Mexico and assess how successful we have been. Learn about the political and economic spheres of NAFTA, immigration, and other issues. Discuss U.S./Mexico border relations with the people who work at the international border. Join us as experts bring to life the evolving relationship with our important neighbor to the south.

Program includes day trip to Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, and to the Arizona- Sonora Desert Museum. A passport may be necessary for the field trip to Mexico. Walking required, up to ½ mile, and can include uneven surfaces.

Program in association with The University of Arizona and the American Foreign Service Association

Accommodations & Meals: Full service hotel lodging. All meals included.

#8198AU | 6 Nights

Come discover the rich and varied culinary delights of the Southwest. This program introduces you to the cuisine of Sonora, Mexico. Your senses will appreciate the taste, texture, and aroma found in several traditional dishes. Tucson will showcase the art of Southwest cooking by local celebrity chefs through demonstrations. Elderhostel participants will enjoy instruction in the culinary arts and tasting opportunities as well. Travel to Nogales for a chef’s tour in Old Mexico, visit a Mexican grocery, and relish diverse dining experiences. Learn the difference between gold and silver tequila and the many varieties of salsa. Experience the colorful Mexican marketplace and listen to mariachi music. There will be opportunities to create culinary delights with recipes to take home. Field trip will include Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. A passport may be necessary for this activity.

Itinerary: Arrive by 5:00 p.m., Tucson 3 nights, coach to Nogales, 3 nights. Final day, transfer from Nogales to Tucson. Independent departures from Tucson, arriving Tucson by approximately 9:30 a.m.

Accommodations & Meals: Hotel lodging, both locations. Free parking. All meals included, except for one dinner in Tucson where you may explore the local cuisine on your own.

#8188AU | 6 Nights

Golf and history intermingle in the foothills of the majestic mountains of Southern Arizona. This program begins with great golf outings and expert PGA instruction, first in Tucson and then in Nogales. Discover the power of the putt and the challenge of the chip-and-pitch game. Learn how to get out of trouble in the rough or the sand. Enjoy four days of group clinics followed by four 9-hole rounds of golf with a riding cart on championship courses. With an overview of game essentials, discover how to master the mental game. Bring your own clubs or rentals are available. A study of the American West in History and Myth complements the golf program. The complex reality of the western frontier rests uneasily beside the mythic West of our popular culture. Explore the differences between the two and understand Native people within the context of their ancestral lands and customs. A journey to a Mexican marketplace is included. Come join us at the place where history lives and the climate is always appealing. Field trip will include Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. A passport may be necessary for this activity.

Courses require soft-cleat golf shoes – no steel spikes.

Itinerary: Arrive, Tucson, 2 nights (arrive by 5:00 p.m. first night); Nogales, 3 nights. Final day transfer from Nogales to Tucson, arriving by approximately 9:30 a.m. in Tucson for independent departures.

Accommodations & Meals: Hotel lodging. All meals included.

#8080AU | 5 Nights

Your journey begins in Tucson, where you will learn about the earliest inhabitants of the desert Southwest, the Native Americans. Explore the changing world of the Arizona tribes and their customs, art, music, and ceremonial life. Travel to the picturesque towns of Bisbee and Tombstone, “the town too tough to die.” Continue on to Nogales, Arizona, for the remainder of your trip and visit a working cattle ranch. Hear all about the age-old tradition of ranching from “cow punchers” at the ranch where the television series “Rawhide” was filmed. Other visits include a Mexican marketplace, the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, and the missions of San Xavier and Tumacacori Historical Park. Field trip will include Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. A passport may be necessary for this activity.

Itinerary: Arrive by 5:00 p.m., Tucson 2 nights; coach to Nogales, 3 nights. Final day, transfer from Nogales to Tucson. Independent departures from Tucson, arriving Tucson by approximately 9:30 a.m.

Accommodations & Meals: Hotel lodging, both locations. All meals included.

#7504AU | 5 Nights

Dazzling, colorful, and amazing describes this “jewel” of a week. You will be immersed in gem stones and regional works of art. Begin at the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show, walking the aisles of this internationally famous convention where thousands of vendors display their wares. Class time will shed light on the significance of the gems and stones, how to identify them, and how they are used. Mid-week, travel to Nogales, Arizona, and visit Tubac, the oldest European settlement in Arizona and an internationally known artists’ colony. Learn to recognize the beauty of art objects from the Southwest with their mix of myth and culture, drawn from Native American and Mexican life. View art work such as basket weaving, pottery, and jewelry making. Field trip will include Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. A passport may be necessary for this activity.

Itinerary: Arrive by 5:00 p.m., Tucson 3 nights; coach to Nogales, 3 nights. Final day, transfer from Nogales to Tucson. Independent departures from Tucson, arriving Tucson by approximately 9:30 a.m.

Accommodations & Meals: Hotel lodging, both locations. Free parking. All meals included.

#7320AU | 6 Nights

Our exploration will take us to 10 missions founded in the late 17th and early 18th centuries by Padre Kino, a Jesuit missionary. Beginning and ending in Tucson, see eight mission churches in northern Sonora, Mexico and two sites located in Arizona. Trace the history of the Sonoran Borderland Missions and walk with your instructor in the footsteps of those who built them. Investigate the legends and customs of the region that was called Pimeria Alta under Spanish rule. Explore the Mexican missions of Cocospera, Magdalena, Oquitoa, Atil, Tubutama, Pitiquito, Caborca, and San Ignacio. In Arizona, see the famous mission of San Xavier del Bac and the San Jose de Tumacacori. While two of the missions are in ruins, most are maintained, restored or active. Learn the effect of mission civilization on Mexican and Indian culture and history. Follow the progression of architectural styles at successive missions. Step back into the past as you explore the “Kino Chain of Missions”.

Entire journey is approximately 500 miles (round-trip) by motorcoach with reclining seats, TV monitors, and a bathroom. Much walking required, sometimes over uneven surfaces. Recommended for the active hosteler. A passport is required. Mexican Visa fee may apply.

Itinerary: Arrivals Tucson, 1 night; Nogales, AZ, 1 night; Caborca, Sonora, Mexico, 2 nights; Tucson, 1 night. Departures after lunch the final day. Free parking for the duration of the program.

Accommodations & Meals: Hotel and motel lodging. Sample regional foods; all meals included.

#13285AU | 5 Nights