What to expect on Mary & Piet's learning vacations...

Expect the unexpected! Scheduled BFT Learning Vacations for 2012... Our Learning Vacations Listed Below are now reserving/filling. Call us for Brochures & Reservations and to discuss your questions and interests.  Piet & Mary van de Mark: 520-887-2340 News Alert: New Best of Baja Departure! Our Scheduled Learning vacations Please click the program links with the learning vacations below to be connected to our specific  web pages. These three programs venture off the beaten track a bit, and provide you with an extraordinary experience; each offers the comfort of new passenger vans with seating of just two guests per wide three-person seat. Everyone enjoys a window seat with excellent views & comfort.  The Best of Baja 2012! The 2nd trip: March 19-27, 2012 Yes, the whales are still there! March 1-9, 2012 is almost full  1 space is available http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/Files/Baja Whale Watching.htm   http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/Files/friendlywhale.htm  At this time, this program is almost filled. Participation is limited to just 14 guests. The first departure is almost filled (one space remains), we have added another identical program in March 19-27, 2012. Yes, the whales are still there! please call or email to reserve soon.   Hidden Treasures! http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/hidden_treasures!.htm February 6-11, 2012 Space is still available   Yoga: San Diego! May 15-18, 2012  This getaway is a bit of a departure from our regular fare, and we expect it will appeal to many of you. Barbara Sherman is a long-time friend and BFT guest with whom some of you have traveled on our learning vacations. Barbara teaches Yoga here in Tucson; some of her students have expressed interest in combining Yoga and a fun little vacation, and we've joined with her to create a four-day motor coach adventure to San Diego this spring, with three pleasant nights at our very comfortable and familiar Courtyard Marriott Hotel in Old Town combined with sightseeing opportunities and the delight of practicing Yoga with Barb amidst the beauty of some of San Diego's lovely parks and beaches.  Interested? Details to be announced... Chaco Canyon, New Mexico   October 18-22, 2012 Get into Chaco Culture with Archaeologist Gwinn Vivian http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/new_page_4.htm   More coming soon! Always more to come....call us or write to learn our plans...   Please Note: Most programs are offered only every few years; some are one-time-only special events...so, if you see something that really interests you, don't just put it off 'till "next year" or "next time" until you  learn if it will ever be offered again! Make your decision well in advance and enjoy the anticipation! We'd love to have you with us again...or for the first time. Please join us in planning way ahead; additional reservations such as air, extra hotels and family visits are easier that way, thank you! We're here to assist you, and we're as close as 520-887-2340 or: piet@bajasfrontiertours.com The Best of Baja 2012! Enrollment is limited to just fourteen guests Natural History & Friendly Whale Watching in the Enchanted Peninsula:  March 1-9, 2012 New features for your comfort & convenience for 2012!   Experience Baja California, Mexico's personalized natural history...including boating with Scammon's Lagoon's friendly gray whales. Scammon's is the largest and best-protected migratory destination. Thousands of whales have always been there for our guests for over forty years. We look at the whales, not for them! And on average, half of our guests get to pet friendly whales and their calves! Botanical opportunities are outstanding! Whether your interest is in photography or learning the specificity of the peninsula's fascinating Sonoran Desert plants, or just enjoying the unique experience, you'll savor the time with Mary as your guide. The opportunity to enjoy the most wonderful fresh seafood and delightful Mexican (American and continental, as well) cuisine is unsurpassed! Co-sponsored with Tucson's magnificent Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. For your savings and convenience, comprehensive travel and trip cancellation insurance is now included in the price for all Best of Baja participants! Further, our friendly group is limited to just 14 guests, and seating is only two people per (3-person width) bench seat in the two vans; now everyone has a window seat! We are now accepting registrations for this single offering for 2012 in Baja California during our 46th year of learning vacations...and you're invited to consider joining us; please call us with your questions and to request your Baja Brochure! Click the link for more: http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/Files/Baja Whale Watching.htm   And more friendly whale pictures here: http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/Files/friendlywhale.htm    You're Invited to our Picture Show January 11, 2012 The Best of Baja! Also, learn more about our other programs Journey through the remote central Baja California peninsula experiencing many desert delights such as boojum forests, immense cardon cacti, and brilliant spring flowers. The lovely, blue Pacific Coast is alive with whales and other marine life. The enjoyable and photogenic diversity of bird life includes North American herons. Get up-close and personal with the majestic, and often very friendly, California gray whales in their natural mating and calving grounds. Piet and Mary Van de Mark will share their knowledge and passion for Baja’s natural history.    When? Wednesday, January 11 at 12:00 noon and 2:00 pm Where? Western National Parks Assn. 12880 N Vistoso Village Drive, Tucson, Arizona 85755. Reservations requested by WNPA Please call WNPA at 622-6014 during business hours. Just to let you know... Many of you have asked us to give you advance notice of our future trips, so you can plan ahead and Anticipate! What follows is early information and not necessarily complete; we will move each of these programs into detailed learning adventures when we can have completed the research and scouting and have compiled  the information; meantime, please call us with any questions. Death Valley: Where Wonder Reigns! filled for 2011, thank you! A number of folks weren't able to come at that time, or inquired after the trip was full. Your interest affects our decisions on when to schedule another program  Please let us know your interest for the future.       The 2012/2013 Season is still Under Construction Lots more to come Stay Tuned! Detailed brochures are yours for the asking for every scheduled program.  Call Piet & Mary at 520-887-2340 in Tucson to discuss your interests and BFT's learning vacation offerings. See Hidden Treasures, our newest natural history learning vacation! Register now for this brand new Natural History Adventure trip, below! Hidden Treasures!  with naturalist extraordinaire  Peter Siminski Hidden Treasures: California Deserts, Palm Canyons, Mountain Wilderness & Salton Sea’s Birds - Feb 6-11, 2012 Join Peter Siminski, Director of Conservation and Education at the Living Desert Museum, for an impressive natural history tour d’ force.  Peter was long-time Curator of Mammalogy and Ornithology at Tucson’s Desert Museum. Experience up close and personal the incredibly diverse and scenic habitats reachable from our very comfortable Palm Desert hotel base.  Hidden treasures abound in the Coachella Valley Region in Southern California. Five spectacular mountain ranges surround this valley, with the steepest escarpment in North America rising from the desert floor to almost 11,000 feet in a mere seven horizontal miles. In this land of contrasts, lush palm and cottonwood oases spring out of stark landscapes. The Sonoran Desert gives way to the Mohave as you ascend the slopes of the Little San Bernardino Mountains. Here the majestic Joshua Tree abounds and giant rounded-granite boulders punctuate the landscape. From the higher elevations you can see 50 miles in the distance, California’s largest surface area of water: the Salton Sea. This vast inland sea attracts hundreds of species and millions of birds each year. We’ll spend a full day circumnavigating this giant sea, stopping often to enjoy the rich bird life. In our days of exploration, we visit palm and cottonwood canyons to enjoy the bird life or just savor the cool beauty of the oasis. We’ll ride the world’s largest rotating tramcar up six thousand feet past the sheer cliffs of Chino Canyon to the 8,516 ft. mountain wilderness. Enjoy the breathtaking vistas of the evermore-familiar landmarks. We’ll visit the surrounding deserts and memorable The Living Desert, a 1,200-acre wildlife and botanical park. Our guide for this delightful getaway is Peter Siminski, Director of Conservation and Education at the Living Desert. Many of you will remember Peter from Tucson’s Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, where he worked for many years as Curator of Mammalogy and Ornithology. We know Peter will enthusiastically and skillfully share his new desert home with us during these delightful days together. Please call us to discuss the trip. Click the link for more:  http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/hidden_treasures!.htm     NOTICE: As you consider your learning vacation plans, please keep in mind that many of our programs are offered just one-time-only, or are available to you only once every 2-to-10 years. If you're thinking about "going next time," please call us to ask when - or if - that special trip you've always wanted to do will be offered again.     The Chiricahua Cottages Awaiting your personal quiet getaways in the lovely Chiricahua Mountains of southeast Arizona anytime...peaceful vistas on 80 quiet acres; hiking, world-class birding...please click on the link below...or give us a call...  Click the link for more: http://www.bajasfrontiertours.com/Files/Chiricahua%20Cottages.htm     Let us tell you something about Baja's Frontier Tours' handcrafted learning vacations... You're in Good Company—Our guests are very special people of all ages bonded by common curiosity about the chosen travel environment and their passion to learn about the world around them. The result is VERY pleasant people sharing our enjoyment of these unique travel and learning vacation experiences. Great fun combined with learning—During BFT's four decades, an approach has evolved through which we share our favorite places with pleasant, thoughtful, independent  and curious guests who choose our enthusiastic guidance and the enjoyable companionship and sociability of like-minded traveling companions. You'll enjoy our guests (and our scholars) as we do! The very best scholars for our travel environment—Our instructors are always highly skilled and affable folks, whose company and knowledge you'll enjoy. In Baja California, for example, we are your hosts, tour operators and instructors. On other trips, if the subject is not our specialty, we produce and operate the program personally (as always), and work with the best and most knowledgeable of interpreters. Additionally, we work with a number of local specialists to provide our guests a well-rounded understanding of the focus subject of the trip, be it natural or cultural history, archaeology, geology, the arts or whatever. Learning vacations that will change who you are—not sightseeing tours. We do see the sights. And yet we do so much more. We rarely sit around in lectures. Our guests are much more experiential people. Hands-on folks, who enjoy getting out and actually enjoying the experience of being there...of learning in the field. Details vary considerably from one trip to another. That's why we suggest that you call us and learn more about the program that really seems to be speaking to you. Savor the anticipation...plan way ahead. We must plan over a year ahead to secure reservations at the hotels we choose. And to schedule our scholars. Your early decisions will assure you a space on your chosen learning vacation. Some programs fill many months in advance. Others fill at the last minute; and sometimes trips are cancelled several months in advance for lack of participation, only to have folks call later to sign up. So, please plan ahead and savor the anticipation. We do look forward to speaking with you and to enjoying your company again...or for the first time! Never stop learning!  Great food & lodging—always part of the BFT experience to the extent the travel environment permits! Generally some meals are included; and for the others, we guide our guests to places where they are free to choose from healthy mouthwatering specialties, from Baja to Oaxaca, Chihuahua, Arizona and New Mexico. In Baja California, every restaurant and hotel we'll take you to is one we've shared with our guests for well over 30 years...most of them since they first opened their doors. The variety of truly fresh seafood is mouthwatering! We select accommodations that allow us to accomplish the goals of a particular trip, generally the best that an area has to offer. As some itineraries take us off the beaten track at times, our choices vary from fairly simple to rather extravagant, and always clean, comfortable, pleasant and safe. "Wish Lists" planning for the future—Each tour program is different; many are unique: offered one time only. So, we encourage you to call us to discuss your interests so that we may help you choose the memorable and fun experience that will be just right for you! For some programs that tend to fill quickly, we offer the opportunity to put your name on a "Wish List" for that trip well in advance, before a date is chosen and details are available. This means you'll be among the first to receive details and the opportunity to sign up when itinerary specifics are available and the program is officially scheduled. Call for information. We're accountable—These days, when business is so often impersonal and lacking in accountability, we hope you’ll appreciate that we create and operate each program personally. As BFT's owner/operators, we’re right there with you on your vacation to keep things humming. Your safety, comfort and enjoyment are very important to us! Our quality control is excellent. Our commitment is deep and personal; we’re accountable. Each of BFT’s four decades has taught us a lot about producing learning vacations. We hope you enjoy our style!  Weather & Timing—We thoroughly consider optimal weather and special events—both natural and cultural—in planning scheduling for each learning vacation. We plan carefully to avoid bad weather and crowds whenever possible. You will notice that our offerings come in fall, winter and spring. That's because most of our favorite places are hot (or crowded!) in the summer. Meals included? Not necessarily. And that can be a good thing for you. Some of our programs include most meals. Others include few or no restaurant meals; Baja is an example of the latter. Many trips include a number of enjoyable picnic lunches afield, when we find ourselves far from restaurants. Generally, we include meals when there is some specific reason to do so. By not including all meals, we save  you money; perhaps lots of money. Let me explain: When we include meals, restaurants don't give us the breaks you might expect, and we must choose ample meals to satisfy the grandest of appetites; and meals must be what we think you want to eat. However, if you eat lightly (perhaps you and your traveling companion prefer to share entrees?), then you're paying for a big meal that you're not enjoying. Additionally, when you do the ordering, you may choose from the full range of an often-extensive menu, thus enjoying - and paying for - exactly, and only, what you choose. Smoking—In the interest of health and comfort, there is no smoking where our guests gather—in vehicles, at meals, group discussions, field interpretations, whether inside or outdoors. No one breathes smoke unless they choose to. Some of our hotels are non-smoking properties. Smokers who are happy to observe these courtesies are very welcome on every program. BFT has offered natural and cultural history learning vacations in Baja California, Mexico since 1966. Today, our offerings also include the Greater American Southwest, featuring Arizona and New Mexico (including our Indian Country programs), and moreS. Mary & Piet produce and operate every single one of their programs personally.  Our philosophy regarding Baja's Frontier Tours' goals is simple: We go to places that are special to us and that we've found our guests enjoy immensely, as well; sometimes these are not the most popular tourist destinations, rather they are special places where our guests can learn, enjoy and refresh themselves in peace, safety and comfort. We assure the success of each program by producing and operating it personally...we enjoy each experience right along with you, making each program the best learning vacation possible!  We don't just have customers, we build relationships. We invite your participation to make this a reality. We enjoy your calls and emails to discuss your interests, answer your questions and to help you consider a particular trip and determine if it's right for you. We're here to help you choose, plan and enjoy the most memorable and personally satisfying vacation possible. And, if we haven't spoken for a while, to get acquainted...or to catch up with you,  Piet & Mary Van de Mark Piet & Mary  Dennis Winsten photo Detailed brochures and answers to your questions are yours for the asking for every scheduled program.  Call Piet & Mary at 520-887-2340 in Tucson. Or click here to send us an email: piet@bajasfrontiertours.com We thank you all who make Baja's Frontier Tours' 45th year so  memorable!   HOW A NEW LEARNING VACATION WAS BORN:  Hidden Treasures... The seed for Hidden Treasures began several years ago when Jo Falls at Tohono Chul Park (Tucson's premier botanical garden) asked about a visit to experience the magnificent bird life at the Salton Sea; we thought, “after driving over there, let’s add a day to experience some of the amazing desert details that most visitors (who visit Palm Springs because it’s so well known) miss completely.” About a year ago, we stopped by Palm Desert’s Living Desert (an amazing zoo and botanical garden) for a couple of days to visit our old friend Pete Siminski, who’s Director of Conservation and Education there. We first knew him from Mary’s many years at the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum’s Education Department; Pete was long time Curator of Mammalogy and Ornithology at ASDM in Tucson.  Pete gave us a day of his time to show off his new habitat, and we immediately discovered that a day wasn’t enough at all; we needed to come back for an extensive learning vacation of our own! So, over the last couple of weeks of December last year, we began to explore this region, a place that we thought we knew pretty well. As Pete both explored with us and offered suggestions for our own adventures, we began to realize that the hidden treasures of this place deserved another day…then another; finally, after much consideration, we determined that we would need five nights to begin to do justice to it all in the form of a learning vacation for our guests.  Hence, the new natural history program for February 6-11, 2012, with Pete Siminski teaching us with his great knowledge and enthusiasm: Hidden Treasures!  This December 2011, we're off again for our final scouting trip to firm up details for this exciting program. Hope you'll come along! The Best of Baja! is offered, as it has been for so many years now,  with new comforts and with travel and trip cancellation insurance now included. We're proud to offer The Best of Baja, with improvements that many of you have suggested: a small group limit of just 14 guests, and spacious seating of only two guests per normal 3-person seat in our comfortable brand new vans. Of course, the cost goes up in response to this, and many of you have told us this is just fine with you, thank you! We're glad to help. We hope you all agree that these are good ideas! For the very best in natural history adventures, The Best of Baja is our root program, going all the way back to 1967 when BFT first took its guests whale watching on Scammon's Lagoon. The peninsula was largely uninhabited; those were the early dirt-road-only days of our extensive four-wheel-drive camping expeditions.  Today, with a paved highway, delightful  hotels and mouthwatering restaurants featured (and all getting even better every time we visit!), our roots still allow us to share the peninsula's grandeur in a very personal way. And now with even more comfort in both travel and accommodations!  Co-sponsored again for 2012 with the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum, The Best of Baja learning vacation features those friendly California gray whales up close and personal plus the peninsula's astoundingly beautiful and often unique Sonoran Desert; learn and photograph the bountiful botany (consider Boojums & elephant trees!), and the impressive lagoon bird life: Big birds, out in the open and so easy to see and photograph (with the right camera equipment) that even folks who haven't considered birds impressive before will be impressed!  This experience in the enchanted peninsula always manages to create magical memories (and  photographs!) for our guests, as it has for us for over four decades! Death Valley: Where Wonder Reigns - 2011 will revisit this amazing place in the best of weather (now, there's a challenge!) and, as always, with Amazing Bob Scarborough, that enthusiastic geologist who's passion for the place flows throughout our adventures there and makes it so very special! Bob's November 2011 program filled with 38 happy guests; this time normally offers an excellent weather and photography in the valley, featuring cool nights and pleasant sunny days. And our four nights at the very pleasant Furnace Creek Ranch Resort, right in the heart of Death Valley will provide enchanting dining and evening relaxation. If you missed this one and have an interest, please let us know; a number of guests tell us of their interest; when we hear from enough folks, we'll schedule it again, and in just a year or two! Christmas in the Barrio, also insightfully taught by Patricia, will introduce many to Mexican holiday traditions very much alive for centuries right here in Tucson. Reserving now for both day trips. Co-sponsoring institutions: Christmas in the Barrio, also insightfully taught by Patricia, will introduce many to Mexican holiday traditions very much alive for centuries right here in Tucson. Reserving now for both day trips. Co-sponsoring institutions: Tohono Chul Park and the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum. And, by the way, Chaco Canyon Archaeology with Gwinn is going on our schedule again pretty soon for a year or so down the road. We're still enjoying that delightful Marriott on the banks of the lovely Animas River in Farmington. Remember those beavers working to build a dam in the Animas? Hope they're still at it. We've found a new and delightful hotel in Gallup that we're sure you'll enjoy! We love to hear from you! Please give us a call or a note just to stay in touch and let us know how you are and to catch up on what we're doing, too... anytime. We're here to help you find just the right learning vacation for you. Piet & Mary Van de Mark Please click on their image to be directed to Travel Insured's website to learn more and to purchase travel insurance for your learning vacation with us. We recommend the purchase of travel and trip cancellation insurance.  Travel Insured has provided our guests with excellent service for many years.  Our favorite places in Baja California, Mexico are those that have remained relatively unchanged since BFT first ventured into "The Forgotten Peninsula" in the 1960's. Perhaps that explains our focus on the midsection of Baja, rather than well-developed and more familiar areas like Cabo San Lucas, lovely as they are. We hope you'll join us to experience some of the peninsula's lovely hidden, uncrowded and unchanged places that most of the peninsula's visitors fail to experience in their mad rush to Baja's resort country. Go With Experience! We do!   Tucson's Annual Mexican Folk Art Christmas Sale (It's just a memory now. Thanks for all those good years!) Any questions or comments about our website?  Thanks very much for bearing with any confusions that may beset your browser. Please feel free to e-mail us about anything. We always answer all emails received. If you've emailed us and not received a reply, perhaps we didn't receive your email. Please try again or, better yet, give us a call! QUESTIONS & RESERVATIONS? Considering a trip? Or wondering which trip? Each program is personally produced and operated by Piet & Mary Van de Mark and their knowledgeable interpreters of natural and cultural history, anthropology, archaeology, geology, or whatever-ology happens to be the focus of the particular program. Each trip is unique, and the answers to the details and questions that concern you may not be obvious on the web site. We're here to discuss your interests and answer your questions so you may make a good decision. We have brochures for you with detailed itineraries. Having considered all these things, you'll join a select group of folks to share a very pleasant and memorable learning experience. Contact Mary & Piet by phone: 520-887-2340 (Tucson, Arizona)  Outside Arizona call Toll Free: 1-800-726-7231 EMAIL: piet@bajasfrontiertours.com If you enjoy fun and learning, we hope you'll join us for your next getaway or vacation. Planning a tour with us? The Chiricahua Cottages on your own? Thoughts about your next vacation? Please tell us how we can help you make it happen! ©Baja's Frontier Tours LLC, Tucson, Arizona 2003 & 2007 & 2008 & 2009 all rights reserved Please request written permission for copy or publication of any portion of these pages. Thanks! Proofed by Marcia Quiroz at Tucson, Arizona January 11, 2006. Thank you, Marcia! The management would also like to thank Mike Liebert for help with proofing! Updated by Piet Van de Mark September 2009. Typos? Not Marcia or Mike's fault! Home Page