Some folks just want to relax when they take a trip out of town.
But escaping one’s everyday routine doesn’t have to mean beach- or pool-side lounging or aimless wandering in a tourist town. If you want to experience something new and possibly outside of your comfort zone, you might consider a wholly different type of vacation.
There are trips available to fulfill almost anyone’s adventurous side, says Brenda Wallace, an agent with the Upper Arlington-area office of Frosch Travel. She’s arranged wine tours in South Africa and Australia, a day of observation at Le Cordon Bleu cooking school in Paris, and dove-hunting trips to Argentina.
“There probably isn’t anything that we couldn’t arrange for the client,” Wallace says. “It’s just a matter of time and money.”
Working with a travel agent, a tour company or a resort is your best bet for arranging an experience that meets your expectations for the extraordinary. Booking a class or trip with an unknown, untested vendor is risky and could end in disappointment, Wallace says.
Here are three different options that scratch the itch for a different type of vacation.
Dog Sledding
Columbus Explorer Club
You’ve seen it in the movies, but that’s nothing like feeling the wind on your face as you glide over the snow behind a pack of sled dogs, says Michele Rapp, owner of the Columbus Explorer Club.
“It’s one of my favorite things in the world to do, and it’s something I never expected because I’m not a cold-weather person,” Rapp says. “I hated the snow, but not anymore.”
The club is all about bringing people together on unique adventures. Dog sledding was suggested as a possibility, so she set out to research it.
“It was on somebody’s bucket list,” Rapp says.
She started out by taking her family. After meeting the owners of Nature’s Kenne
l and seeing the dogs – “I had to make sure the company was nice to their dogs,” she says – she began leading trips to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula four years ago.
Nature’s Kennel co-owner Ed Stielstra is a champion Iditarod racer.
“He has an amazing passion for these dogs and wanted people to experience what you would (experience) on a race,” Rapp says. “It’s a spectacular 20-mile dog run, and we stop at what we call our ‘base camp.’ We put down straw for the dogs, prepare their dinner and love all over them, then have a hobo dinner out by the campfire with wine and beer.”
Accommodations on the overnight trip are a large canvas tent with bunk beds and a wood-burning stove. The next morning, the group mushes back to the kennel. The other two nights, travelers stay at Chamberlin’s Ole Forest Inn.
The Club’s next trip is scheduled for Jan. 30-Feb. 2, 2015, and starts at $1,200 for a package that includes travel, lodging and some meals. A maximum of eight can take the overnight trip, but Rapp says up to seven additional people can come along for a single day of dog sledding.
“It kind of wakes up your soul,” Rapp says. “You’ve got to let your soul come out and play once in a while, and in return, you grow as a person. You’re thinking better. Things are more clear. You’re open. It’s a tremendous experience.”
Native American Week
Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch
A visit to a dude ranch, including horseback riding and fishing, is an adventure on its own. But once a year, Sylvan Dale Guest Ranch in Loveland, Colo. adds an extra layer of learning during Native American Week.
The family-owned ranch, which has been in operation since 1946, has been holding Native American Week for 15 years, transforming part of the ranch into a historically accurate Cheyenne camp from the mid-1800s.
Historian Grey Wolf leads guests in learning about the daily lives of Native Americans.
“(He) comes in and sets up a tipi camp and leads activities related to Native American culture,” says Karen Burbank, dude ranch specialist for Sylvan Dale.
Grey Wolf and other historians teach tomahawk and knife throwing; medicine b
ag, moccasin and arrow making; Native American sign language; fire-making; and other aspects of Great Plains culture to both children and adults. For those who are old enough, there’s also the chance to shoot rifles.
“It’s very authentic,” Burbank says. “You would think that you’d stepped back into the 1800s.”
The 3,200-acre ranch has a herd of 69 horses – it does its own breeding and training – and a little over 100 head of cattle raised for all-natural, grass-fed beef.
The cost for Native American Week, typically held in mid-July, is $2,175 for its all-inclusive package for those 13 and older. That includes an assigned horse for the week. Without an assigned horse, the cost is $1,975. The ranch can accommodate up to 35 guests at a time.
Provence & the Cote d’Azur
Wanderlust Tours
For the sophisticated palate – or for those who’d like to have a more sophisticated one – Wanderlust Tours’ small-group travel experiences that focus on culture and cuisine offer up-close and behind-the-scenes glimpses into European tradition.
The Columbus-based company, owned by Shawnie Kelley and Sherri Pickett, has been leading tours of six to 10 people to destinations in the U.S. and Europe since 2012.
“We specialize in cultural and culinary travel,” Kelley says. “Each year, we put together four signature tours. Our 2015 tours are actually history-themed. We’re calling them our Legacy tours.”
The Provence & Cote d’Azur Legacy tour of France – scheduled for Sept. 6-15, 2015 – include
s a cooking class with a sous chef at a high-end restaurant in Avignon, among other food- and drink-focused experiences: shopping at famous chocolatier Bernard Castelain in Provence, dinner at a Michelin-rated restaurant in Arles and a progressive lunch in Nice.
Though the business is relatively new, Kelley has been conducting tours of various kinds for 14 years and even spent some time living in Nice.
“I can create tours that allow our travelers to go behind the scenes, meet artisan food makers and get up close and personal with pieces of history that you can’t do in a large group setting and, sometimes, that people can’t do on their own,” she says.
As an example, Wanderlust groups have had the chance to go up on the roof of a castle or cathedral where public tours aren’t often allowed.
Both Kelley and Pickett accompany each tour group.
“There are always two of us to lend different voices to the experience,” Kelley says. “Also, should somebody want to do something different, one of us can help manage that while the other is conducting the tour.”
Though the cost of the trip hasn’t been finalized, Kelley estimates it will run about $4,800-$5,000 per person. Most meals are included, but air fare is not.
Lisa Aurand is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at gbishop@cityscenemediagroup.com.
