Is the travel bug pinching you? Here are eight fantastic fall getaways that will transport you from home to such far-flung locales as a camel market in India or the Antarctica, or to fall foliage settings here in the U.S. Take one of the hike, bike or kayak REI Adventures Getaways; many are within easy reach of big cities. Introduce the kids to elk or 4X4 off-road adventures on a long weekend in Jackson Hole, WY, or Telluride, CO. Ready to graduate from an indoor rock wall to climbing outdoors?
If you're looking for an antidote to urban stress, book the Fall Bike to Waterfalls or the Fall Ultimate Getaway package at Evergreen Lodge, which is just outside Yosemite National Park. You'll get a chance to take a bike ride or a tour in the park guided by a naturalist. If these adventures are too soft for you, there's always rock climbing and mountaineering. Photo © Jae Fineberg
During the four-day REI Adventures’ Natchez Trace Parkway Autumn Cycling trip bikers will get a taste of the honky-tonks and music in Nashville, Tennessee, as well as the rural life while biking along the parkway. The trip is so popular that REI has added a spring ride. REI Adventures offers Weekend Getaways multi-sport, hiking, biking and other trips year-round. Check the website for a list of trips.
One of the most colorful fall spectator events is Bridge Day in Fayetteville, WV, when base jumpers leap off the New River Gorge Bridge legally, and rappellers zip down their lines toward the water below. For doers,
Bridge Day is an extreme event; for watchers is a fantastic people-watching experience.
Racing camels across the desert, trading livestock and folk dancing are part of the action that attracts thousands to the annual Pushkar Camel Fair, every November in Rajasthan, India. Exotic Journeys has wrapped two 15-day trips around this colorful extravaganza, with stays in Jaipur, Delhi and other parts of India. The land tour price starts at $2,145 per person and includes lodging in heritage hotels or castles, sightseeing tours and much more. The 2007 trip is Nov. 16-30. Check the website for the dates of next year's trip.
If you can't help running your hands over the curves of a finely carved wooden chair or table, the annual Vermont Fine Furniture &
Woodworking Festival is for you. The designs of dozens of fine furniture companies and skilled woodworkers will be on display at the show at the annual show, held during the height of leaf-peeping season. Add in a hike or mountain bike ride to see the fall foliage for a perfect weekend. Check the website for the show date.
Sierra Wilderness Seminars offers mountaineering and rock climbing courses on Mt. Shasta and in the Sierra Nevada. During the five-day Basic Mountaineering Camp, participants learn to use the right tools and techniques to climb rock, ice and snow, proper trip preparation, navigation and other skills. The test comes toward the end of camp when the group attempts to climb a 13,000 foot peak in the Palisade via a 3rd/4th class route. Cost is $795. There's usually a group campsite. Check the website for camp dates.
Join one of Quark Expeditions' Snow Hill Island Safaris in the Antarctica this winter and you can get an up-close look at Emperor penguins caring for their young. The stop on the ice to view Emperor penguins at this remote rookery is just one portion of the cruise on an icebreaker ship. Check the website for fall dates.
