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Convention 2004

Optional Tours

The NIA has arranged an array of optional tours for you to enjoy while in Tucson. Seating is limited so advanced registration is encouraged. To schedule a tour or to get more information you should contact Heather Duva of Destination & Conference at 520-742-6000 ext. 7898 or 520-615-8302, fax: 520-577-5833 and email: heather.duva@westin.com

The registration deadline for the optional tours is March 11, 2004.

4-Wheeling Jeep Adventure
Thursday, March 25, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.

"Four-wheeling" is the perfect way to see the real Sonoran Desert. From the desert floor to the majestic mountains, our experienced tour guides are "outdoor" people knowledgeable in the field of native flora and fauna. Authenticity is stressed. The tour itself will take you through some of the most beautiful desert regions in all of Arizona. You will enjoy a botanical walk identifying the Arizona cacti. The desert is full of wildlife and the drivers are quick to point out any deer, jackrabbits, javelina or other wildlife that might cross your path.

$65.00 per person (6 person minimum)

Sabino Canyon/DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun
Thursday, March 25, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.

Twelve thousand years ago, Columbian mammoths roamed here. Around 1200 A.D., irrigation dams were placed in the creek by Hohokam Indians. In the 1870s, pony soldiers from Fort Lowell enjoyed horseback excursions to the "ol' swimmin' hole" still in use today. In the 1930s, civilian conservation groups built bridges and cut hiking trails 3.8 miles into the Santa Catalina Mountains. Wildlife and fauna flourish in this preserve. An outdoor tram ride gets you up close-cameras are a must! The tram operates 365 days a year!

En route from Sabino Canyon, we will visit DeGrazia's Gallery in the Sun. The DeGrazia Gallery, designed by the artist himself, consists of a group of low-slung adobes exhibiting his earliest and latest works. Each gallery has a different collection. You will immediately recognize the works of DeGrazia as he is the most reproduced artist in the world. The gift shop is open for browsing and shopping.

$39.00 per person (12 person minimum)

Kartchner Caverns
Friday, March 26, 12:30 - 5:30 p.m.

The Kartchner Caverns encompass seven acres of pristine caverns, which have become the focus for this new state park hidden beneath one of the small hills, which dots the Majestic Chihuahuan Desert. The two main galleries in the caverns, both the size of football fields, are kaleidoscope of color with 100-foot high ceilings dripping with multi-hued stalactites and floors jutting up with matching stalagmites. Giant white columns form when the two features meet. Dainty white helecities, translucent orange bacon strips, and shields of white calcilite adorn this natural wonder. An extraordinarily thin stalactite, called soda straws, hangs tenuously 21 feet 2 inches from the cave's ceiling. Rare quartz needles form "bird nests," nitrocalcite forms the "cotton," and an extensive array of brush like moonmilk are the cavern jewels. Katchner is a wet "live" cave. Water percolates from the surface and calcium carbonate features continue to grow in the darkness.

$65.00 per person (16 person minimum)

Desert Museum
Friday, March 26, 1:00 - 5:00 p.m.

The Arizona Sonora Desert Museum is one of Tucson's best loved desert treasures. Noted as "the most distinctive zoo in the United States", it is a combination zoological park and botanical garden. It's a delightful place to view and enjoy all the area's desert wonders - - animal, plant, reptile and insect. Included in the exhibits are a walk-in aviary (with a separate facility for hummingbirds), natural desert gardens, reptile displays and the underground earth sciences center - - a representation of the origin and development of the earth. A life underground exhibit simulates a cave. Actual roots are woven into the natural-looking concrete banks to add authenticity. The odd rock squirrel hole, plenty of natural gravel, and the right colors will convince critics the banks were moved in from the surrounding desert.

$59.00 per person (12 person minimum)

Pima Air Museum & Bone Yard
Saturday, March 27, 12:30 - 4:30 p.m.

The Pima Air Museum is home to one of the largest privately owned collection of historical aircraft in the country. During your tour you'll have the opportunity to view such historical aircraft as a mock-up of the X-15 or a full-scale model of the Wright Brother's 1903 Wright Flyer. Need that Commander in Chief feeling? Step right into the restored Douglas DC-6, used both by President Kennedy and Johnson during their terms. Some of the aircraft on display have been loaned from the Smithsonian, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Air Force.

Also visit the "Bone Yard," a testament to dry air, hard ground and a defense budget second to none. Its inventory is worth more than the assessed valuation of all land and structures in Pima Country. The "Bone Yard" holds 5,000 aircraft and missiles cooling their jets and or props. It's the country's only large-scale military plane storage maintenance site.

$59.00 per person (12 person minimum)

Horseback Trail Ride
Saturday, March 27, 1:00 - 4:30 p.m.

You're in cowboy country. Do as the cowboys do, ride through desert foothills, cross washes and get a whole new view of the Sonoran Desert. Our capable wranglers will lead you on a 3½ hour trail ride while pointing out the wildlife and desert landscape. So don your jeans and take a trail ride Arizona style.

$75.00 per person (12 person minimum)

Note: All tours include roundtrip transportation from the Westin, event coordinators, admission fees if applicable, and bottled water.