Saturday 12 September 2009

Press Trip: Arizona Rocks, USA

AZ Communications Group is seeking writers with assignments for a media tour in northern Arizona. The tour will feature the ARIZONA ROCKS region of Hopi, Page, the Navajo Nation, and Williams.

What's Included?
Participants fly into Phoenix on Saturday September, 19. Air transportation from major cities to and from Phoenix, transfers in Arizona, meals, attractions and lodging are provided by the hosts of Hopi, Page, Williams, and the Navajo Nation.

Contact:
Telephone: +1 (480) 897-3331 Email: mediatours@azcomgroup.com Email with credentials and story commitments. Space is limited to 8 only.

Intinery

Tour of Walpi Village
Walpi Village has been continuously inhabited for more than 1,100 years. Walpi stands above the valley at 300 feet, surrounded by awesome vistas of the sky and distant horizons. On the tour you will learn about the history of the first community “founded” at First Mesa, Walpi Village, which dates back to about 900 A.D. The village of Walpi is a living village where the homes are passed down through matrilineal clan lineage. Just as it has been over the centuries, there is no electricity or running water in the old village of Walpi. You will witness life as it has been lived over the centuries and you will also learn about the contemporary life of the First Mesa Villages which includes economic development and cultural preservation. You will find artisans selling their hand-crafted items, which may be purchased directly from the artist during your tour at reasonable prices.

Dawa Park
Dawa Park is one of the most culturally significant sites in the American southwest. Dawa Park is tucked into a 200 foot tall red rock ridge line that reveals between 12,000 and 15,000 petroglyphs that date back to the Anasazai ancestors of the current day Hopi. There are petroglyphs on the walls of Dawa Park that are not found in any other location.

Explore Navajo Interactive Museum
The Explore Navajo Interactive Museum approximates the journey Navajos take through life. Four monumental directional symbols divide the Museum into four quadrants. Traveling clockwise, you will enter the east and move to the south, west and north where in each quadrant you are introduced to the land, language, history, culture and ceremonial life of the Navajo. The museum features a traditional Navajo Hogan (home) and Navajo stories of creation. Your Navajo escort will help you understand the exhibits of Navajo culture, traditions, family systems and more.

Overnight at the Legacy Inn & Suites
The Moenkopi Legacy Inn and Suites will be the first hotel to be built on Hopi tribal land in 50 years. The idea to build a hotel was the inspiration of the Elders of the Upper Village of Moenkopi. It was their vision that their Village should be a place of welcome and gathering for visitors to the land of the Hopi.

Shonto
Shonto is located in the northwestern portion of the Navajo Nation. Shonto extends across two states (Arizona and Utah) and three counties (Coconino and Navajo Counties in Arizona and San Juan County in Utah.) Present-day Shonto Chapter was added to the Nation in several sections between 1882 and 1965. Shonto was recognized as a community around 1900. It became a chapter of the Navajo Nation in 1958. While in Shonto we will be visiting the Shonto Trading Post which was founded, on the site which it still occupies, in 1915, by John Wetherill and Joe Lee.

Navajo National Monument
Navajo National Monument allows visitors to step back in time and experience the two largest ruins in Arizona- Betatakin and Kiet Seel. These ruins were left from the ancient ones who lived there more than 900 years ago. These beautifully preserved ruins can be seen from the Betatakin Overlook, which also has a modern visitor center and replicas of ancient hogans and sweat lodges on the grounds.

Monument Valley Tribal Park
One of the centerpieces of beauty on Navajoland-and one of the world's most recognized landscapes- is Monument Valley Navajo Tribal Park. Beautiful red sandstones push skyward from the vast expanse of desert floor, creating a striking set of formations that stand together against an umbrella of blue skies. This enchanting earthscape is so inspiring and magnificent that it is one of the most photographed sites in America-and has become synonymous with our vision of the great southwest.

Lake Powell and Antelope Point Marina
It's like no other place on earth. With spectacular red rock towers, blue-green water, beaches of rosy sand, and night skies shimmering with stars. This area is a mecca for outdoor sports, on and around spectacular Lake Powell. View the scenery from the most spectacular vantage point – on the lake. You will be hosted by Antelope Point Marina for lunch and an on-the-lake tour of Lake Powell. You will explore several canyons and experience the wonderful lake that is world famous for its beauty and exceptional fishing.

Antelope Canyon Tour
Antelope Canyon Tours specializes in tours showcasing the beautiful slot canyons of Page/Lake Powell. Guests experience the canyons through the eyes of the Native American. The mysterious beauty of Antelope Canyon awaits the adventurous traveler who seeks to discover one of the most spectacular attractions in Page/Lake Powell. Awe-inspiring sculpture provides inspiration for amateur and professional photographers alike in a masterpiece of color.

Afternoon Cruise on Lake Powell
Experience the beautiful waters of Lake Powell. Explore exquisite rock canyons rising around you as you tour Lake Powell on this boat trip provided by Antelope Point Marina. View the scenery from the most spectacular vantage point – on the lake.

Overnight on Houseboats provided by Antelope Point Marina
With its striking architecture, generous use of glass, and southwest design elements, Marina Village adds to the magnificence of its backdrop, while paying homage to Native American culture and the surrounding environment. The result? A Marina unlike any other!

Antelope Point Marina offers those wishing to experience this world-famous playground "up close and personal" a variety of luxury houseboats, watercrafts and water toys for rent. Custom houseboats, exclusively built by Forever Houseboats, varying in size from 59' feet to 75' feet. The houseboats come completely equipped: each with flat screen TV's, DVD/CD players, satellite TV, plush indoor-outdoor living areas, state-of-the-art kitchens, private staterooms, canopied decks, waterslide, gas barbecues and wet bars. Some models include top-deck hot tubs.

Colorado River Float Trip
This incredible trip, hosted by Colorado River Discovery, departs from the base of the Glen Canyon Dam which towers 583 above the Colorado River. It's like no other place on earth with spectacular towering red rock canyon walls, blue-green water, and beaches of rosy sand. You will experience one of the most dramatic stretches of river found in the western United States on this smooth water trip aboard a motorized pontoon raft. The 15 mile trip takes out at the historic Lees Ferry landing.

Horseshoe Point
Horseshoe Point is one of the most unique formations in the west. Mother Nature has carved a horseshoe shape river around a sandstone tower. Located downstream from Glen Canyon Dam in the Colorado River this is a site that you don’t want to miss when you are visiting Lake Powell.
Powell Museum
The Powell Museum pays homage to the great explorer Major John Wesley Powell. Within the Museum, you can see sketches, photos, and other memorabilia of Powell’s epic Colorado River voyages in 1869 and 1871, along with unique collections of Native American and pioneer artifacts. Other exhibits focus on the geology of the canyons cut by the Colorado and the history and development of Page.

Grand Canyon Tour
Tour the rim of the majestic Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is perhaps one of the most spectacular examples of erosion, it is estimated to have taken 3-6 million years to form and erosion still continues today, with the river, rain, snow, heat and frost enhancing the rock formations that are already present. In some areas the Grand Canyon is up to 18 miles wide and a mile deep. Over 5 million people from all over the world come to take in the spectacular sights and beauty of the Grand Canyon each year.

Board the Grand Canyon Railway to Williams
The Railroad was originally built to transport ore in the Wild West from the Anita mines, 45 miles north of Williams in the late 1800s. Prospectors flocked to Grand Canyon Country with dreams of riches. Today, Grand Canyon Railway provides a historic and fun journey to the canyon with the help of authentic western characters who bring the Old West to life.

Historic Williams Route 66 Experience
Explore the historic downtown district of Williams. Main Street is the original “Mother Road” just as it was in the beginning. The heritage of Route 66 is preserved and vibrant with hotels, motor-hotels, restaurants, and shops that retain the original character of the Mother Road.

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