Would-be city slickers have a variety of sources to find information for a vacation in the great outdoors.
Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association has 40 ranches listed in its new brochure. All offer extensive horseback riding and lessons, and most also offer hot tubs and swimming pools, fishing, hiking, cattle roundups and overnight trips. Some even offer llama treks, hot-air ballooning and photo workshops. These ranches offer all-inclusive vacations, which makes them a good value. Perhaps that’s why occupancy at them last summer was up 5 percent to a record 85.45 percent-so book early.
For more information, contact the Colorado Dude & Guest Ranch Association, Box 300, Tabernash, Colo. 80478; 303-724-3653.
Another source for a list of dude ranches is the Dude Ranchers’ Association, Box 471, LaPorte, Colo. 80535; 303-223-8440. Its catalog ($3) list 108 ranches in 11 states and Canada.
Old West Dude Ranch Vacations (c/o American Wilderness Experiences, Box 1486, Boulder, Colo. 80306; 800-444-DUDE) also has a catalog of ranches in seven states and British Columbia.
Another place to experience the Old West is in Canada’s west-British Columbia. Ranches here also have year-round riding and lots of family activities. For a brochure, call Tourism British Columbia at 800-663-6000.
CLASSICAL CLASSES
Have you ever wanted to learn more about classical music? If so, take in one of the Adult Music Seminars this summer at the Tanglewood Music Center in the Massachusetts Berkshires. Four one-week sessions will be led by Jeremy Yudkin, professor of music at the School for the Arts at Boston University.
Seminar participants’ days will include Boston Symphony Orchestra rehearsals in the morning, classes in the afternoon and concert performances in the evening. Classes are limited to 30, and the only requirement is a desire to learn.
Seminar cost is $450. Accommodations, meals and transportation are extra.
For more information, call the Tanglewood Institute office at 617-353-3386.
WW II EVENT
To commemorate the Battle of the Atlantic, the longest-running campaign of World War II, the British Royal Navy and Merseyside civic and tourism authorities are planning an ambitious program of events May 26 to 31. Veterans of the battle, including Germans, have been invited to participate in the commemoration in Liverpool, about 200 miles north of London.
The battle ran from the beginning of the war in Europe in 1939 to its end in 1945. For much of that time, the German Atlantic navy had the upper hand until May 1943, when the tide of the conflict began to turn in favor of the Allies. Liverpool was Britain’s main convoy port throughout the war and headquarters for the Western Approaches Command.
Fifty ships from the Royal Navy and from 15 other countries will sail into Liverpool for the 50th anniversary of the reversal of the battle. Selected ships will be open to the public May 29-31. There will be memorial services, parades, concerts, exhibitions and visits by members of the Royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II. An hourlong air display of modern and historic aircraft will take place on May 29.
For more information, contact Merseyside Welcome Center, Unit 47, Clayton Square, Liverpool L1 1QR. Phone (direct dial) 011-4451-709 3631 or fax 011-4451-709-8129.
