Here’s a safari with the requisite exotic wild animals and “luxury tented camp” but without the long flights, passport hassles and anti-malaria meds. Substituting the Buckeye State for Botswana, the expedition begins and ends with overnight stays at Cherry Valley Lodge in Granville, Ohio, just east of Columbus. From here, trekkers are transported via “SUV limo” to The Wilds, a conservation park 30 miles away, where animals–some rare or endangered–roam free, including giraffes, zebras, oryx, Bactrian camels and Indian rhinoceroses. While touring parts of the 9,200-acre park, visitors spend two nights at The Wilds’ yurt camp and participate in “Bushwhacking Through Burma” and “Romp in the Swamp,” as well as bird-watching, orienteering, rappelling and a night hike. The Sept. 16-20 “Safari Package” costs $1,250, including lodging, nearly all meals, activities and round-trip transportation from Cherry Valley Lodge. Khaki shorts and pith helmets are optional. (800-788-8008; www.cherryvalleylodge.com; www.thewilds.org)
VOYAGE OF REDISCOVERY
As a tie-in with its Lewis & Clark program, slated for April 3, the History Channel is offering three “Lewis & Clark Trail” tours that retrace the epic journey. The itinerary begins in St. Louis with a visit to the Museum of Westward Expansion and ends in Portland, Ore., 15 nights later. In between, it covers dozens of places where the Corps of Discovery left its mark, such as Council Bluffs, Iowa; Ft. Mandan, N.D.; and Ft. Clatsop on the Oregon coast. Departure dates are July 9, Aug. 6 and Aug. 20, with the $2,480 price covering lodging, motor-coach transportation during the tour, admission fees and some meals. Transportation to St. Louis and from Portland are an additional cost. (877-AETOURS; www.aetntravel.com)
COWBOY CHIC
Set in Paradise Valley between Scottsdale and Phoenix, the Hermosa Inn was built in the 1930s by cowboy artist Lon Megargee of adobe bricks made from the surrounding soil and beams taken from an abandoned mine. Today, Megargee’s former spread consists of 35 guest rooms and casitas, many with private patios and fire-places. Through April 30, the inn’s “Hermosa Hideaway” package includes one night in a casita, dinner for two, champagne and chocolates delivered to the room, and continental breakfast for two, for $385 per couple. The same perks with a larger hacienda suite go for $525. Room tax is extra. (602-955-8614; www.hermosainn.com)
ZOO-DO
Although the Brookfield Zoo sponsors a variety of family programs, it also offers some day trips just for adults. Among them is “Eagle Watching and Quad City Botanical Center” Feb. 1. True to its name, the tour heads due west to Iowa for bald eagle-watching and a visit to the conservatory, stopping for brunch along the way. Another choice is “Funk Prairie Home and Museum and Miller Park Zoo” on March 13, a tour of the restored 1847 home of Illinois Sen. Lafayette Funk and a visit to Miller Park Zoo in Bloomington, Ill. Lunch is included in this one. Both are round-trip from the Brookfield Zoo and cost $70. (708-485-0263, ext. 858)
BIG APPLE, FREE SAMPLES
On almost any day of the school year, visitors to New York can take their choice of two or three Juilliard School student concerts, dramas or dance productions. Nearly all of these 700 performances are free of charge, although some require tickets obtained in advance or on the night of the performance. The Juilliard School has four theaters of its own and also makes use of Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully and Avery Fisher Halls. Its box office is on Broadway at 65th Street. (212-769-7406; www.juilliard.edu)
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Prices generally are per person double and based on availability.
