Travel With Friends

The Friends of the Arboretum and the Yunnan-based Linden Centre are offering a unique travel opportunity to the fabled Chinese province of 
Yunnan, May 7-18, 2012.


Whether the destination is near or far, the Friends offer meaningful, well-planned trips geared toward travelers who appreciate the beauty and complexity of nature and are eager to learn more from experts carefully selected to guide the tours.

Upcoming trips include:

View Photo Albums Of Previous Trips:

 

school of fish

National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium - February 28, 2012

Join the Friends of the Arboretum for this day trip as we explore the Mississippi River through world-class interpretive displays at the National Mississippi River Museum and Aquarium, an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution and home of the National Rivers Hall of Fame.

Enjoy a day of independent exploration with dynamic fresh water aquarium and live animal displays, historical and interactive exhibits tracing the human experience along the Mississippi River, and entertainment in immersion theaters and living history demonstrations.

This museum gives us an opportunity to take a historic and natural journey of discovery on the Mighty Mississippi River to celebrate the past, present and future of America's most important waterway -- all in indoor comfort. Each visit is a truly interactive experience where visitors can get "up close and personal" with native river animals and become barge pilots. Even if you've visited this museum in the past, return visitors can be assured of new and interesting exhibits each time!

The cost includes coach transportation, guide fees, shuttle bus between the National River Center and the Mississippi River Center, admission to entire museum campus facility, guided tour of the historic William M. Black Steamboat, interpretive demonstrations in the Boat Shop, and a voucher for lunch or gift shop use.

The trip is limited to 50 people. The cost for the trip is $60 for members of Friends and $95 for non-members (includes a membership in Friends). We will leave from the Arboretum Visitor Center at 9 a.m. and return to the Visitor Center at 4 p.m. Hurry! Registration deadline is February 10.

Download a registration form.


 

Everglades and Nature Preserves of Southwest Florida - March 3-8, 2012 - Filled

As we settle into Wisconsin's cold, dark winter, this is a good time to think about joining fellow Friends as we explore the rich natural and cultural history of south Florida. We invite you to escape Wisconsin's cold, dark winter weather on a sunny subtropical tour of Everglades National Park and premier nature preserves in southwest Florida!

Highly coveted conservation preserves like Audubon's Corkscrew Swamp and the famous Everglades National Park (Shark Valley and the 10,000 Islands Region) are just a few of the sites on the tour. Join fellow Friends as we explore the rich natural and cultural history of south Florida in a warm and sunny setting.

This naturalist-led excursion is a small group tour with limited space. Tour price is $2195 per person, double occupancy, and includes 5 nights lodging, ground transportation in Florida, nearly all meals, naturalist guide, park permits, tour fees, and plenty of sunshine. Registration deadline is December 31. We are currently offering a $50 discount for all registrations received by November 30.

This tour is planned and organized by Naturalist Paul Regnier, owner and lead naturalist for Door County Nature and Travel LLC. Paul has traveled southwest Florida extensively, exploring natural areas, paddling mangrove swamps and photographing birds and flowers. He has led various Friend's tours for over 10 years to natural areas such as Door County, Apostle Islands, Isle Royale National Park, Arizona and Kenya.

Paul will be our naturalist guide along with Friend's host, Chuck Pils, former head of the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Bureau of Endangered Resources and past president of the Friends of the Arboretum. Chuck has led numerous tours for many organizations to such diverse locations as Florida, Arizona, Isle Royale National Park, and natural areas around Wisconsin. Chuck's wildlife expertise enriches any outdoor experience -- no matter where he is.

For more information about Everglades and Nature Preserves of Southwest Florida Tour contact Paul Regnier at doorcountypaul@gmail.com

Download itinerary and registration form
Questions and Answers about this tour


 

Lost in Shangri-La: A Cultural and Natural History Exploration of Southwest China - May 7-18, 2012

The Friends of the Arboretum, in partnership with The Linden Centre, is very excited to announce a unique travel opportunity to the fabled Chinese province of Yunnan, May 7-18, 2012.

Yunnan, known as the Land of Eternal Spring, is one of the least traveled regions of China. Located in the scenic southwestern corner of China just north of Burma and adjacent to Tibet and Yunnan it is home to some of the most diverse cultures, ecology and terrain in China.

With verdant low-lying valleys, spectacular white-capped mountains, rustic villages and a lively mix of ethnic minority communities, Yunnan has long inspired poets and travelers. On this tour you will enjoy local food, fine climate, friendly people, experienced bilingual guides and great scenery.

Our itinerary showcases many of the province's most celebrated destinations, as well as places off the tourist trail, for unique and personal visits. On this journey, we will meet members of the minority Naxi and Bai tribes, visit ancient cobblestone towns and visit beautiful natural areas.

We will explore the famed UNESCO World Heritage Site of Lijiang, learn about local cultural practices like wok-baked bread, traditional medicinal uses of local plants, fishing with cormorants, bonsai cultivation and indigo fabric dying. Navigate through exotic markets, visit ancient pagodas and a traditional tea plantation, and explore the region's renowned natural wonders at Jade Dragon Snow Mountain and the Kunming Botanical Garden.

Yunnan is China's most diverse province, biologically as well as culturally, with snow-capped mountains and true tropical environments, thus supporting an extremely high biodiversity of species and vegetation types, probably the richest botanically in the world's temperate regions. The province is said to have "as much flowering plant diversity as the rest of the northern hemisphere put together."

The fauna is nearly as diverse; while Yunnan Province has less than 4 percent of the land of China, it contains about half of China's birds and mammals. Yunnan is also noted for a very high level of ethnic diversity, with the highest number of ethnic groups among all provinces and autonomous regions in China.

Our tour has been organized by Brian and Jeanee Linden, former Madisonians and owner/operators of The Linden Centre, an award-winning Yunnan-based cultural retreat. The purpose of the Centre is to preserve and share Chinese culture, to create and inspire experiential learning, to offer innovative immersion programs in Chinese culture, and to provide an elegant and unprecedented environment for their guests.

This award-winning hotel is a nationally protected heritage site restored to its dynastic elegance located in the foothills of the Himalayas with a year-round spring climate and direct access to rich, undisturbed cultures in this unique region of China.

The Lindens have more than two decades of travel, business and networking experience throughout Asia, including leading tours; serving as consultants to businesses, universities, and governments; teaching English; and operating Asian fine art and antique galleries in the United States. This tour offers visitors the opportunity to experience rich cultural traditions and outstanding natural beauty with exceptional tour guides.

You are invited to join the Friends of the Arboretum and The Linden Centre on a unique journey of exploration to one of the world's most diverse regions. Brian and Jeanee Linden, whose retreat has been honored as one of the leading sustainable travel models in China, will accompany us throughout the journey, escorting us through timeless villages and undisturbed natural treasures.The journey begins May 7, 2012....we hope to see you there!

Download registration form

Download trip itinerary

Download Trip PowerPoint (Part1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4)

Suggested Reading List for China Tour

Exploring Ancient and Restored Wisconsin: Aztalan's Prehistory and Zeloski Marsh - May 23, 2012 - Filled

Learn about and explore several significant places in southeastern Wisconsin's landscape. Mark Martin and Chuck Pils, both retired biologists with the Wisconsin DNR Bureau of Endangered Resources, will be our guides on this tour. They have extensive experience leading field trips and are very familiar with the natural areas we will be visiting.

We start the day at a National Historic Landmark site in Aztalan State Park, the largest and most significant archaeological location in Wisconsin. Former Wisconsin State Archaeologist Bob Birmingham is the author of numerous award-winning books about Wisconsin’s native peoples, including Aztalan: Mysteries of An Ancient Indian Town. He will lead us through the site and give a presentation about the history of the site. Bob is the recipient of an award for his research from the Wisconsin Archaeological Society and one from the Friends of Wisconsin Parks for his educational work at Aztalan State Park.

Aztalan State Park showcases the northernmost outpost of an ancient Middle-Mississippian culture in a village that thrived between 1000 and 1300 A.D. These early Wisconsin settlers built large earthen temples, flat-topped pyramidal mounds, houses, and an enormous stockade that surrounded a village site area of more than 20 acres. Here they hunted, fished, and farmed the land with other non- Mississippian native groups for about 150 years.

By 1250 A.D. the people living at Aztalan mysteriously abandoned the site. This abandonment foretold the eventual demise of Cahokia and the Mississippian lifeway in the Midwest as the focus of the Mississippian civilization shifted to the southeastern United States. Although much has been learned about Aztalan since its discovery in the early 19th century, the full story of this ancient city is still unknown.

After a hearty buffet lunch in Lake Mills, we will explore several nearby natural and restored areas. The most significant is Zeloski Marsh, a recently restored wildlife management area that is quickly becoming the new birding hotspot in southeast Wisconsin. When fully restored it will contain more than 1,500 acres of wetland and grassland.

This area has become a major stopover for waterfowl, wading birds, and shorebirds during the spring migration and nesting seasons, and provides important year-round habitat for a wide variety of birds. Birders have observed over 200 bird species using the property, with more than 10,00 blue-winged teal, 400 double-crested cormorants, 200 American white pelicans, and high numbers of other species, including several threatened and rare species such as short-eared owls, Forester’s terns, great egrets, black-necked stilts, whooping cranes, and prothonatary warblers.

Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended. The trip is limited to 50 people. The cost for the trip is $65 cost ($90 for non-members; this includes a membership in Friends) includes all guide and park fees, lunch, and motor coach transportation. We will leave from the Arboretum Visitor Center at 8 a.m. and return to the Visitor Center at 4 p.m. The trip is limited to 50 people.

Download Registration Form

To see a slide show about Zeloski Marsh, click here

 

great blue heron

Explore Horicon Marsh - June 6, 2012 - Filled

Experience spring migration at Horicon Marsh, the "Little Everglades of the North." Enjoy seeking out some of the more than 260 species of birds Horicon Marsh has to offer. Bring your bird book and binoculars -- let's go birding!

This tour of the largest freshwater cattail marsh in the United States includes a trip into the marsh aboard a pontoon boat, lunch and a naturalist-led walking tour.

We will journey into the heart of the marsh on a 2-hour, pontoon boat birding tour, exploring Wisconsin's only "Wetland of International Importance."

Lunch is at the Audubon Inn in Mayville, a National Historic Landmark. After lunch, Liz Herzmann, DNR naturalist and wildlife educator, will lead a walking tour of the southern marsh and talk about its cultural and natural history, highlighting the abundant and diverse wildlife.

Sturdy shoes, clothing for outdoors, snacks, field guides and binoculars are recommended.

The trip is limited to 50 people. The cost for the trip is $90 for members of Friends and $125 for non-members (includes a membership in Friends). We will leave from the Arboretum Visitor Center at 7:30 a.m. and return to the Visitor Center at 5:30 p.m.

Questions? Send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff at sminkoff@wisc.edu or phone the Friends office at 608.263.7760.

Download registration form

Fall Migration Cruise: Explore the Wetlands and Wildlife of the Mississippi River by Riverboat November 1, 2012

Join the Friends of the Arboretum for a unique three-hour expertly narrated riverboat tour of the Upper Mississippi River. We'll explore a variety of wetland habitats including open water, narrow backwaters and side channels along riverside cliffs and floodplain forests.

With the Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge known as one of the most noteworthy bird migration flyways in the world, we expect to see a variety of migrating and resident birds.

Even though we can expect brisk temperatures, participants will experience amazing close-up views of thousands of elegant tundra swans and hundreds of a wide variety of other waterfowl plus numerous bald eagles and other wildlife. The 261-mile refuge is the longest river refuge in the continental US and well known as bird watchers paradise.

We will board our US Coast Guard-inspected eco-boat, specially designed to navigate otherwise inaccessible waters of the Mississippi, at Lansing, Iowa and explore Pool 9 of the Wildlife Refuge as well as the backwaters and open channel nearby.

Along the way, we will enjoy a narrated tour from USCG-licensed Captain Jack Libby, who has spent a lifetime on the river, including towboats, passenger and research vessels as well as exploring endless back waters with the Mississippi Explorer. He especially enjoys sharing his vast knowledge of river lore, legends, navigation, history, people and ecology with his passengers. We will also have an experienced birder and a river historian on board to provide information and identification.

This tour offers visitors a fantastic opportunity to enjoy the scenic beauty and natural wonders of the Upper Mississippi River in the comfort of the Mississippi Explorer, a specially designed, enclosed and heated vessel (with on board restrooms) offering protection from inclement weather while providing exceptional views.

Dress for the weather, we'll go rain or shine. Be sure to bring your cameras and binoculars!

The fee for this trip is $100 for members and $135 for non-members (which includes a Friends membership) and includes our motor coach transportation, box lunch, guide, and Mississippi River chartered boat trip. The trip is limited to 50 people.

If you have questions about this trip, send an e-mail to Friends Manager Sara Minkoff or phone her at 608.263.7760

Download a registration form.