And when Easy hushed us all for a few minutes to experience total silence in the shadow of towering orange cliffs, with the river to ourselves, it was, as the kids say, awesome. After a van ride about three hours north to the enormous dam at Lake Powell, we boarded a large, permanently inflated raft and spent two hours in the thrall of a magnetic young lord of the river, Easy Johnson, who piloted with one hand and pointed out landmarks with the other, captivating the kids with his tales. Rafting on a calm section of the Colorado was Tuesday's experience. The goal was to have the grandchildren get acquainted and comfortable, and by that evening, after a group dinner, they all headed for the first of four nights in the hotel pool. Amazingly, I didn't detect any embarrassment among the kids when a few of us grandparents also scaled the heights. So Monday, we drove just a couple of miles to Northern Arizona University's Challenge Course of 30-foot-high ladders and zip-lines. Monday and Wednesday were more restful - plenty of activities but little travel. Tuesday and Thursday had us on the road for quite a few hours and presented the greatest adventures.
#Road scholar trips full
The four full days of the program had a rhythm. Some, like us, were with grandchildren they are lucky enough to live close to, but for several, it was a rare chance to share time with a child they don't often see. All the others had taken the same kids or their siblings to other destinations. When we gathered on a Sunday afternoon at the base hotel, a modest La Quinta in Flagstaff, we met our fellow oldsters from across the country (two other couples, the rest single grandmothers) and discovered we were the only first-time Road Scholars. My husband and I hadn't seen the Grand Canyon ourselves for more than 40 years, and, for Ben, it would be a real change from his Washington scene. The course description of five days in Arizona for kids 9 to 12, including the rafting and the canyon, sold Ben, us and his parents. For kids 10 and older, there even are a few foreign destinations, such as Switzerland for hiking. There are physically active trips that focus on snorkeling or kayaking or even flight instruction, as well as some to Disney World or dedicated to topics of study, such as robotics and archaeology. They accept kids 8 and older for most trips, although a handful of tours will take those as young as 6, even to camp in the Adirondacks. "With the oldest boomers turning 69 this year, we expect big growth," said a spokeswoman. Road Scholar - the "lifelong learning" tour group formerly known as Elderhostel and mostly aimed at older adults - expands its intergenerational tour listings by 10 percent each year. We chose the Grand Canyon trip from a list of more than 60 very reasonably priced grandparent-grandchild possibilities, from Hawaii to Yellowstone, Chicago to Chincoteague. I confess that my second or third thought upon hearing that he'd broken his arm skateboarding was that he might be sidelined from his competitive golf and soccer long enough to travel with us.
#Road scholar trips free
The trick for us had been finding a free week in Ben's hectic summer sports schedule. We had heard raves from friends about similar Road Scholar "intergenerational" trips that provided a rare bonding and learning experience by cutting out the middlemen: the parents! We were on Day Four of a five-day Road Scholar tour for grandparents and grandchildren, which also included rafting on the Colorado River. And don't look up till I say so." But when the guide said "Now!" my husband, Dave, and I were more focused on Ben, our 12-year-old grandson, than on the magnificent canyon suddenly spread out before us. Our group of nine children and their grandparents all obeyed the tour guide: "Walk looking down. Walking up to the Grand Canyon's edge that July day was as suspenseful as creeping downstairs on Christmas morning.
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