Great leader Joanna Joseph; off-beaten-path hikes to wonderous toadstools, balanced rocks, slot canyons, arches and colorfull strata, mostly in Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. Marriott Courtyard hotel in Page is a great place/good food and with a public golf course next door. Be prepared to move your body in strange ways to maneuver in the narrow slot canyons. Bring gloves and long sleeve shirts to protect elbows and hands from abrasive sandstone slot canyon walls. This was one of my top programs. It gets a 10.

Like the out-of-the-way places our guide Joanna Joseph led us to, she is a treasure. Her depth and breadth of knowledge – from geologic formations, latin and common names of plants and their uses, music genres, literature, Zen, and local culture – truly inspired awe. She showed us how to wedge our bodies to slow our descent down a slide in a slot canyon as well as how to chimney along the walls above pools of water. The slot canyon hike and the one to Birthday Arch will stay with me forever. We even sighted a condor! This was a fabulous trip with a variety of hiking experiences. One of the most moving involved hiking in silence and sitting in silence for brief periods. It deepened the intensity of the experience. The talks Joanna arranged were fascinating and informative. I was particularly drawn to the one by Merle Graffam, detailing the dinosaur bone excavations in the area around Big Water, Utah. Merle has a dinosaur named after him! The only aspect of the trip that fell short was the food. As a pescatarian (fish-eating vegetarian), I was expecting the variety of food served on my Rode Scholar trip to Denali National Park in Alaska 2 years ago. Alas, the hotel restaurant has only heard of pasta and proceeded to serve it for my dinner every night. Sorry, but I can only take so much pasta. At home I eat it maybe once a month. My roommate and I supplemented our fairly monotonous sack lunches with some hummus, pita chips, and fritos after visiting a local Safeway. One last highlight of the trip: After our last hike, Joanna drove us all to a local ice cream place, where we made up in spades for all the calories were worked off on our hikes. I highly recommend this trip (aside from the food issue; none of the omnivores complained).

An excellent trip in a beautiful area with interesting hikes. Our leaders were first rate and really knew the area.

This was a wonderful program in a beautiful and wild land.I learned so much hiking in a completely different environment stimulating me both physically and mentally. A marvelous experience!

This was one of the best programs we have attended! The hikes were amazing -- Joanna and Vivian kept the group together by their stops to discuss what we were seeing --it was all "just right"! And a very compatible group of Scholars made it even better.

Everyone should be able to attend a program led by Joanna Joseph before they die. What a treat!!!!

Both Joanna and Vivian are nice and competent guides, with great sense of humor and love for their work. The program included several hikes that you couldn't really find by yourself. Since the trails in the area are not described too well in guidebooks, having a guide well-familiar with the surroundings is immensely helpful. In one case, we went for a hike that we did on our own just a few days before but Joanna took us to a beautiful extension that we missed. The hikes were reasonably slow-paced, with options for adventurous souls to look for a more ambitious experience. Overall, with its all amenities and good lectures, the program offers a fantastic value for your $$. This is Road Scholar at its best.