In general, I enjoyed this trip, I loved the beautiful, diverse landscape. The participants were great, the meals ok, and Furnace Creek Ranch was a great way to end the trip. The educational portion, however, was a disappointment. Our guide provided information about what we were seeing during the bus rides (sometimes by merely reading our of his extensive collection of books). However, once we left the bus, he was often nowhere to be found, except when taking his tripod to a place for photographs. I expected more reinforcement of the overview given in the bus, but this did not happen for me. Although disappointed by this part, I would not hesitate to try another Road Scholar trip in the future.

While any tour can provide the logistics of booking hotels, meals and transportation, what distinguishes Road Scholar from the rest is its high educational value. That was my expectation based on my wonderful trips with Road Scholar in the past. This time I was disappointed. This trip had many visual splendors: Joshua Tree National Park, Death Valley National Park, and Mt. San Jacinto State Park. In my previous Road Scholar tours, our group leader was prepared, organized, enthusiastic, interested and interesting. Sadly, all these traits were lacking in our leader this time. This program had the potential to be outstanding. Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley was the quality experience I would have liked the entire trip. Our national parks are sublime. It was grievously spoiled by the awful hotel in Tucson, bad food on many days, and a poor tour leader.

Dorothy's comments on photography reminded me of why Carol from Greenville ejoyed the trip so much. At almost every stop she had a private tutoring session on photography from our leader. He ignored the group and payed attention to taking photos or instructing how to take phtos to one individual.

This was my first Road Scholar program and I guess my expectations were fairly high based on comments from friends who have done many programs. Unfortunately, I don't feel the program met these expectations. The Holiday Inn was convenient but that is all. The food the first night was practically inedible. Not a good way to start a 10 day trip. The buffet in Yuma was also not a good choice. And there was no choice at the Miracle Hot Springs Resort. It was take it or leave for meals there and most of the food was tasteless with little seasoning. In contrast, I can't say enough good things about the Furnace Creek Resort in Death Valley, the staff was great and the food was certainly above average with lots of choices. It seemed to me that Jeff was much more interested in increasing his photography portfolio then ensuring the safety and enjoyment of the tour participants. He often gave vague directions or no directions about meeting times and places for activities at a stop and frequently went off on his own rather than being available for questions from the group. On our hike in Golden Canyon he went off on his own and was not available for either questions or assistance. Luckily there were no problems but if there had been we would have had no way of contacting him or anyone else for help. I assume he went off on a side trail he certainly was nowhere on the main trail after the first half hour or so. I have taken other group tours and never had a guide do this during a scheduled activity. Since most of the participants were in their 60s and 70s, I think this is something that should be addressed. The scenery and itinerary were great so I am left with mixed feelings about my experience.

My experience on this first Roadscholar adventure was generally positive. The extensive area covered made for some long bus rides, but the sights were spectacular and the landscape extremely diverse: sand and rocks and basins and valleys and mountains - all very beautiful. We learned so much about our natural world and its formation. The tight schedule allowed very little free time. The norm was: breakfast at 7, on the bus by 8:15, back by about 4:30, dinner at 5:30. The trip was classified "active", and I think that would pertain more to the full schedule than the physical requirements of the offered walks or short hikes. The lodging ranged from a convenient- to- the -airport hotel in Tucson to a very nice national park establishment in Death Valley. The food kept us alive. The picnics in picturesque settings along the way were a very nice touch, and the congenial group added to my enjoyment of this trip.

This was my first Road Scholar trip so I cannot compare it to other programs, however it was a wonderful experience and a fantastic value that I would certainly do again. The Southwest and its deserts are spectacular, and having a tour guide and all hotels, food, and transportation taken care of made the trip worry free. I do hope that the DVD player on the bus is fixed soon, as it would have been fun to watch educational videos about our deserts and parks before arrival. Our group leader, Jeff Strang, made transitioning from one hotel to another seamless, and for the most part, we simply picked up our luggage and walked to our rooms upon arrival. Meals were better than expected as was lodging, although I heard some complaints about noise on the parking lot side at the Tucson Holiday Inn. Jeff has a great sense of humor and tries to make things fun and interesting rather than just rattling off facts about each location. I would certainly consider another trip with Road Scholar!

If you like sitting on a bus and learning nothing, this is the program for you. We had a group leader who was disinterested in the program itself and hostile to the participants. I don't know how Road Scholar could let such a disgraceful program run. I have taken over 18 programs and I guess what I learned from this one was to never trust Road Scholar again.

This was my third Road Scholar trip so my expectations were based on my experiences. I loved the first two tours. This one was a huge disappointment. I did not expect the Ritz or three star Michelin restaurants, but did expect clean sleeping facilities and food fit for human consumption. The Holiday Inn in Tucson fell short on both. The next few days presented pabulum masquerading as meals. I have heard about seniors resorting to dog food, but I did not sign up for that. And, if you were willing to overlook all of that for the joy of a professionally lead tour, you would have been wrong. The tour leader, Jeff Strang was lazy, inept, incompetent, uncaring, disorganized and devoid of knowledge or too lazy to share any (if he had it). If this were a photography tour, which Road Scholar does offer, Jeff may have been OK. If you came to learn, tour, hike, and enjoy, you were out of luck. The deserts were spectacular. The tour was horrible. The saving grace was the participants of the tour and the beauty of the deserts and national parks.

Just returned from the Great Deserts trip and it was fabulous! It was filled with amazing excursions - Joshua Tree National Park, Saguaro National Park, Algodones Sand Dunes, Death Valley and so much more. The scenery was incredible and each day seemed to bring a new high point. Accomodations and meals were great (better than I expected). Our group leader, Jeff, was patient, knowledgeable, and flexible. His sense of humor and helpfulness really enhanced the trip. Everything exceeded my expectations! I only wish you offered a photography trip to this area - there's so much more, especially in Death Valley, that I would've liked to photograph.

I loved this program. The deserts are beautiful, serene, a gift of nature and our parks not to be missed. Our leader Bruce was relaxed, flexible, funny, and knowledgable. The only down side was the spa in Palms Springs, it could use a little bit of a face lift but it is still fine and the pool area is wonderful. I loved the 1 to 2 mile hikes. Hidden Valley in Joshua Tree National Park Nd Death Valley National Park were my favorite areas.

My husband & I just returned from this fantastic program! We can't say enough good about it right from the places we were privileged to visit to the accommodations and food. Our tour director, Jeff Strang, did a wonderful job w/our very diverse group in that he made sure everyone had a good time. Given the difference in ages and physical abilities, this was probably no easy job. Nevertheless, he did it well. His knowledge of the area and laid back manner also enhanced our trip immeasurably. We would recommend this trip to anyone who enjoys the outdoors and seeing our wonderful country.

This program had the same magical effect on me that summer camp did when I was a child. I learned new things, made new friends and loved every minute of it.

We just returned yesterday from our desert experience. We went to amazing parks, learned so much, and had wonderful, terrific sharing with the others in our group who shared this journey. Matt was our guide and Ray was our driver. They both went out of their way to help us learn as much as we could. Matt's passion was the rocks, desert habitat, and geology of the area. He was enthusiastic about sharing as much knowledge with us as he possibly could. We loved exploring the national parks, state parks, back roads, and in one instance, a trip down a narrow road to visit a folk art designated site (Salvation Mt.). Each day brought new surprises. It would be hard to pick a favorite park since they were all unique and full of adventure. This trip exceeded our expectations except I did not see a roadrunner, and I spent a lot of time looking. I thank Road Scholar for treating us so well. We had 2 subpar meals, but all the others were above and beyond.

This was one of the best programs I have been on. NAU did an exceptional job. The turtle top vans were very nice-comfortable, mikes for talking along the way, and best of all no climbing over others to get seated! Bruce and David did a great job of explaing the geology so all could understand. Longer hikes were offered for those who wanted them. The food was the best hotel food I have ever eaten. I would recomend this program to everyone.

Excellent program! Bruce and David provided a wealth of information on the deserts, especially the geology. With the exception of supper in Yuma, the meals on this trip were top-notch -- among the best of all our programs.

This program ranks at the top of all I have taken. Lodging at hotels and resorts was better than usual and the meals always above expectations . Our group of 23 used 2 mini busses to move us from site to site. Worked great! When time permitted, our very experienced guides, Bruce and David , filled our travels with extra mini side trips and information about little known places. We could walk or climb as much,or as little as we liked. The weather was perfect 40s at night and 70s during the day. This program could work as a 3, 4, of 5 level.I will enroll in other NAU programs.