Seminars Fit to Be Tried

A weeklong “Fit Over 50” program in Aspen, Colo., complete with raft trips, hiking, educational seminars and a social program, is a new summer offering by the Aspen-based Institute for Success Over Sixty.

“It’s designed to help mature adults revitalize their physical well-being as well as their outlook on life and to gain a sense of accomplishment through outdoor experiences,” said Dale Luoma, director of the program.

Those experiences include three different daylong raft trips that reach the upper Colorado River in Glenwood Canyon and the upper Arkansas River. Three hiking trips, from mild to more difficult terrain, also are offered.

Interspersed are three breakfast seminars on subjects ranging from how to stay active through better health and nutrition, to stress management, to how to launch a second career for those soon-to-be or already retired.

“The overall thrust of the seminars,” Luoma said, “is to demonstrate the vitality of the years over 50 . . . something participants quickly realize during the physical portion of the week.”

Varied Program Given

All participants get an individual health screening. In addition to raft and hiking trips, seminars, a health profile and accommodations at the Aspen Country Inn, are six breakfasts plus a welcoming cocktail party and a final banquet.

The cost, not including transportation to and from Aspen, is $795 per person, sharing a double room with bath, or $1,065 for a single room. There are two remaining sessions: July 15-21 and Aug. 5-11. Both are Saturday through Friday.

“It’s particularly good for those who have suffered a loss of some kind, like a lifelong mate, and are looking for direction,” Luoma said.

“Or those just seeking a new fulfillment, wishing to share a sense of camaraderie and accomplishment with others in the same age group by trying new and exhilarating things.”

The programs are endorsed by the President’s Council on Physical Fitness. Success Over Sixty, started by Albert Myers, author with Christopher Anderson of “Success Over Sixty,” also runs nationwide seminars on the subject and publishes a newsletter.

For more information: Fit Over 50, Institute for Success Over Sixty, P.O. Box 160, Aspen, Colo. 81612-0160, (303) 925-1900.

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“Send us those senior travelers. We love them.”

That’s what Tom Banks of the Foundation for Field Research, which sponsors archeological expeditions to various countries, said.

“They don’t exactly have to be Indiana Jones types to participate and enjoy these trips,” Banks said. “No previous experience is needed, only a sense of adventure.

“While our research and archeological trips are open to all ages--we get them from 16 to 86--the average age is about 50.”

Among the dozens of projects offered year-round, some of those coming up this summer include digging at an ancient fortified site in Ireland, another at an old Roman graveyard in West Germany and another in which participants help save sea turtles in Mexico’s Sea of Cortez.

For those not wishing to travel far, there are weekend digs for fossils at a paleontological site in Orange County, where the finds could be anything from early deer and elk to a giant sloth or mammoth.

Accommodations on the expeditions are from a beach base camp in thatched huts in Mexico’s Baja to hotels, motels or apartments in Ireland. All meals are included, from camp-style to regular restaurant fare.

Participants pay for the trip and the experience of working with a trained archeological field manager, plus their own air fare. In return, they receive a tax deduction for their expenses, including air fare.

Tax deductions can be from $95 for a two-day California expedition to $1,665 for a month in Europe.

Other archeological trips this summer include expeditions to Spain, Peru, Canada and the Bahamas.

To learn more about the various projects and the Foundation for Field Research, send for a free copy of the foundation’s 36-page Explorer News. Contact the Foundation for Field Research, P.O. Box 2010, Alpine, Calif. 92001, or call (619) 445-9264.