Following Lewis & Clark on Idaho’s Salmon River

Spend six days in one of the country’s deepest canyons, where the Salmon River flows in Idaho. Participants follow the footsteps of Lewis and Clark on this rafting-camping trip. Rafters will stop en route to enjoy hot springs and see abandoned gold mines and homesteads. Several departures are available through September.

Cost: $1,150 for adults and $865 for ages 7 to 17, including camping gear, meals and charter flight to expedition site. Air fare to Boise, Idaho, is not included.

Contact: World Wide River Expeditions, 153 E. 7200 South, Midvale, UT 84047; telephone (800) 231-2769, Internet https://www.worldwideriver.com.

New Orleans: Barging

Experience bluegrass music on a barge for two nights starting Dec. 2. The cruise leaves from New Orleans on the new River Explorer vessel. The music-filled barge travels up the Mississippi to visit Southern plantations.

Cost: from $740 per person, double occupancy, including shore excursions, entertainment and all meals. Air fare is not included.

Contact: Elite Travel Adventures; tel. (800) 563-9252.

Yosemite: Photography

A photo tour of Yosemite National Park will be conducted Sunday through Wednesday, May 16 to 19. Participants will photograph waterfalls, dogwood in bloom and the park’s massive granite walls.

Cost: $260 per person, including lodgings in a private home in the park. Also included are two meals, one of them brunch at the historic Wawona Hotel. Transportation to Yosemite is extra.

Contact: Image Quest Photography Tours, 1164 Alvira St., Los Angeles, CA 90035; tel. (323) 939- 2819.

Mexico: Baja

Baja California Tours’ “Sunrise in San Felipe,” a two-night tour departing San Diego May 21, takes guests to San Felipe on the Sea of Cortez. This motor coach tour crosses the Baja Peninsula from the Pacific Coast to the Sea of Cortez with stops in the port city of Ensenada and Mexicali.

Cost: $249 per person, double occupancy, including deluxe motor coach transportation, beach-front accommodations at Hotel Las Misiones, two lunches, two dinners and guides. Transportation to San Diego is extra.

Contact: Baja California Tours; tel. (619) 454-7166.

New York: Theater

Looking ahead to New Year’s Eve, the El Camino College Theater Department is planning a trip to New York City from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1. Participants will stay at the Crowne Plaza Hotel and go to three Broadway shows. They will attend after-show seminars with actors from the productions. City tours are available during the day.

Cost: $2,555 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare, hotel, theater tickets and a city tour. Meals are extra.

Contact: Ron Scarlata at El Camino College Theater Department, 16007 Crenshaw Blvd., Torrance, CA 90506; tel. (310) 660-3704.

Italy: Cinque Terre

Carlucci’s Italy is offering a 12-night vacation to the Italian Riviera and lakes region Sept. 11 to 24. Participants will spend three nights at a lakeside hotel in the town of Baveno on Lake Maggiore and will visit the Borromean Islands. Then the tour heads to the secluded Cinque Terre, staying at a modern hotel in Monterosso al Mare.

Guests can explore the other quaint fishing villages by hiking an ancient footpath above the sea, or by boat or train. Next, participants will stay in the Riviera town of Santa Margherita at a seafront hotel on the Gulf of Tigullio. Participants will cruise along the Riviera from Santa Margherita to Portofino. The last three nights will be in the town of Bellagio on Lake Como to visit the gardens of Villa Serbelloni, Villa Melzi and Villa Carlotta.

Cost: $2,999 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare from Los Angeles on Alitalia, all lodgings, daily breakfast and two dinners, all transfers by private motor coach, guides and excursions to Portofino and the Borromean Islands.

Contact: Carlucci Tours; tel. (888) 676-2259.

Mongolia: Adventure

Horseback trekking, river rafting, camping, overland Jeep touring and a helicopter flight are all part of an adventure tour to Mongolia. In 14 days, guests ride 75 miles on horseback, camp out among nomadic herders, raft through the canyon of the Chuluut River, visit the ancient capital of Genghis Khan and tour the modern capital of Mongolia, Ulan Bator. The trip takes place July 26 to Aug. 7 and is limited to 12. A support truck carries a cook who provides a mix of Western and traditional meals.

Cost: $2,650 per person, double occupancy, including transfers, hotels, all meals, Jeep transportation, helicopter flight, horses and tack and specialized camping and rafting gear. International air fare to Ulan Bator is not included.

Contact: Boojum Expeditions, 14543 Kelly Canyon Road, Bozeman, MT 59715; tel. (406) 587-0125, (800) 287-0125, Internet https:// www.boojum.com.

Turkey: Astronomy

UCLA Extension is offering a field study tour called “Cosmic Kings and Celestial Shrines: Astronomy and Power in Ancient Turkey,” Aug. 16 to 26.

Led by Griffith Observatory director and author E.C. Krupp, the tour offers an exploration of astronomy in the symbols, monuments and myths of Asia Minor.

Scheduled tour visits include Ankara’s Museum of Anatolian Civilizations, Hittite strongholds, and shrines at Hattushash and Alacahoyuk; the bizarre tufa landscape of Cappadocia; the tomb of King Antiochus I on the summit of Nemrut Dag; and ancient Sabian desert cities, including Urfa, Harran (the center of the cult of the moon god), and Sumatar with its moon monuments and planet shrines.

Cost: $3,199 including flights within Turkey, hotels, some meals, sightseeing, entrance fees and ground transportation. International air fare is extra.

Contact: UCLA Extension; tel. (310) 825-7093.

Catalina: Kayaking

A Father’s Day weekend trip to Catalina Island, June 18 to 20, will let Dad combine three activities.

Guests will sail on a 73-foot schooner and spend two nights on Catalina Island. They will go mountain biking from Two Harbors to Avalon and kayak the coves along Catalina’s shoreline.

The trip will depart from Long Beach Friday morning and sail to the west end of Catalina (Isthmus Cove). Upon arrival, there will be ample opportunity for exploring the coastline by kayak as well as diving, fishing and on-island exploration.

The next day, the group will head east to Avalon as the schooner sails to rendezvous with the group that afternoon. Guests will have the option of biking or sailing to Avalon. Once at Avalon, there will be more opportunities for kayaking as well as sightseeing.

Cost: $425 per person, including bunk, all meals and kayaking. Rental bikes will be available butcyclists can bring their own bicycles too.

Contact: Adventure Outfitters, 2137 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90815; tel. (800) 430-2544.

France: Gardens

Lucas & Randall of Sacramento is offering a tour of northern France that highlights distinctive gardens when roses are at their peak. The great cha^teaux of the Loire Valley, with their expansive gardens, contrast with smaller private gardens in the idyllic countryside of Normandy, including Claude Monet’s garden at Giverny. Departing June 14, this 14-day tour is limited to 16 participants.

The itinerary also includes visits to Mont-St.-Michel, the Normandy landing beaches and the Gothic cathedrals of Chartres and Rouen. Visiting small villages, the tour ends in Paris to see its tree-lined boulevards, museums and parks.

Cost: $3,395 per person, double occupancy, including first-class hotels, daily breakfast, most dinners, all sightseeing and entrance fees, motor coach and guides.

Contact: Lucas & Randall; tel. (800) 505-2505.

The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. These should be confirmed with cruise lines, travel agents or tour operators.