Marfa takes Minimalist art to the maximum

MAKE a trek to Texas, where the town of Marfa has become, as unlikely as it may seem, a center of Minimalist art and earth sculpture.

The two-night jaunt, which begins May 10, tours the artistic holdings of the Chinati Foundation, an alternative art space and local artists’ studios.

“Marfa has become a center for Minimalist art,” said Sarah G. Vinci of the University Art Museum, Cal State Long Beach. The Chinati Foundation, founded by Donald Judd, is there. “It is all about earthworks,” sculptures that erode or degrade over time, she said.

A recent artwork in the region is “Prada Marfa,” by Berlin-based artists Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset. The 15-by-25-foot “store” is filled with genuine Prada shoes and handbags, which are not for sale -- the building is sealed shut.

Participants dine one night at El Paisano Hotel restaurant; the hotel was featured in the 1956 movie epic “Giant,” James Dean’s last movie. The film was shot in Marfa.

Cost: $999 per person, double occupancy ($100 single surcharge), including round-trip airfare from Long Beach to El Paso, Texas, motel accommodations, dinners, ground transportation and admission fees. Transportation to Long Beach is not included.

Contact: Sarah Vinci at the University Art Museum, Cal State Long Beach; (562) 985-5761, www.csulb.edu/uam.

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UTAH

Rafting first, then a concert

FLOAT down the Colorado River during the day and listen to chamber music at night on a four-day river trip that begins June 18.

The trip, a benefit for the annual Moab Music Festival held in the fall, includes rafting on serene, flat-water sections of the Colorado River. Chamber music concerts are held nightly. Among the musicians participating are Tim Fain, first violinist with the Rossetti String Quartet, and Christopher Layer, principal pipe soloist and flutist for the Trinity Irish Dance Company. Concerts will range from classical to folk.

Daytime activities include swimming or hiking with a naturalist.

Cost: $2,500 per person, including river craft, guides, all meals, camping equipment and setup and a $1,250 tax-deductible

donation to the festival organization.

Contact: The Moab Music Festival, Moab, Utah; (435) 259-7003, www.moabmusicfest.org.

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CALIFORNIA

An overnight wildlife safari in Escondido park

SLEEP near lions and tigers and rhinos on an overnight camp-out at the San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park in Escondido.

The overnight safaris are offered Friday or Saturday nights, April through October.

Guests stay in tents next to an 80-acre enclosure that is home to giraffes, wildebeests, gazelles, lions and elephants, among others.

The outing includes a guided walking tour of an area of the park where aardvarks, snakes and African crested porcupines roam freely. Families can listen for animal sounds and drink hot cocoa around the campfire after dinner.

Cost: $129 to $199 per adult or teen, $89 to $109 for children younger than 8, and $109 to $129 for children 8 to 11. Breakfast and dinner are included. Transportation to Escondido and park admission fees (of $17.50 to $28.50 per person) are not.

Contact: San Diego Zoo’s Wild Animal Park, Escondido; (619) 718-3000; www.wildanimalpark.org.

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CROATIA & ITALY

Highlights of the Dalmatian Coast, Venice

EXPLORE Croatia and Venice, Italy, on a tour of the Dalmatian Coast.

The 13-night tours, offered Sept. 28, Oct. 12 and Nov. 2, visit Zagreb, Dubrovnik, Split and the Hapsburg resort town of Opatija, all in Croatia. They cross the border into Montenegro, visiting the Bay of Kotor, Europe’s deepest fiord, which is surrounded by nearly vertical mountains on three sides.

The group also visits Plitvice Lakes National Park, a string of 16 lakes once known as Devil’s Garden, and the Istrian Peninsula. The tour concludes with two nights in Venice. Participants take in the sights of St. Mark’s Square and have a day to sightsee on their own.

Cost: $3,695 to $3,895 per person, double occupancy, depending on the season ($795 single surcharge), including round-trip airfare from Los Angeles to Zagreb, returning from Venice; hotels; most meals; internal airfare; ground transportation; entrance fees; and sightseeing. Airline taxes are not included.

Contact: Odysseys Unlimited, Watertown, Mass.; (888) 370-6765, www.odysseys-unlimited.com.

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The Times is not responsible for changes in prices, dates or itineraries. Send information to Tours & Cruises, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st St., Los Angeles, CA 90012 or e-mail to travel@latimes.com.