Taste the Landscape, an educational tour of the flavors of the Colorado Plateau offered by MNA Ventures.

Taste the Landscape

Leader: Patrick Pynes
Dates: Contact MNA Ventures for details
Cost: $1155 Members / $1215 Nonmembers
Difficulty: Easy

Cost includes transportation, hotel (double occupancy; add an additional $210 for single lodging), and all meals.

Join Patrick Pynes, local beekeeper and Gardens Manager at La Posada Hotel, for this exploration into Arizona’s regional food system. Over a series of three weekends we will taste our way through orchards, vineyards, and vegetable farms along and below the Mogollon Rim. Witness the successes, consider the challenges, and understand the importance of a local, regional food system for our health and the health of our cultural and biological landscapes. Hotel accommodations and delicious local meals are included as part of this journey.

Pre-Trip Information Packet (PDF Downloads)

» Medical/Waiver [33 KB]

Patrick Pynes was a late bloomer in the world of gardening and beekeeping. In the summer of 1987, before beginning work on a doctorate in English Literature, he took a part-time job working on a pick-your-own strasberry farm. Following that surprisingly pleasurable experience, and a related encounter with Selu, he dropped out of graduate school and began working as an organic gardener and beekeeper.

“I already have recommended your programs to others. I assume all your programs and services would be at this caliber. Also most everyone on the trip had been on other trips and had enjoyed all of them.” —L.T.

“Yes, we would consider participating again, because it was an enlightening adventure, joyous and the type of program that attracts fascinating and positive participants. We will definitely recommend the Ventures Program to others because of the level of professionalism and great value in numerous ways.”—M.A. and D.A.