Have you always wanted to search out bighorn sheep on the Kofa National Wildlife Refuge? Explore the Colorado Delta south of the border? See the wild side of the Imperial Sand Dunes with a desert expert?

But maybe you’ve worried about knowing where to go, getting lost, or not having four-wheel drive … and it’s kept you from discovering the adventures in your own back yard.

Then the 2008 Yuma Birding & Nature Festival, April 16-20, is just your ticket – and you can register this week at the Yuma County Fair at a special two-for-one rate! With 32 different field trips on the agenda, birds are just the beginning of the exciting outdoor fun available.

“Our location is what makes this festival special,” said Chris Bedinger, events coordinator for the Yuma Visitors Bureau , which is staging the festival with major sponsorship from the Yuma Crossing National Heritage Area and the Arizona Game & Fish Department . “There’s a unique convergence of habitats here where the Colorado River meets the desert, and we’re close enough for day trips into Mexico, too.”

“That lets us offer something for everyone – all ages, interests and fitness levels,” Bedinger added. “And what a lot of local people don’t realize is that this is a safe and inexpensive way to do things you didn’t have the means or the inside knowledge to plan yourself.”

To encourage local participation, YVB is offering a “buy one, get one free” festival registration deal during the Yuma County Fair, where YVB will be sharing a booth in the Theater Building with the City of Yuma and City Channel 73.

The $25 registration fee includes nearly a score of seminars with leading experts. And while most field trips do cost extra, those charges range from as little as $5 to $125 for the most expensive trips, the full-day expeditions into Mexico.

The full schedule of seminars and field trips is available online, along with complete cost information.

And if you can’t make it to the fair, just pick your trips and seminars and sign up by phone – call 1-800-293-0071 ext. 15 or 928-376-0101 from 9 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and ask for Kate. To get the two-for-one discount, mention you saw this in my blog. Or if you have free time and want to meet some great people, call the same numbers to volunteer to help with the Festival.

“It’s a terrific opportunity to get out and enjoy the desert and mountains before summer sets in – and get a red-hot bargain,” said Bob Ingram, YVB president. “We hope this will get local folks as excited about the adventures on their doorstep as are those who are coming from around the country to attend.”

For information about more things to do in Yuma – or to get a copy of YVB’s 96-page full-color guide to our area, stop in at the Visitor Information Center at 139 S. 4th Avenue, between the Landing restaurant and Circle K.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 31st, 2008 at 12:32 pm and is filed under The Word from the Bird. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.