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UW-RF Offers Colonial History Tour in June

By Molly Exner
UW-RF News Bureau

APRIL 8, 2005--The UW-River Falls College of Outreach and Graduate Studies welcomes travelers with a passion for the past to spend two weeks from June 20 to July 3 exploring the sights of early America.

The tour is open to students for earned credit, and the public is encouraged to join the tour for a relaxing vacation steeped in history lessons.

The trip offers a blend of guided tours but allows plenty of free time for sightseers to explore at their own will. The tour is designed for travelers who want to learn more about the colonial beginnings of the United States, slavery and the history of the Civil War.

Tour leader David Riggs has been a UW-RF American history professor for the past five years and has lead the tour since 2002. Riggs is no stranger to all stops on the tour since he often travels to the tour's selected cities, taking advantage of the research-rich archives along the route.

The tour's itinerary includes visits to Gettysburg National Park, Thomas Jefferson's home in Monticello, Jamestown and the 1607 settlement site. Participants will visit Yorktown, Colonial Williamsburg, Mount Vernon, the U.S. Constitution Center, and Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The tour also includes stops at Washington D.C., Valley Forge, Fort Necessity National Park, and the new Underground Railroad Freedom Center in Cincinnati.

"Participants have the opportunity to see where history was made and delve more deeply into the past. Combined, the tour helps us better understand who we are as a nation today," says Riggs.
Riggs says the most rewarding aspect of the trip is to share in the student's enthusiasm for this kind of educational opportunity. "In addition to a deeper historical understanding, the range of emotions trigged in students is inspirational."

Participants can earn two or three graduate or undergraduate credits by attending the tour. For a special course fee of $1,600, the tour includes luxury bus transportation, lodging at three-and-four-star hotels, entrance and admission fees. A noncredit alternative is also available for $1,900. Tuition and food expenses are not included with either option. Applications are being accepted through May 1. A study tour deposit of $250 is required to register.

More information and registration is available online at www.uwrf.edu/outreach or from the Outreach office at 715/425-3256 or 800/228-5607 or send an e-mail to outreach@uwrf.edu. For more information about the tour, please contact Riggs at 715/425-3164 or david.riggs@uwrf.edu.

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