Top Ten Active Baby-Boomer Vacations

10. Archeological Dig in the Southwest
Anyone who loves playing in the dirt, doesn't mind hot days, and is fascinated about the Native Americans who populated the Southwest long before European contact is a candidate for a Southwest archaeological dig. Help professional archaeologists discover ancient cities beneath the sands, restore rock art, or gently probe for artifacts.

You can participate through the USDA Forest Service's Passport in Time program. Spread throughout the United States, projects include the Vernon Creek survey in Utah, where both ancient hunter-gatherers and historic homesteaders lived. Volunteering costs nothing, but you must submit an application, be chosen, and be ready to pitch a tent or pay for accommodations nearby.

Alternatively, some field schools, such as the Totah Archaeological Project run by San Juan College in Farmington, New Mexico, welcome paying nonstudents. Totah excavations center on the mysterious ancestral Puebloans (formerly called Anasazi), who built great communities and then abandoned them. The cost is $470 (fees and tuition) plus room and board in town. The best known permanent archaeological center investigating Puebloan culture is Crow Canyon, near Mesa Verde National Park in Colorado.

Discover more about this under-explored region of the country with Away.com's Southwest United States Travel Guide.