NOTE: The following descriptions are included in the downloadable PDF Conference Information Packet available on this web site.

ARARA 2008 Conference Field Trips:

GREETINGS from Terry Moody (Colorado Springs) and Gary Hein (Santa Fe), field trip coordinators for the 2008 ARARA Conference to be held in Farmington, New Mexico, May 22 – 26, 2008. Fourteen field trips have been organized with 257 participant slots available, and most trips are available on both Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26.

Thanks go out to Jim Copeland with the Farmington BLM Office for organizing most of the field trips and providing the descriptions below, as well as to Jane Kolber for offering a special field trip to Chaco Culture National Historic Park. Appreciation is also extended to the Northwest New Mexico Site Stewards for participation as trip leaders, as well as many others for offering to share sites they have been involved with documenting or monitoring for a number of years.

Most, but not all, of the sites are at ground level in the bottom of canyons and require little or no climbing to access. Roads are maintained dirt oilfield roads—4-wheel-drive is not absolutely required to get around, but is strongly recommended. A good high-clearance vehicle such as a 2-wheel-drive truck or other SUV-type vehicle will work. With the exception of the Chaco and B-Square Ranch field trips, cars are not really a viable option. The road to Chaco Culture National Historical Park is a maintained county road that can become difficult to travel during inclement weather.

Descriptions of the Field Trip offerings are included here, and are posted on the ARARA web site, www.arara.org. Field Trip participants must be pre-registered for the 2008 Conference. Field Trip registration must be received by Gary Hein by the May 12 Conference pre-registration deadline. The Field Trip Registration form with instructions is included in this 2008 Conference Information Packet. Watch for updates on Field Trips and pre-trip orientation meetings on the web site and on ARARA Online.

If you are interested in assisting as an ARARA Field Trip coleader, please e-mail your willingness to do so to Gary Hein at glhein@comcast.net or Terry Moody at moodytp@msn.com. Duties will include checking in participants listed on the Field Trip Roster, carrying the First Aid Kit, assisting if an emergency arises, and making certain that field trip participants arrive at and leave the field trip sites with the group.

ARARA Field Trip Offerings

1. and 10. Jesus and Delgadito Canyon: Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26 (all-day trips). Participants: 15 each day. Travel is about 80 miles round trip from Farmington. The rock art is primarily of the Navajo Gobernador Representational Style with a little Anasazi (aka Pueblo) to round things out. During the trip at least one Navajo defensive site dating to the 18th century will also be observed, in direct association with rock art. Both petroglyphs and pictographs of outstanding quality will be observed, including animals, supernatural figures associated with traditional Navajo origin history (Yé’ii), and a star ceiling.

2. Bi Yaazh and Four Yé’ii: Monday, May 26 only (all-day). Participants: 15 (no children). Travel is about 160 miles round trip from Farmington. These sites include pictographs and petroglyphs, primarily of the Navajo Gobernador Representational Style. Bi Yaazh possesses some of the most elaborately decorated Navajo supernatural beings (Yé’ii) in the area, and has many unique features not seen at other sites in the area. It is also the scene of one of the most egregious rock art thefts in northwest New Mexico and has been featured in several magazines and film spots. Bi Yaazh is a rugged but not overtly dangerous climb to a narrow ledge and not for the faint of heart or those with a fear of heights. Four Yé’ii panels also require a scramble up steep but short talus slopes to access.

3. and 11. Crow Canyon (National Register District): Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26 (all-day trips). Participants: 20 each day. Travel is about 80 miles round trip from Farmington. Crow Canyon was listed on the National Register in 1974 and possesses hundreds of images, primarily of the Navajo Gobernador Representational Style with a little Anasazi to round things out. The canyon contains numerous panel locations, including one requiring a relatively easy 2-mile round trip walk. Images of supernatural beings (Yé’ii, some only found in Crow Canyon), animals of many forms, corn plants, and Spanish soldiers on horseback will be observed. Two Navajo defensive sites dating to the 1700s will be viewed from a distance.

4. and 12. Largo and Cibola Canyon: Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26 (all-day trips). Participants: 20 each day. Travel is about100 miles round trip from Farmington. Largo Canyon is the major canyon in the area and has been used as a route of travel for thousands of years. A number of panels along the Largo Canyon road will be visited, culminating at Cibola Canyon. Images are primarily of the Navajo Gobernador Representational Style with a little Anasazi to round things out. Images include the type site for Navajo star patterns in petroglyph rock art as well as the type site for the Twin Navajo War Gods.

5. and 13. Encierro Canyon and Carrizo Canyon: Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26 (all-day trips). Participants: 20 each day. Travel is about 100 miles round trip from Farmington. This is a collection of sites including Navajo Gobernador Representational Style and images of the Navajo era most likely crafted by Pueblo people, not Navajo. Most images are petroglyphs but pictograph shields adorned with painted eagle feathers are among some of the most striking images. Supernatural beings (Yé’ii) as well as the area’s only example of a parrot pictograph will be seen as well. One panel will require a short steep climb to access a narrow ledge but it can be easily viewed with binoculars from ground level.

6. and 7. B-Square Ranch: Friday May 23, two half-day trips. Participants: 20 each trip. Travel is about 10 miles round trip from Farmington. These are rock art panels located on the BSquare Ranch situated on the south side of Farmington. The rock art dates from Late Archaic/Basketmaker to Chaco-phase and post-Chaco-phase Anasazi to early Navajo time periods. Two of the rock art panels are along the bluffs on the south side of the San Juan River while the other panels are in Stewart Canyon, a major tributary of the San Juan River. Elements include trapezoid-shaped figures, spirals, geometric or textile designs, animal figures, humpbacked flute players, and a wide variety of anthropomorphic figures.

8. Chaco Culture National Historical Park: Friday, May 23 only (all-day trip). Participants: 12. Travel is about 130 miles round trip from Farmington. This is a rare opportunity for ARARA field trip participants to travel off trail to see some of the most interesting rock art made by the great Chacoans (aka Anasazi, Pueblo). The tour will include up to 8 sites, none of which are open for public visitation, and many sites are known to only a few. All sites are fairly easy to access, with walks of not more than a mile and scrambles up sandy talus slopes.

9. and 14. Gobernador, San Rafael, and Four Mile Canyon areas: Friday, May 23 and Monday, May 26 (all-day trips). Participants: 20 each day. Travel is about 150 miles round trip from Farmington. This is a collection of sites including Navajo Gobernador Representational Style, images of the Navajo era most likely crafted by Pueblo people, and Anasazi. It will also include the only example in Dinétah of what may be Ute rock art. Most images are petroglyphs but pictographs will be observed as well, including a large figure holding a shield adorned with eagle and parrot feathers, and a set of anthropomorphs at times referred to as the “Pregnant Basketmaker.” Access will require short easy walks.

Places to Go, Rock Art to See, and People to Meet!

ARARA members will be traveling from near and far to arrive in Farmington on Memorial Day weekend to attend the 35th annual conference. Routes to the Southwest are numerous, and may take the road traveler across several states. As many are aware, and some will pleasantly discover, these roads lead to some extraordinary archaeology. Therefore, plan a few days or more if you have the luxury of exploring the many archaeological places along the way, some of which have public rock art to visit. Most importantly, the roads also serve as gateways to visit regional Native American communities, many of which have museums and visitor centers that illustrate the past and present cultures that have lived in the Southwest, and many with connections to the ancestors who left their marks on the rocks. A list of public archaeological sites and historic and cultural centers with nearby city and URL information is provided below, on the ARARA web site, and on ARARA on-line.

New Mexico

Petroglyph National Monument, Albuquerque: www.nps.gov/petr/
Indian Pueblo Center, Albuquerque: www.indianpueblo.org/
Coronado State Monument, Bernalillo: www.nmmonuments.org/
Jemez State Monument Heritage Area, Jemez Springs: www.nmmonuments.org/
Salmon Ruins, Bloomfield: www.salmonruins.com/
Aztec Ruins National Monument, Aztec: www.nps.gov/azru/
Chaco Canyon, Farmington: www.nps.gov/chcu/
El Malpais National Monument, Grants: www.nps.gov/elma/
El Morro National Monument, Grants: www.nps.gov/elmo/
Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument, Silver City: www.nps.gov/gicl/
Bandelier National Monument, Los Alamos: www.nps.gov/band/
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, Tularosa: www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/recreation/las_cruces/three_rivers.html

Arizona

Canyon de Chelly National Monument, Chinle: www.nps.gov/cach/
Casa Grande National Monument, Coolidge: www.nps.gov/cagr/
Grand Canyon National Park, Flagstaff: www.nps.gov/grca/
Walnut Canyon National Monument, Flagstaff: www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm
Sunset Crater National Monument, Flagstaff: www.nps.gov/waca/index.htm
Wupatki National Monument, Flagstaff: www.nps.gov/wupa/
The Navajo Museum, Window Rock: www.navajo.org/history.htm
Hopi Cultural Center: www.hopiculturalcenter.com/
Apache Cultural Center & Museum: www.wmat.us/wmaculture.shtml
Pipe Spring National Monument, Fredonia: www.nps.gov/pisp/
Hubbell Trading Post National Historic Site, Ganado: www.nps.gov/hutr/
Petrified Forest National Park, Holbrook: www.nps.gov/pefo/
Glen Canyon National Recreation, Lees Ferry: www.nps.gov/glca/
Deer Valley Rock Art Center, Phoenix: www.asu.edu/clas/shesc/dvrac/
Pueblo Grande, Phoenix: phoenix.gov/PARKS/pueblo.html
HohokamPima National Monument, Sacaton: www.nps.gov/pima/
V-Bar-V Heritage Site, Sedona: www.redrockcountry.org/recreation/cultural/v-bar-v.shtml
Navajo National Monument, Tuba City or Kayenta: www.nps.gov/nava/
Rock Art Ranch, Winslow: westerntreks.com/trekindex.htm?RockArtRanch.htm

Colorado

Hovenweep National Monument, Aneth: www.nps.gov/hove/
Mesa Verde National Park, Durango: www.nps.gov/meve/
Yucca House National Monument, Cortez: www.nps.gov/yuho/
Anasazi Heritage Center, Dolores: www.blm.gov/co/st/en/fo/ahc.html
Ute Mountain Ute Tribal Park, Towaoc: www.utemountainute.com/tribalpark.htm
Chimney Rock Archaeological Park, Pagosa Springs Area: www.chimneyrockco.org/mainnew.htm

Nevada