NOTE: The following instructions are included in the downloadable PDF Conference Information Packet available here.

Greetings from Terry Moody (Colorado Springs) and Gary Hein (Santa Fe), field trip coordinators for the 2008 ARARA Conference. 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.

Archaeological sites are fragile resources; therefore, field trip capacity will be limited to 15 to 20 participants. Field trips are offered on Friday, May 23, and Monday, May 26. Fourteen field trips have been organized with 257 participant slots available. 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-wheeldrive 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.

Review the Field Trip Offerings listed below. Detailed information is included in this information packet and posted at www.arara.org. An E-Mail Friendly version of the Field Trip Registration Form with instructions for filing is posted at this link. Follow the instructions on the forms to register for field trips via e-mail (if you absolutely cannot register by e-mail, use the form in the information Packet). Field Trip registration must be received by May 12, which is the Conference pre-registration deadline. After the selection process is completed, applications received after May 12 will be assigned to any remaining field trip spaces on a space-available basis. If you wish to receive trip confirmation, follow instructions at the bottom of the form.

To register for field trips, please keep the following in mind:

Groups (family and/or friends) submit one registration form only. Groups wishing to be on the same field trip should coordinate with a lead person who will submit a group registration. The lead person of the group (the one who submits the group registration) only will receive confirmation of the field trip assignment, and will in turn inform all members of the group. Be sure to list your trips in preference order.

Friday, May 23 Trips

  1. Jesus and Delgadito Canyon, limit 15. All Day

  3. Crow Canyon (National Register District), limit 20. All Day

  4. Largo and Cibola Canyon, limit 20. All Day

  5. Encierro Canyon and Carrizo Canyon, limit 20. All Day

  6. B-Square Ranch Half, limit 20. Half Day

  7. B-Square Ranch Half, limit 20. Half Day

  8. Chaco Culture National Historical Park, limit 12. All Day

  9. Gobernador, San Rafael, and Four Mile Canyon Areas, limit 20. All Day

          (147 total trip slots)

Monday, May 26 Trips

  2. Bi Yaazh and Four Yé’ii, limit 15. All Day

10. Jesus and Delgadito Canyon, limit 15. All Day

11. Crow Canyon (National Register District), limit 20. All Day

12. Largo and Cibola Canyon, limit 20. All Day

13. Encierro Canyon and Carrizo Canyon, limit 20. All Day

14. Gobernador, San Rafael, and Four Mile Canyon Areas, limit 20. All Day

          (110 total trip slots)

Other pertinent information regarding the field trips:

1. PLEASE NOTE that ARARA holds no responsibility or liability for those participating in conference field trips. Attendance at a pretrip orientation meeting is required by all field trip participants, where a completed liability waiver and medical consent form will be turned in. Each trip roster will be finalized upon completion of waiver and consent forms by participants. Pre-Trip Meeting is Thursday evening, May 22, for Friday Field Trips. Pre-trip meeting for Monday field trips will be announced at the conference.

2. Four-wheel-drive vehicles may be required, and car-pooling is recommended.

3. Many of the field trips may involve hiking, minimal to strenuous, through rough terrain with substantial brush where one may encounter creatures such as rattlesnakes, so be sure to pack appropriate footwear, hiking clothes with a jacket for that sudden rainstorm, a hat, and sunscreen. Don’t forget your camera. Participants are responsible for bringing along plenty of water to ensure healthy hydration.

4. Box lunches will not be coordinated by ARARA—plan to provide your own lunch, snacks, and drinks.

Last but not least: if your plans change and you cannot attend your confirmed field trip, inform Gary Hein via e-mail (glhein@comcast.net) or phone no later than May 20. If a last-minute cancellation of your trip occurs, please call Terry Moody (cell: 719-648-9174) or Gary Hein (cell: 505-699-2885).

Remember: field trip registration forms must be received by May 12..