Field Trips & Activities

Tentative field trips and activities for 2023 are listed below. Updates and changes are in RED.

As more activities and field trips are planned, updated information will be posted here and in the Moki Messenger. Please read General Information About Field Trips and check forthcoming issues of the Moki Messenger and monitor this webpage for updates. Field trip participants must be current, fully-vaccinated SJBAS members. For information about these trips or to sign up, please contact the trip leaders directly.

This trip schedule is a “work in progress.” Although we hope to go on the outings as planned, these dates and destinations are subject to change due to adverse weather or road conditions, unanticipated scheduling conflicts, or changes made by the leaders. Click on the hyperlinks for more information about trip destinations or meeting presentations.

SJBAS Field Trips – Safety and Responsibility

Participants in SJBAS field trips and activities are solely responsible for their own safety. SJBAS field trip leaders are untrained volunteers who plan, organize, and lead the trips, but have no special training or expertise in outdoor safety or hazards and are not responsible or liable for the personal welfare and safety of participants. Each participant is the only expert regarding his or her own abilities. Participants are solely responsible for choosing trips appropriate for their own physical and medical ability; for taking proper clothing, equipment, and provisions; for making appropriate decisions in response to terrain, elevation, and weather; and for understanding the inherent hazards of traveling in the outdoors (such as falls, lightning, hypothermia, heat stroke, dehydration, and injuries caused by others).

Field Trip Difficulty Ratings

Field Trip Difficulty Ratings provide a general sense for the physical difficulty of field trip activities expected under usual circumstances. Some trips will accommodate a range of abilities, but not all trips will accommodate all abilities. It is the participant’s responsibility to choose trips that are within his/her ability. If an SJBAS member is uncertain about a trip’s level of difficulty, the trip leader can provide more information for those considering signing up.

The following are Field Trip Difficulty Ratings used by SJBAS:

• Easygoing: Trip is suitable for members in reasonable health who have no problem walking on mostly smooth, relatively flat surfaces up to 1 mile. For example, touring a museum or pueblo, or participating in a walking tour in downtown Durango. Trips generally take place close to roads and support services.   
• Easy Active: Trip is suitable for active people in good health. Hikes are usually less than 3 miles on well-defined trails, with elevation gains and losses up to 250 feet. Trips generally take place within a few miles of roads, but not necessarily other support services.
• Moderate: Trip is suitable for energetic, experienced hikers.Hikes may be up to 5 miles, mostly on established trails that can be rocky and steep in places, with elevation gains and losses up to 800 feet. Trips may take place in remote locations.
• Hard: Trip is suitable only for physically fit, strong hikers. Hikes are generally strenuous, may be longer than 5 miles, may be on poorly defined trails or off-trail, with elevation gains and losses greater than 800 feet. Trips often take place in remote locations. Backpacking trips, by their very nature, would be considered “Hard.”

Length: Approximate total length of trip, whether out and back, loop, or through hike

Elevation: Approximate total elevation gain (in most cases there would be a corresponding elevation loss)

In addition to the following trips, there are several important conferences scheduled for this year, including the Pecos Conference. Check the Moki Messenger or our website, www.sjbas.org, for details.

Tentative Field Trip and Activity Schedule – 2023

January 11	SJBAS meeting – “The first people of Ireland: the colonization of Ireland at the end of the Ice Age” by Jesse Tune, Associate Professor of Anthropology at FLC
February 8	SJBAS meeting – “Bears Ears: Landscape of Refuge and Resistance,” a presentation on his new book, by Andy Gulliford
February TBD	Ohkay Ohwingeh Deer Dance – CANCELLED Three-day motel/camping trip to the Santa Fe area. The primary focus of the trip is the Deer Dance at the Pueblo, but we will also enjoy other educational resources in the area. Trip participation is 15. Difficulty rating: moderate. For more information or to sign up, contact Rusty at chambrke@aol.com. Sign up begins January 1st.
February 28 – March 2	Santa Fe Museum Back Room Tour – Three-night motel stay in Santa Fe with a guided tour the School of Advanced Research (SAR) and afternoon tour of the Museum of Indian Art Culture (MIAC) with behind-the-scenes exploration. Cost is $20 per person for SAR and $8 dollars for MIAC. The second day we will have a free guided tour of The Center for New Mexico Archaeology, visiting both collections, testing and curation labs. Trip participation is 16. Difficulty rating: Easy. For more information or to sign up, contact Tish at tishvarney@att.net. Sign up begins January 1st. TRIP IS FULL.
March 8	SJBAS meeting – “”Creating Color in the Chaco World: Spatial Histories of Paint Production at Pueblo Bonito” – by Kelsey Hanson, PhD. candidate, University of Arizona.
April 12	SJBAS meeting – “The Peopling of South America” by Emeritus Professor Bruce Bradley, University of Exeter, UK.
April 24-26	Cedar Mesa Backcountry Sites – CANCELLED Three-day car-camping trip. We will camp two nights in a dispersed campsite and do several hikes over three days to a variety of Ancestral Puebloan sites. 4WD/HC vehicles will be needed, but we can carpool. Participants must be fit and ready to hike all day. Difficulty rating: hard. Trip participation limit is 12. For more information or to sign up, contact Lyle at lylehancock99@gmail.com. Sign up begins February 1st.
April 29	Sand Canyon Pueblo – Visit Sand Canyon Pueblo at the head of Sand Canyon, then walk down into the canyon to view other sites. Trip participation limit is 12. Difficulty rating is moderate. For more information or to sign up, contact Rusty at chambrke@aol.com. Sign up begins 7 AM February 1st.
May 10	SJBAS meeting – “From This Earth: Ancestral Pueblo Pottery in the Animas Museum Collection” presented by Mona Charles, Susan Jones, Briana Paxton and Patty Joy. The presentation is co-sponsored by the Animas Museum.
June 14	SJBAS Annual Picnic
June 20 – 23	San Juan River Raft Trip – June 20 launch date – Four-day Fort Lewis College Outfitter river trip (Fort Lewis on the River, FLOW) on the San Juan River from Sand Island to Mexican Hat to view archeological sites along both side of the river. This all-inclusive trip includes transportation, food, camp gear, float gear and guides. Cost is $600 plus/per person. A deposit of $300 is due at sign up in February with final payment 30 days in advance. Fees are non-refundable unless there is a person on the waiting list or you find a substitute. Trip participation limit is 16. Difficulty rating: Moderate. For information or to sign up, contact Tish at tishvarney@att.net. Sign-up begins 7 AM February 1st and not prior.
July 12	SJBAS meeting – “Sand, Stone, and Songs: Ancient lessons from a living Landscape” by Vincent MacMillan, Supervisory Archaeologist, Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
July 14	Telluride Museum/Tomboy Mine – One-day trip to Telluride with guided tours by Rudy Davison. Trip participation limit is TBD. Difficulty rating: Hard (hike starts at 11,500 feet). For more information or to sign up, contact Janice janicesheftel@gmail.com. Sign up begins 7 AM May 1st.
August 5	Flint Knapping with Paul Landrum – A flint knapping workshop will be held at Janice Sheftel’s home. Participation limit is 10. Attendees asked to contribute $5 to purchase obsidian, and must bring gloves and eye protection. For more information or to sign up, contact Janice at janicesheftel@gmail.com. Sign up begins 7 AM June 1st.
August 9	SJBAS meeting – Jacque Kocer, Ph.D. candidate, Univ. of New Mexico, will present “Intricate Simplicity: The Enduring Beauty of Gallina Ceramic Designs” using Zoom.
August 11-13	Pecos Conference – 2023 – One to three-day trip near Flagstaff.  Archaeologists gather under open skies to discuss recent research, problems of the field, and the challenges of the profession. Most participants camp at the conference site. No trip participation limit. Difficulty Rating: Easy. For more information or to sign up, contact trip leader Rusty Chamberlain at chambrke@aol.com.
September 13	SJBAS meeting –  “Nevada Ancestral Puebloans” by Prof. Karen Harry, U of Nevada Las Vegas
September 22	“Overshoot and Collapse of the Ancient Four Corners” – a film by Cloudy Ridge Productions – presented by SJBAS, History Live! Durango, and the Anthropology Department and Center of Southwest Studies at Fort Lewis College – 7:00 – 9:00 p.m. at the Student Union Ballroom
September 22 – 24	Albuquerque/Salinas Missions – On this 3-day trip, we may visit Jemez Pueblo, Coronado State Monument, Petroglyph National Monument, the Pueblo Indian Cultural Center in Albuquerque and the Salinas Pueblos near Mountainair.  The trip is rated easy.  For more information or to sign up, contact Rusty at chambrke@aol.com.  Sign up begins 7 A.M. July 1st.
Sept or Oct	Keet Seel Backpack – We are trying for the third year, hoping the monument will open to guided tours. Three or four-day camping trip to Navajo National Monument that includes an overnight backpacking trip (8.5 miles each way) to Keet Seel, one of the best-preserved Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings in the Southwest. For those who want to stay for a fourth day (3rd nite) there is a guided five-mile round trip hike to Betatakin. Limit of 10 backpackers, but others are welcome to camp. Difficulty Rating: Hard. For more information or to sign up, contact Hunter McCleary at hunter@bike-durango.org. Trip sign-up begins 7 AM April 1st.
October 6	Cannonball Mesa – One-day exploration of Cannonball mesa in Canyon of the Ancients National Monument. This is a 5-6 mile round trip hike. Trip participation limit is 14. Difficulty rating is moderate. For more information or to sign up, contact Lorraine at lorrainemccleary@gmail.com. Sign up begins 7 AM August 1st.
October 11	SJBAS meeting – “No Place for a Lady: The Life Story of Archaeologist Marjorie F. Lambert” by Dr. Shelby Tisdale, Former Director, FLC Center of Southwest Studies
October 27 – 29	Bear’s Ears Exploration– CANCELLED Three-day tour of Bear’s Ears sites near the Bluff area, camping at Comb Wash CG. Meet at Edge of the Cedars Museum with brief tour of museum and Cave Towers hike. Second day tour of Ballroom cave, Bullseye Ruin, Cottonwood Wash Great House. Final day we will hike to Salvation Knoll, Arch Canyon, Birth Panel at Moki Dugway with dusk gathering at Andy’s house in Bluff. Trip participation is 10. Difficulty rating: Hard. For more information or to sign up, contact Andy at andy@agulliford.com. Sign up begins 7 AM August 1st.
November 8	SJBAS meeting – “A Different Way to Understand Community: A Closer Look at the Velarde Valley of New Mexico” by Patrick Cruz, Ph.D. candidate and curator of collections at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture in Santa Fe
November TBA	Aztec Inscriptions – A one-day guided tour of the inscriptions at Aztec West with Fred Blackburn. Trip participation limit and difficulty rating TBD. To sign up or for more information, contact Janice at janicesheftel@gmail.com. Sign ups begin 7 AM September 1st.
December 2	SJBAS Annual Meeting and Holiday Brunch