Field Trips
2008–2009
Trip Registration: Participation in SAR field trips is one of the benefits of membership. To make registration equitable, we will begin accepting trip reservations Monday, October 13, 2008. Beginning on that day, please call the SAR Membership Office at 954-7203 to register or to receive additional information about
any of these trips. Group size is limited. Reserve your space early.
Bring Your Own Reusable Water Bottle on SAR Field Trips! As part of SAR’s commitment to sustainable resource use and a healthy environment, we will no longer supply disposable water bottles during our field trips. Instead we are asking that field trip participants bring their own refillable water bottles. Additional water will be available to participants for the refilling of their bottles on full-day trips. A selection of sodas will also continue to be available on field trips.
View our cancellation policy.
October 18, 2008, 8:00am to 4:30pm
Cliff Fragua
The Beauty of Stone: The Art and History of Jemez Pueblo
Join SAR for a full-day field trip into the heart of the Jemez Mountains to view some of New Mexico’s most colorful fall landscapes. Our journey explores the history of the Jemez people, from past to present, and is highlighted by a visit with sculptor Cliff Fragua at his Singing Stone Studio in Jemez Pueblo.
We start our day’s travels by crossing the Jemez Mountains, journeying through the golden aspen groves of the upper Frijoles Canyon and the Valles Caldera and into the sculpted volcanic formations of the Jemez Valley. There, we visit the Jemez State Monument for a guided walk through the stone ruins of “Giusewa,” the ancestoral home of Jemez Pueblo (Walatowa) where the Franciscans used Puebloan laborers to build a massive, stone-walled church and convento between 1621 and 1625.
After the Pueblo Revolt, the Jemez people relocated to the current Pueblo. Our journey likewise follows the valley down to today’s Jemez Pueblo, where the cultural and historic displays at the Walatowa Visitor Center await us. Also in Jemez is the studio of Cliff Fragua, a renowned sculptor and recent SAR seminar participant, who will open his studio to our group.
Cliff Fragua learned the secret of the stone through his training as a sculptor in New Mexico, California, and Italy and through his cultural and ancestral heritage. Since 1974, when Cliff created his first stone sculpture, he has developed a significant body of work, including the Po’pay sculpture, displayed in the National Statuary Hall of the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, DC. This seven-foot high marble statue was commissioned by the New Mexico Legislature in 1997 as a tribute to the great Tewa religious leader from Ohkay-Owingeh (San Juan Pueblo) who organized and led the 1680 Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish. Cliff’s work is influenced by his deep spiritual roots in his native home of Jemez Pueblo, and he has earned the highest honors and awards for his sculptures.
Lunch will be at the Laughing Lizard Café in Jemez Springs. This charming café offers a distinctive menu with garden-fresh ingredients.
Activity Level: Easy, with a short walking tour through Jemez State Monument and visit to Singing Stone Studio and Walatowa Visitor Center in Jemez Pueblo.
Cost: $75 per person, includes van transportation from SAR, lunch at the Laughing Lizard Café, entrance fees, and artist honorarium.
Photo Credit: Cliff Fragua
Friday, November 14, 2008, 10:00am to 3:00pm
Historical Santa Fe
With Santa Fe about to celebrate the 400th anniversary of the city’s founding by Spanish colonists, SAR is joining forces with the Palace of the Governors to honor our historic city by offering a guided walking tour of downtown and a behind-the-scenes tour of the New Mexico History Museum. The nuances of Santa Fe’s long and colorful history 
will be revealed to us by the knowledgeable staff of the Palace, who will lead us on a journey from Native American village life to Spanish Colonial days, the bustle of the Santa Fe Trail, the coming of the U.S. Calvary, and the building of the railroad. Our walking tour of downtown will unveil these and other historic events that changed Santa Fe forever.
We will have lunch at the Shed Restaurant, where the thick walls of this old hacienda date back to 1692. The Shed’s flavorful and distinctive red chile is enhanced by its staff’s warm New Mexican hospitality.
After lunch, we return to the Palace of the Governors for an exclusive tour of the Portal Artisans program and the “Tesoros de Devoción” exhibit. The highlight of the trip will be an inside look at the New Mexico History Museum, which is due to open in Spring ‘09. This new museum will offer New Mexicans comprehensive, interactive displays built around stories, people, and cultures rather than chronological timelines.
Lunch: will be at the Shed Restaurant.
Activity Level: Moderate, several hours of walking in downtown Santa Fe.
Cost: $27 per person, includes lunch at the Shed Restaurant.
Transportation: Carpooling from SAR campus.
Photo Credit: “San Francisco Street, Santa Fe, New Mexico” Originally from a stereoview. Negative #011329. Courtesy Palace of the Governors (MNM/DCA).
Saturday, December 6, 2008, 10:00am to 3:00pm
Roxanne Swentzell and the Poeh Center for Arts
Join SAR for a unique opportunity to visit with Santa Clara sculptor Roxanne Swentzell at her Tower Gallery in Pojoaque. Ms. Swentzell has mastered the three-dimensional human form with its myriad of emotions. She focuses on interpretive female figures and uses a powerful sense of humor to communicate. The City of Santa Fe recently commissioned Ms. Swentzell to create a sculpture for permanent display at the new Convention Center opening this fall. Her winter art exhibit will be on display in the Tower Gallery during our visit.
In addition, we will tour the Poeh Arts Center with Director Daniel Moya and his staff. The Center provides traditional pueblo art education to the Tiwa and Tewa population of the Eight Northern Pueblos of New Mexico. The Center incorporates a museum, a changing student art exhibit, and classrooms.
Lunch: will be at the Ó Eating House, which specializes in fresh, healthy native cuisine.
Activity Level: Easy.
Cost: $25 per person, includes lunch at the Ó Eating House.
Transportation: Carpooling from SAR campus.
Photo Credit: “Peek-a-Boo” Courtesy Roxanne Swentzell
Tuesday, March 10, 2009, 10:00am–11:30am
SAR pre-trip lecture
March 13–14, 2009, depart 12:00pm, return 5:00pm
Overnight in Gallup
Artistry of Navajo Textiles and Jewelry
The Navajo Rug Auction in Crownpoint, New Mexico offers an excellent opportunity to examine closely hundreds of exquisite, handmade Navajo rugs and purchase one directly from the weaver. Joyce Begay Foss, Navajo weaver and Director of Education at the Museum of Indian Arts and Culture, will present a pre-trip lecture about Navajo rugs on Tuesday, March 10th, during which you will learn tips on the art of auction buying at Crownpoint.
On March 13th, as we travel to Crownpoint, we will stop to explore Kin Ya’a, an Ancestral Puebloan Great House, which is connected by an ancient roadway to the famous pilgrimage center of Chaco Canyon. Our trip leader, Southwest archaeologist John Kantner, has extensively studied the importance of these distant villages and what they meant to the success of Chaco. After the evening rug auction in Crownpoint, we will spend the night at the historic El Rancho Hotel in Gallup. The next morning, we will meet with Navajo jeweler Aaron Anderson, who will demonstrate tufa casting in his Gallup studio. Tufa casting is one of the earliest forms of Navajo jewelry making, where intricate designs are carved directly in the volcanic stone, creating the mold for beautiful, unique jewelry.
After lunch at El Sombrero Café, we will visit the Tanner Trading Post for an exclusive tour of vintage Native American art. The Tanner family has operated a trading company in Gallup for 42 years and represents some of the best Navajo jewelers and weavers. We will return to Santa Fe in the afternoon.
Activity Level: Easy, limited amount of walking
Cost: $235 per person, (double occupancy) or $235 per person (single occupancy), includes van transportation, honorariums, one-night lodging at the El Rancho Historic Hotel, a picnic dinner in Crownpoint, breakfast at El Rancho, and lunch at El Sombrero Café.
Photo Credit: “Navajo Girls Wearing Jewelry” Photograph by T. Harmon Parkhurst. Catalog Number: AC02:909 F17-2. Courtesy Kenneth M. Chapman Collection at the School for Advanced Research Archive and Palace of the Governors Photo Archives (NMHM/DCA)
April 17–19, 2009
Hot Springs & the Archaeology of Cañada Alamosa
Join SAR for a unique trip exploring prehistoric pueblos in the remote terrain of the northern Black Range, while experiencing the hot mineral baths of Truth or Consequences 
(formerly known as Hot Springs), New Mexico. Archaeologist Karl Laumbach, who has 34 years experience conducting archaeological fieldwork in New Mexico, will be our guide for this amazing adventure.
Our destination is the Monticello Box Ranch, located west of the historic farming village of Monticello. Four prehistoric pueblos are located on this private ranch owned by SAR President’s Council members Dennis and Trudy O’Toole. We will travel up the Rio Alamosa, making more than 30 stream crossings to visit several archaeological sites, including the 447-room Victorio Site, a 13th-century pueblo, and the Pinnacle Ruin, a large terraced community that is believed to be a migrant community from the Mesa Verde region.
We will also hike a short distance to the site of Ojo Caliente or “warm spring,” from which the Warm Spring Apaches took their name. This spring rises from a depth of 1,500 feet and flows at a rate of 2,000 gallons per minute. To complete our all-day field trip, we will visit Fort Harmony, an adobe ruin that was the center of a large reservation established by Ulysses S. Grant in 1874 and given to Victorio’s Warm Spring Apache. The forced removal of the Apaches to this reservation was the catalyst for the bloody and tragic Victorio War of 1879–1880.
Additional Activities: Trip participants will also be visiting the El Camino Real International Heritage Center overlooking the Jornada del Muerto. This new museum celebrates the “Royal Road” used by Spanish explorers and colonists from 1598 until 1885. Our accommodations at the Sierra Grande Lodge and Spa in Truth or Consequences offers an opportunity for participants to enjoy a private hot-spring soak each day of our stay. Please go to their website at http://www.sierragrandelodge.com to preview their accommodations and amenities.
Activity Level: Moderately Strenuous, participants should be in good health, as we are traveling through a remote location and walking on uneven terrain in undeveloped archaeological sites.
$350 per person (double occupancy) or $500 per person (single occupancy)
*Additional charge of $35 (double) or $70 (single) for deluxe room with balcony.
The trip fee includes 2 nights lodging at the deluxe Sierra Grande Lodge & Spa with its amenities, all meals (2 dinners, 1 picnic lunch, and 2 gourmet continental breakfasts), lectures and guide honorarium, roundtrip 4WD transportation from SAR, and entrance fees. Departure from SAR will be at 1:00pm on April 17th, with a return scheduled for 1:00pm on April 19th.
Photo Credit: “Cañada Alamosa” Courtesy John Kantner
Saturday, May 2, 2009, 8:00am to 4:00pm
Along the Turquoise Trail: Pueblo San Marcos and the Cerro Chalchihuitl Mine
Pueblo San Marcos is a large adobe pueblo that was occupied as early as the middle AD 1200’s. Known as “Ya’atze” (maize place) by today’s Keres speakers, the presence of reliable springs and the pueblo’s proximity to turquoise and lead deposits were critical to its success. With 2,000 ground-floor rooms, San Marcos may have been larger than any other 
prehistoric pueblos in the United States. The powerful town was active in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, after which it was abandoned. Today, San Marcos is owned by the Archaeological Conservancy, which is allowing our group access to this impressive site.
We will also visit prehistoric mining areas of the Cerrillos Hills that Pueblo San Marcos likely controlled. Cerro Chalchuihuitl is one of several areas in the Cerrillos Hills that were extensively mined for turquoise. The duration of activity (ca. AD 900–1700) and the size of the workings at Chalchihuitl make it among the best known and most remarkable turquoise mines in the Southwest. Also in the immediate vicinity are galena deposits, which after AD 1300 were a significant lead source for then-new glaze-painted ceramics made by pueblo potters.
Our outstanding guides for this trip are Bill Baxter, an Archaeological Conservancy site steward for Pueblo San Marcos, and Joan Mathien, retired NPS archaeologist, who is an expert on the use of turquoise by prehistoric people of the Southwest.
Activity Level: Moderately Strenuous, with walking over undeveloped trails and terrain.
$75 per person,includes guide honorariums, picnic lunch, and 4WD transportation from SAR.
Photo Credit: “Map of Pueblo San Marcos” Courtesy Bill Baxter
Trip Activity Levels:
Easy: Limited walking. Participants must be able to get in and out of vans and walk unassisted short distances from parking areas to museums or art studios.
Moderate: Participants must be in good health. Activities may require walking on paved or unpaved surfaces with generally firm footing, over distances of up to 2 miles over the course of the day.
Strenuous: Participants must be in excellent health, extremely mobile, and accustomed to an active lifestyle. Activities may require hiking off-trail, over uneven ground with elevation changes of 500 feet, and walking the equivalent of up to 5 miles over the course of the day.
Please call the Membership Office if you are uncertain about your physical ability to participate.
SAR Field Trip Cancellation Policy
SAR’s field trips are operated at a very reasonable cost to our members. To keep our field trips operating smoothly and fairly, SAR is implementing the following cancellation policy as of June 1, 2007:
- 100% refund one month prior to the field trip.
- 75% refund less than one month, if your spot can be filled from a wait list; 25% will be retained as an administrative fee.
- No refund if cancellation occurs less than two weeks prior to the start of the field trip.
- In the case of illness or injury, and the participant can not attend the field trip, refund is 100% if notification is more than one month in advance; and 75% refund if less than one month, retaining 25% as an administrative fee.
SAR reserves the right to cancel a field trip if registration is too low to make it economically viable or for other reasons, including weather, safety, forest fires, unavailability of trip leader, etc. In such cases SAR will refund registrants’ fees in full. SAR also reserves the right to make changes to an advertised itinerary as circumstances require.
