With Dr. E.C. Krupp
June 17-26, 2011
The prehistoric farmers who built the large and distinctive multi-story stone buildings in the American Southwest had to adapt to its demanding environment, and the sky was one of the tools that allowed them to make a living in its colorful deserts and hidden canyons. The ancient Pueblo people observed the sun, moon, and stars, and incorporated what they saw into their architecture and their rock art. Some of their traditions were preserved by their descendants, the historic Pueblo, and reports of their ceremonies, symbols, and astronomical observations enrich our understanding of the pattern of life in the ancient Southwest. This trip includes visits to some of the most famous and stunning ruins in the Four Corners region and beyond, including Chaco Canyon’s Pueblo Bonito and Casa Rinconada, to the churches and villages of today’s Pueblo Indians and to little known rock art sites where celestial imagery is part of the symbolic vocabulary. Timed to coincide with summer solstice, the program also includes observations of sunrise and sunset as the ancient Pueblo may have performed them.
(B) breakfast, (L) lunch, (D) dinner
DAY 1 (June 17): Begin our tour of Albuquerque. Meet in the Best Western Rio Grande Inn at noon. After a light lunch, drive to the outskirts of Albuquerque and spend the afternoon exploring Petroglyph National Monument, including a hike into Rinconada Canyon. As we hike, we encounter many prehistoric petroglyphs along the side of the canyon—birds, snakes, circles, spirals, stars, and masks. Some of the 20,000 images in the Monument have astronomical meaning. Gather this evening for a traditional New Mexico welcome dinner. Overnight in Albuquerque for two nights in the Best Western Rio Grande Inn, located in Old Town. (L/D)
DAY 2 (June 18): Drive east through the Sandia Mountains to visit the pueblo of Abò. Established in the twelfth century, it is one of three missions in the Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument. The intriguing remains of the Mission of San Gregorio are next to the crumbling remains of the pueblo, and a kiva (an indigenous underground ceremonial room) within the courtyard of the church leads anthropologists to speculate about the methods used by the missionaries to convert the Tempiro people to Catholicism. Near the mission we hike over rough ground for a look at pictographs and petroglyphs. Some of these have astronomical significance, and they include a depiction of a star and crescent alleged to represent the Crab supernova of 1054 A.D. After a picnic lunch, with special permission we enter onto private land to view many rarely seen petroglyphs at Tenabó, where another star and crescent weakens the supernova interpretation. Dinner is on our own tonight. (B/L)
DAY 3 (June 19): An early start from Albuquerque allows us to explore Chaco Canyon on a long but memorable day. The arid, treeless arroyo was the center for the Pueblo culture a thousand years ago, and magnificent pueblo ruins still stand as testimony to this civilization’s former grandeur. The area was an important hub for commerce and ceremony, and the extensive road system branching out from Chaco Canyon shows the importance of the area. In complexity of community life, social organization, and architecture, the people of Chaco Canyon reached heights rarely matched and never surpassed by other groups in the Four Corners region. We hike the Penasco Blanco trail to the best known “Supernova” rock art site and also view the petroglyphs scattered along our route as well as petroglyph panels on the cliff face behind Chetro Ketl pueblo. No visit to Chaco would be complete without seeing Pueblo Bonito which contains more than six hundred rooms and thirty-three kivas. It was astronomically aligned, as was nearby Casa Rinconada, a great kiva with cosmological symbolism built into its architecture. Continue to Aztec, New Mexico and overnight. (B/L/D)
DAY 4 (June 20): We begin the day with an exploration of the remarkable multi-storied Aztec Ruin. This five-hundred-room complex was built almost 1000 years ago and contains a large and beautifully restored kiva in the central plaza. Aztec is also claimed to be the terminus of Chaco Canyon’s Great North Road. We then leave Aztec and drive northeast to Chimney Rock, Colorado, located on San Juan National Forest land surrounded by the Southern Ute Indian Reservation. Chimney Rock Pueblo is dominated by two natural pinnacles of rock, which some believe were used to frame the northernmost rising moon every 18.6 years. The pueblo is considered to be the most distant outlier of the Chaco system, and is also thought to have been of spiritual significance to the ancestors of the Southern Ute. Continue to Cortez where we overnight for two nights in the Holiday Inn Express. (B/L/D)
DAY 5 (June 21): We rise very early today in order to drive to southeastern Utah and Hovenweep National Monument, where prehistoric Pueblo people built small buildings, often accompanied by freestanding towers. We shall try to observe the interaction of summer-solstice sunrise light with adjacent petroglyphs and will then continue to Mesa Verde National Park, the first national park set aside for its archaeological treasures. It was designated as a World Heritage Cultural site in 1978. About 600 A.D. a group of prehistoric Pueblo built cliff dwellings in the canyons and occupied them for more than 700 years. We explore some of these celebrated ruins and then return to Hovenweep for summer solstice sunset at Hovenweep Castle. (B/L/D)
DAY 6 (June 22): Our early morning departure takes us to Yellow Jacket, in southwestern Colorado, the largest of a group of prehistoric Pueblo ruins in the Montezuma Basin. We hike to observe summer solstice sunrise at a group of five monoliths. Although only one of the stones remains standing, originally all of them stood upright, and the line they still form points to the summer solstice sunrise on the northeast horizon. The ancestral Pueblo used horizon observations to calibrate the calendar, and this row of stones appears to be an ancient example of the same technique. After sunrise, we drive to the Southern Ute Tribal Park, where we spend the day exploring with a Ute guide. As we hike into the backcountry, we see various cliff dwellings as well as historic Ute wall paintings and ancient petroglyphs. The sites in the park have received only minimal stabilization and are less developed than many of the ancient sites in the Southwest. Their “undiscovered” feel is one of the park’s appealing attributes. Overnight for two nights in Chinle, Arizona. Dinner is on our own tonight. (B/L)
DAY 7 (June 23): Created by streams slicing through a large mesa, in northeast Arizona, Canyon de Chelly is a breathtaking natural setting. Known as Tseyi, or “the place between the rocks,” by the Navajo, nearly every rock in the canyon holds significance for the Diné, as the Navajo call themselves. Narrow arroyos are framed by sheer red and yellow cliffs and are lined with white sand streambeds. Navajo families still live in traditional residential structures, called hogans, within the lush valley floors, especially in the summer months. Above the canyon floor, cliff dwellings and rock art recall the prehistoric canyon dwellers who settled here. The canyon’s grandeur becomes evident at ground level as we ride in the back of a World War II weapons carrier (now a tour bus!) with stops along the way at various sites including White House Ruins, Antelope House Ruin, Standing Cow Ruin, and places with astronomical rock art. Dinner is on our own tonight. (B/L)
DAY 8 (June 24): Drive to Zuni Pueblo to visit Hawikuh Pueblo, established in 1400 A.D., and the Village of the Great Kivas, considered an outlier of Chaco. Hawikuh was the first pueblo to be conquered by Coronado. The rock art at Village of the Great Kiva includes prehistoric petroglyphs and historic pictographs. Among the petroglyphs are several 
star/crescent combinations, one of which has been promoted as a Crab supernova depiction. Initial construction of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Zuni Mission Church, began in the seventeenth century. By special arrangement, here we meet with the son of the Zuni mural artist who created the full Kachina cycle depicted on the walls of the church and who will talk about the symbolism of each of the figures represented. The Seowtewa family has been working on this project for more than thirty years, and the fascinating evolution of their style can be seen as we compare the early works to the complexity of of the most recent images. Continue to Gallup, New Mexico, and check into the El Rancho Hotel for one night. This quaint inn, built in 1937 by the brother of movie magnate D.W. Griffith, attracted many of Hollywood's stars, who came here to make their films. Their autographed photos adorn the fascinating two-story lobby. (B/L/D)
DAY 9 (June 25): Acoma Pueblo sits atop a striking sandstone mesa 367 feet above the valley floor. Known as "Sky City," and inhabited since the twelfth century, it is reputed to be the oldest continuously occupied community in the United States. The Acoma origin story provides one of most explicit accounts we have of cosmological symbolism in kiva architecture. In 1629, Acoma Pueblo received its first missionary, Fray Juan Ramirez, and under his direction, the San Estevan de Rey Mission, a monumental adobe structure, was built. Our guided tour of the pueblo takes us into the church and through the village. We learn about the customs and way of life as well as the distinctive and famous black-and-white pottery made here by the people who continue to inhabit the mesa and preserve this ancient and living site. Continue to Albuquerque where we overnight in the Best Western, Old Town Hotel. Gather this evening for a farewell dinner in one of Albuquerque’s renowned restaurants. (B/L/D)
Day 10 (June 26): 7 a.m. transfer to the airport for our return flight home. (B)
Dr. E.C. Krupp is the director of the Griffith Observatory in Los Angeles. He is the author of Skywatchers, Shamans & Kings: Astronomy and the Archaeology of Power; Beyond the Blue Horizon, Echoes of the Ancient Skies, The Comet and You, The Big Dipper and You, The Moon and You, and The Rainbow and You; editor and co-author of In Search of Ancient Astronomies and Archaeoastronomy and the Roots of Science; contributing editor with a monthly column in Sky & Telescope magazine; frequent lecturer; and veteran leader of UCLA Extension field study tours. Dr. Krupp has visited more than 1800 ancient and prehistoric sites.
June 17-26, 2011
$3,995.00 (per person, double occupancy, land only) group accommodations based on double occupancy; meals as noted in the itinerary; airport transfers; entry fees to sites named in itinerary; ground transportation by 24-passenger bus throughout the tour; gratuity to drivers; emergency evacuation insurance for each participant; and luggage handling (where available – see note below).
Cost Does Not Include: Flights to and from Albuquerque, New Mexico; the U.C.L.A Extension enrollment fee of $295.00, meals other than those listed in the itinerary; food, alcoholic and other beverages not on set menus; airport fees and taxes; excess baggage charges; email, telephone and fax charges; laundry, personal tips; or other items of a personal nature.
Single Supplement: $395.00. Far Horizons will attempt to find a roommate for participants requesting that we do so. However, if one is not available, the single supplement will be charged.
Fuel Surcharges: Far Horizons must pass on price increases when additional fuel charges are levied.
The cost of the tour does not include air tickets into and out of Albuquerque. The hotel offers airport to hotel transfers. You must contact the hotel to confirm your transfers. Alternatively, if you wish to participant in the group transfer, you must arrive into Albuquerque by 11:30 a. m. on the first day of the trip. You are responsible for all flight arrangements and transportation (including airport transfers) to join the group. If Far Horizons must change the trip dates or cancel the trip for any reason, Far Horizons is not responsible for any air ticket you may have purchased. The group tour begins at noon in the hotel.
Registration Far Horizons is operating this trip in partnership with UCLA Extension. All participants must enroll with both Far Horizons and UCLA Extension.
Far Horizons Enrollment: To register with Far Horizons, send a deposit of $500.00 along with a completed and signed registration form to PO Box 2546, San Anselmo, CA. Final payment is due 75 days prior to departure (April 3, 2011). Click here to download the Far Horizons Registration Form.
UCLA Enrollment: There is an enrollment fee of $295.00, which includes tuition, instruction, and instructional materials. This fee does not include transportation, meals, accommodations, and other program expenses. Upon enrollment with UCLA your name will be forwarded to Far Horizons who will contact you regarding travel arrangements. All travel arrangements are the responsibility of Far Horizons. You may enroll by phone or online. By Phone: For your convenience, enrollment may be charged on MasterCard, Visa, American Express, or Discover. Call (310) 825-9971 or (818) 784-7006. Online: Visit www.uclaextension.edu for full information about our courses. Click on https://www.uclaextension.edu/travelStudy/r/enrollInfo.aspx to register. The Reg# is V9734. Complete the online enrollment form for secure registration. No one under the age of 18 may enroll.
Cancellations received by Far Horizons in writing at least 75 days before departure (April 3, 2011) will result in an administrative fee of $250.00. Also, a refund of the UCLA enrollment fee may be obtained (less $50) with a written request to UCLA Extension at least 75 days prior to departure (April 3, 2011). Cancellations received less than 75 days prior to departure will not receive a refund. After April 3, 2011 if for any reason you are unable to complete the tour, we will not reimburse any fees. Registrants are strongly advised to purchase travel insurance that includes trip cancellation upon registration.
Special Note to Participants in UCLA Extension Field Study Tours As a service to students participating in UCLA Extension field study tours that require transportation by air, land, or water, UCLA Extension makes arrangements for such transportation with appropriate commercial agents. However, in so doing, UCLA Extension and the University of California are acting for the convenience of students, and assume no liability in connection with any of the tour arrangements other than the obligation to provide instruction and field study guidance, and to grant credit upon satisfactory completion of any credit components of the field study tour as well as completion of any credit course required to be taken in correlation with the tour. Neither the State of California nor the University of California nor UCLA Extension shall be liable under any circumstances for damages arising out of acts or omissions on the part of the officers, agent, employees, or affiliates of the tour agents. For further information contact UCLA Extension, Department of Humanities, Sciences, Social Sciences and Health Sciences, P.O. Box 24901, Los Angeles, CA 90024-0901; (310) 825-7093; or visit on the web at www.uclaextension.edu.
Changes in our itinerary, accommodations, and transportation schedules may occur. A good book to read as well as a flexible attitude and a sense of humor are essential.
We will be traveling into remote areas of the Four Corners region. The itinerary is designed for energetic people in good health who like to be active and have a spirit of exploration. Even though we have carefully chosen the hotels, they will frequently be simple. They will be clean and comfortable, but may not be five- or four-star, or at times even three-star. Most will not have bell staff, and you may have to carry your own luggage. Meals will not be haute cuisine and several lunches will be picnics or box lunches. During several days we will walk over uneven terrain for a mile or more. The adventurous nature of the itinerary makes it essential that participants be in good physical condition and have the ability to maintain a flexible attitude. Team spirit and a good sense of humor are vital! If you have questions about your ability to handle this sort of challenge, please call us.
THIS ARCHAEOLOGICAL TOUR OF THE SOUTHWEST IS LIMITED TO 20 PARTICIPANTS
