New Mexico/Colorado/Arizona
Ancient Puebloans: Mesas, Monuments, Canyons and More
Program No. 11010RJ
Delve into the history of the Ancestral Puebloans as you learn about prehistoric villages, explore the region’s national parks and visit important sites with a local expert.
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Itinerary
While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date.
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While we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of our published materials, programs are typically advertised more than a year prior to their start date. As a result, some program activities, schedules, accommodations, personnel, and other logistics occasionally change due to local conditions or circumstances. Should a major change occur, we will make every effort to alert you. For less significant changes, we will update you during orientation. Thank you for your understanding.
Duration
9 days
8 nights
What's Included
22 meals (
8B, 7L, 7D
)
3 expert-led lectures
12 expert-led field trips
An experienced Group Leader
8 nights of accommodations
Taxes and customary gratuity
Road Scholar Assurance Plan
Day
1
Check-in, Registration, Welcome Dinner, Orientation
Location:
Albuquerque
Meals:
D
Stay:
Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn
Activity Note
Hotel check-in from 3:00 p.m.
Afternoon:
Program Registration: 3:00 p.m. After you check in and have your room assignment, join us at the Road Scholar table to register with the program staff, get any updated information, and confirm the time and location of the Orientation session. If you arrive late, please locate your Group Leader and let them know you have arrived. Remember to bring your name-tag (sent previously). Orientation: 5:00 p.m. The Group Leader will greet everyone and lead introductions. We will review the up-to-date program schedule, discuss roles and responsibilities, logistics, safety guidelines, emergency procedures, and answer questions. This program is staffed with both a Study Leader who will provide expert commentary and a Group Leader who will attend primarily to logistics. The activity level for this program is “Let’s Go!” Participants must be able to hike up to three miles daily over varied terrain. Transportation for program-related activities will be via motorcoach unless specified otherwise. Periods in the schedule designated as “Free time” and “At leisure” offer opportunities to do what you like and make your experience even more meaningful and memorable according to your personal preferences. The Group Leader will be happy to offer suggestions. Program activities, schedules, personnel, and indicated distances or times may change due to local circumstances/conditions. In the event of changes, we will alert you as quickly as possible. Thank you for your understanding.
Dinner:
Welcome dinner in our hotel meeting room.
Evening:
At leisure. Continue getting to know your fellow Road Scholars, settle in, and get a good night’s rest for the day ahead.
Day
2
Pueblo history and culture, Indian Pueblo Cultural Center
Location:
Albuquerque
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 10 miles, approximately 1 hour over the course of the day. Walking up to 1 mile; paved sidewalks; standing up to an hour at a time.
Breakfast:
Breakfast buffet at the hotel.
Morning:
We will begin the day with a lecture in the hotel meeting room. Our Study Leader, an experienced archaeologist and geologist, will introduce the archaeology and anthropology of Ancestral Puebloans. The presentations are designed to provide everyone with the general knowledge required to better appreciate and understand the incredible accomplishments of the Chacoans, both in Chaco and across the greater Chacoan World (the archaeological sites we will be visiting during our tour). Included in the morning presentations will be the changes through time, the architectural and astronomical achievements, and the vast area of influence of the Chaco Culture. Included in the morning lecture will be an introduction to the topic of archaeoastronomy. Sometimes called the anthropology of astronomy, archaeoastronomy is the study of astronomical practices and related legends and lore including religious beliefs and world views in ancient cultures. The Ancestral Pueblo people of northwestern New Mexico studied the heavens and incorporated celestial events into their lives a thousand years ago. These Puebloans had a comprehension of geometry in relation to solar and lunar cycles that helped them orient their constructions to record equinoxes and solstices. We’ll then board the motorcoach and head out on a field trip to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC).
Lunch:
At the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center.
Afternoon:
After lunch we will explore the exhibits at the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center. The IPCC preserves and perpetuates Pueblo culture through tribally curated exhibits. The museum on the lower level showcases the history, culture and arts of the Pueblo people of New Mexico in two permanent exhibitions. Next, we’ll return to the hotel with our Study Leader for more examples of the integration of archaeoastronomy, architecture, "Chaco Roads", and the landscape throughout the Four Corners Region. The lectures will conclude with subjects including trade and exchange from as far as 1,500 miles away (scarlet macaws, cacao, shells), the movement of timbers for construction from 40-65 miles from Chaco Canyon, the "amphitheater" in Chaco Canyon, as well as other "mysteries" of Chaco Canyon. We’ll then have time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
3
Chaco Culture National Historical Park, Arrive Farmington
Location:
Farmington, NM
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Fairfield Inn & Suites Farmington
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach and a school bus; driving about 230 miles, approximately 4.5 hours including stops. Hiking up to 3 miles; paved and unpaved, sometimes uneven terrain with some elevation gains; standing up to an hour at a time. Bring water bottle, sunscreen, hat, walking stick if needed.
Breakfast:
Breakfast buffet at the hotel.
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we’ll board a motorcoach and begin our journey to Farmington, New Mexico. We’ll ride first to Nageezi, 135 miles northwest of Albuquerque. There, we’ll transfer from our motorcoach to a school bus for the 24-mile ride into Chaco Culture National Historical Park. On arrival at the Visitor Center, we’ll view exhibits and then set out on a school bus that will take us from site to site. As we walk at each site, we’ll examine some of the stacked-stone ruins with our Study Leader. Chaco Culture National Historical Park preserves one of North America’s most significant and fascinating cultural and historic areas. Chaco was a major center of Ancestral Puebloan culture from 850-1150 CE. It was a hub of ceremony, trade, and administration for the prehistoric Four Corners area. It is remarkable for its monumental public and ceremonial buildings. Construction of the buildings, roads, ramps, dams, and mounds required a great deal of well-organized and skillful planning, designing, and resource gathering. The Chacoan people combined pre-planned architectural designs, astronomical alignments, geometry, landscaping, and engineering to create an ancient urban center of spectacular public architecture that continues to amaze us a thousand years later.
Lunch:
Boxed lunches in the Park.
Afternoon:
Our Chaco Canyon field trip will continue for most of the afternoon. We’ll then ride on to Farmington, New Mexico.
Dinner:
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Evening:
Check in to the hotel, the remainder of the evening is at leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
4
Aztec Natl. Monument, Chimney Rock, Durango
Location:
Mesa Verde National Park
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Far View Lodge
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 180 miles, approximately 4 hours including stops. Hiking up to 2 miles; paved and unpaved, sometimes uneven terrain with some elevation gains. Chimney Rock hike is 2/3 mile round-trip over a rough, steep, rocky, unimproved trail on a narrow causeway with cliffs on both sides; 200-foot elevation gain, no shade. Those who prefer not to hike Chimney Rock can see some sites at the bottom of the trail or just relax in the shade.
Breakfast:
Breakfast buffet at the lodge.
Morning:
After checking out of the hotel, we’ll board our motorcoach and ride to Aztec Ruins National Monument where we will view the ancient ruins with our Study Leader. Aztec Ruins National Monument preserves structures and artifacts of Ancestral Pueblo people from the 1100s through the 1200s. Although it used to be considered a Chacoan outlier, recent research indicates it may have been the second Chacoan “capital,” established and occupied after the abandonment of Chaco Canyon in the 1150s. Aztec itself was abandoned about 1275 CE, probably as a result of a prolonged drought. Some Southwestern archeologists believe the Chacoan “elites” then moved south and established Paquime, another immense site in northern Mexico. The monument was established in 1923 with the excavation and reconstruction of Aztec West by Earl Morris and designated a World Heritage Site in 1987. From Aztec, we’ll ride on to the Chimney Rock archaeological area.
Lunch:
Boxed lunches at Chimney Rock.
Afternoon:
Our Study Leader will take us to some key sites in the Chimney Rock Archaeological Area, the northeastern-most Chacoan outlier. We’ll have the opportunity to see a great kiva, pit house, and an Ancestral Puebloan dwelling.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program and will be on your own to enjoy in Durango, Colorado.
Evening:
After dinner, we will continue to Mesa Verde National Park and check in to the lodge.
Day
5
Mesa Verde National Park Full-Day Field Trip
Location:
Mesa Verde National Park
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Far View Lodge
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 30 miles, approximately 2 hours total. Hiking up to 3 miles; varied terrain with inclines. Cliff Palace (if open) involves climbing five 8 to 10-foot ladders on a 100-foot vertical climb. Standing up to an hour at a time.
Breakfast:
Breakfast buffet at Far View Lodge.
Morning:
Today’s full-day field trip in Mesa Verde National Park will include explorations as determined by our Study Leader based on current conditions. Spanish for “green table,” Mesa Verde has a rich past going back at least 13,000 years. By 775 CE, Ancestral Puebloans lived in small villages on the mesa top. By the mid-to-late 1100s, they had moved into stone masonry houses situated in alcoves on the canyon walls, commonly known as “cliff dwellings.” In the late 1200s, within the span of one or two generations, they left their homes and moved away. The archeological sites found in Mesa Verde are some of the most notable and best preserved in the United States, offering visitors a look into the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people. Twenty-four Native American tribes in the southwest have an ancestral affiliation with the sites at Mesa Verde.
Lunch:
Lunch at Mesa Verde’s Far View Terrace Café.
Afternoon:
Our Mesa Verde field trip will continue. We’ll then return to the lodge with time to freshen up and relax before dinner.
Dinner:
Dinner in the Metate Room at the Far View Lodge.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
6
Lowry Pueblo, Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Location:
Mesa Verde National Park
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Baymont Inn & Suites Cortez
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 90 miles, approximately 2 hours including stops. Hiking up to 3 miles; paved and unpaved trails. Standing up to an hour at a time.
Breakfast:
Breakfast Buffet at the lodge.
Morning:
After breakfast and a leisurely start to the day, we will pick up our boxed lunches and drive approximately an hour and a half to Lowry Pueblo, a part of the Canyon of the Ancients National Monument.
Lunch:
Boxed lunches at Lowry Pueblo.
Afternoon:
After lunch, we will explore the Great Kiva and other ancestral pueblos in the area with a local expert. Then we will board the coach and drive to the Canyon of the Ancients Visitor Center and Museum, southwest Colorado’s leading archaeological museum which preserves and displays artifacts from Ancestral Puebloans of the Four Corners area. Outstanding permanent exhibits focus on archaeology, local history, and Native American cultures. There are two 12th-century archaeological sites, a research library of archaeology and anthropology resources, and a collection of more than three million artifacts and records. We’ll have a self-directed museum exploration to see what interests each of us most before hiking to the archaeological sites with our Study Guide.
Dinner:
Dinner at a local restaurant.
Evening:
After dinner, we will check into our hotel. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
7
Canyon de Chelly
Location:
Chinle, AZ
Meals:
B,L
Stay:
Thunderbird Lodge
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 150 miles, approximately 3.5 hours including stops. 4 hour tour in 4x4 at Canyon de Chelly. Standing up to 30 minutes.
Breakfast:
Lodge buffet.
Morning:
We’ll check out of the lodge, board our motorcoach, and depart for Canyon de Chelly. On arrival we'll drive along the north rim stopping at overlooks with commentary by our Study Guide. At the base of sheer red cliffs and in canyon wall caves are ruins of Puebloan villages built between 350 and 1300 CE. Canyon de Chelly National Monument offers visitors the chance to learn about Southwestern Indian history from the earliest basket makers to the Navajo who live and farm here today. We will continue on our way to Canyon de Chelly and the Thunderbird Lodge, operated by the Navajo Nation.
Lunch:
Lunch at Thunderbird Lodge.
Afternoon:
We will gather in the front of the hotel to board 4x4s for a very special excursion along the Canyon de Chelly with a Navajo storyteller and local expert. We will return to the Lodge in time for dinner on your own at the Thunderbird cafeteria.
Dinner:
This meal has been excluded from the program cost and is on your own to enjoy what you like at the Lodge cafeteria.
Evening:
At leisure. Prepare for check-out and transfer in the morning.
Day
8
Canyon del Muerto, Hubbell Trading Post, To Albuquerque
Location:
Albuquerque
Meals:
B,L,D
Stay:
Best Western Plus Rio Grande Inn
Activity Note
Getting on/off a motorcoach; driving about 250 miles, approximately 5 hours including stops. Short hikes to overlooks; standing up to an hour at a time.
Breakfast:
Breakfast Buffet at the Lodge.
Morning:
After checking out of the lodge and loading our luggage onto the motorcoach, we’ll head out to the south rim of Canyon de Chelly, known as Canyon del Muerto, and stop at several overlooks, with commentary by our Study Leader. At the base of sheer red cliffs and in canyon wall caves, there are ruins of Puebloan villages built between 350 and 1300 CE. Canyon de Chelly National Monument offers visitors the chance to learn about Southwestern Indian history from the earliest basket makers to the Navajo who live and farm here today.
Lunch:
Lunch at a local restaurant.
Afternoon:
Next, we’ll ride to Ganado and stop at the historical Hubbell Trading Post. John Lorenzo Hubbell purchased the trading post in 1878 after the return of the Navajo from five years of exile at the Bosque Redondo, Ft. Sumner, New Mexico. During the time spent at Bosque Redondo, they had been introduced to items such as flour, sugar, coffee, and cloth. Trading posts like the one Hubbell ran supplied those items after they returned home. Hubbell had an enormous influence on Navajo rug weaving and silversmithing, as he promoted quality workmanship. Hubbell family members operated the trading post until it was sold to the National Park Service in 1967. The trading post is still active, operated by the non-profit Western National Parks Association. We’ll ride on to Albuquerque and expect to arrive at the hotel for check-in approximately 6:00 p.m.
Dinner:
Farewell dinner in the hotel meeting room.
Evening:
We’ll gather once more as a group for a wrap-up session in our hotel meeting room to share experiences and exchange farewells. Then prepare for check-out and departure in the morning.
Day
9
Program Concludes
Location:
Albuquerque
Meals:
B
Activity Note
Hotel check-out 12:00 Noon.
Breakfast:
At the hotel. This concludes our program.
Morning:
If you are returning home, safe travels. If you are staying on independently, have a wonderful time. If you are transferring to another Road Scholar program, detailed instructions are included in your Information Packet for that program. We hope you enjoy Road Scholar learning adventures and look forward to having you on rewarding programs in the future. Don’t forget to join our Facebook page and follow us on Instagram. Best wishes for all your journeys!
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