Santa Fe Conservation Trust
2024 INSIDER TOURS
Ruins · Artifacts · Views · Historical Sites
Rare opportunities to explore archaeological and geological sites on private land.
THE TOURS
Geology Tour at Deer Canyon
April 13 • 9:00 AM
Half-day tour near Santa Fe, NM
$150 per person (includes lunch and half-day tour)
Geologist Kirt Kempter will lead us on this excursion to explore the superb geology of the southern Sangre de Cristo mountains southeast of Santa Fe. The highlight will be a 3-mile round trip hike up Deer (or Grasshopper) Canyon, southwest of the village of Glorieta. Along the trail are several sedimentary rocks dating to approximately 320 million years ago when warm shallow seas covered much of New Mexico. We will also observe one of the longest and most important faults in northern New Mexico: the Pecos-Picuris fault. This fault was particularly active during the rise of the Sangre de Cristo mountains between 70–40 million years ago.
Insider Archaeology Tour at Tecolote Ranch
POSTPONED DUE TO WEATHER
New Date: August 3 • 8:45 AM – 5:00 PM
(includes transportation time)
Full-day tour near Las Vegas, NM
$250 per person, includes lunch, transportation and tour
($165 Tax-Deductible)
We will be traveling part of this 9,150-acre ranch near Las Vegas by vehicle, and then wandering and exploring sites where human history has left a unique set of footprints. Santa Fe Trail wagon wheel tracks and a wagon stop are still visible amid old rock ruins of 19th century settlements. Artifacts from ancient hunter-gatherers, Puebloan ancestors, and Plains Indians are still being found. Tecolote Peak, a prominent landmark on the ranch, was an essential guidepost for settlers and bandits alike when they marched the Santa Fe Trail during the 19th century. Led by Eric Blinman, former Director of the Office of Archaeological Studies, Museum of New Mexico, New Mexico Department of Cultural Affairs.
Insider Archaeology Tour at Arroyo Hondo Pueblo
October 19 • 9:00 AM
$150 per person, includes lunch and half-day tour
Registration now open!
Arroyo Hondo Preserve contains a 1000 room Pueblo village that had two occupation periods in the 14th and early 15th centuries. The village is located about 5 miles north of Santa Fe on the western edge of Arroyo Hondo near a permanent spring. The site was extensively investigated by the School of American Research in the 1970’s where they discovered many interesting aspects of the ritual and daily life. The 20-acre preserve was transferred by the School of American Research to The Archaeological Conservancy in 2003. Join us on this tour with April Brown, Southwest Regional Director and Archaeologist Tamara Stewart, Southwest Projects Director from The Archaeological Conservancy.
ABOUT THE GUIDES
Eric Blinman
Eric Blinman has been involved in archaeology for nearly 60 years. Eric’s academic degrees are from UC Berkeley and Washington State University, and he joined the Museum of New Mexico’s archaeology program in 1988. He directed the program from 2006-2023, supervising a remarkable staff in the recovery and interpretation of archaeological evidence of the state’s rich multicultural history. His personal research focus has been in human economic and social adaptations to climate change, and his technical expertise is in dating techniques, culture histories of the diverse modern Native American communities, and experimental studies of pottery and yucca fiber technologies. He has been committed to education and outreach throughout his career, delivering public lectures, tours, and classroom education programs.
April M. Brown, Southwest Regional Director
April Brown is the Southwest Regional Director for The Archaeological Conservancy. She began her archaeology career at the University of Louisville in the 1990’s, conducting field work and research around the northern Kentucky region. She later finished her degree at the University of New Mexico where she received a Bachelor of Science in Anthropology with a minor in Geographic Information Science. Archaeological preservation and non-invasive research techniques were central to her undergraduate research at UNM. Her honors research focused on documenting rock art In the Jemez Mountains and studying environmental impacts at archaeological sites using drones and other 3D modeling techniques.
April also has over 35 years of business experience where she has worked as an Executive Assistant, Graphic Designer, Journalist, Film Maker, and Digital Outreach Coordinator for a variety of organizations that include The Los Alamos Monitor newspaper, Hutton Broadcasting Radio Group, Bechtel Nevada, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
Kirt Kempter
Kirt Kempter is a Fulbright Fellow and Ph.D. graduate from the University of Texas at Austin, now living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. A volcanologist and field geologist, Kirt has conducted extensive field research in Costa Rica, Mexico, and New Mexico, and has worked with the NASA astronaut training program, providing field geologic training to astronaut candidates. His interest in global geologic processes has allowed him to lead field-oriented expeditions to destinations such as Iceland, Australia, New Zealand, South America, Africa, and Antarctica. Kirt has led educational tours for Smithsonian Journeys and National Geographic Expeditions since 1993, and greatly enjoys sharing his passion and knowledge of geology with tour participants. On the side, Kirt particularly enjoys photography, cooking, and tennis.
Tamara Stewart
B.S., M.A., Archaeology
Assistant Editor, American Archaeology
Southwest Projects Director, The Archaeological Conservancy
Tamara holds a Master of Arts and Bachelor of Science in Archaeology and has more than 25 years of professional experience in the Southwest, with particular emphasis on the Galisteo Basin of southern Santa Fe County and northern and central New Mexico. She has authored and co-authored hundreds of cultural resource management reports and management plans, State and National Register nominations, and National Historic Landmark nominations. Tamara recently completed the National Register Multiple Property documentation form (MPDF) Cultural Landscape of the Greater Galisteo Basin, North-Central NM. Tamara additionally works as Southwest Projects Director and Assistant Editor for the non-profit preservation organization The Archaeological Conservancy and their nationally-distributed quarterly publication American Archaeology magazine.