Archelogical Expedition and Camping Trip

[Nick Charles]

my original post keeps disappering so here is the back up.

Anyone interested in joining a Arizona Expedition in February. The 16-18th (or 19th) to the lovely White Tank Mountains. Join Mojave Jack Indiana_Tone and Nick Charles as they explore the wilds of the AZ desert. Live animals, real nature hike and FIRE. Don't miss out. Here is a link to the park & a little back ground
http://www.maricopa.gov/parks/white_tank/History.aspx

If you are interested please let either Jack or myself know we are currently trying to work out the logistics on gear and transportation. Other activities will be planned such as museum trips and a last night dinner.


These are tentative activities. I know not everyone is going to be able to attend all.
Friday Feb 16

Arrival, set up and settle in.



Saturday Feb 17

Hike to the waterfall
View the pertoglyphs
Picnic Lunch
*other activities as planned or needed.

Sunday Feb 18

Downtown Phoenix,(vintage style)
Phoenix Art MUseum
Herd Museum
AZ Science Center
Chinese Cultural Center
TUrf Paradise Horse race
Farwell Dinner (to be determined)

Monday Feb 19

Pack, Farewell, Bon Voyage and see ya.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Excellent! It looks like much has happened while I was MIA for the past week! Mike, that would be great if you could make it out. This trip is actually going to contribute to my dissertation research, since I hope to include the White Tanks petroglyphs as one of my case studies. Great way to write off an FL event, eh? Surely there is some areas of biological interest that you could use to justify a trip!

Miss Queenie, you and others are more than welcome to ride with me. I can carry three other passengers in relative comfort in my pickup, with plenty of room for gear. It's a crew cab (four-door) so no one gets smooshed into those tiny little jumpseats!

Nick, thanks for getting so much together for this! This is really going to be great!

 

[Nick Charles]

Marc are you going to come?

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I want to very much. I'm going to do my darndest to come!


Incidentally, my dad lives in Sedona. A couple of hilltops on his land are littered with thousands of stone tool chips, handaxes, chippers, scrapers, and potsherds. Apparently, those hilltops were used as toolmaking centers by Sedona's Native Americans. I'll post photos of some pieces I've found. Nothing that would dazzle laypersons' eyes, but archaeologists might dig them. (Pun intended)


.

 

[Michaelson]

Mojave, check my reply at COW to this expedition. I may have a volunteer to help carry your gear who's looking for a job when she gets there.

Regards! Michaelson

 

[Mojave Jack]

I want to very much. I'm going to do my darndest to come!


Incidentally, my dad lives in Sedona. A couple of hilltops on his land are littered with thousands of stone tool chips, handaxes, chippers, scrapers, and potsherds. Apparently, those hilltops were used as toolmaking centers by Sedona's Native Americans. I'll post photos of some pieces I've found. Nothing that would dazzle laypersons' eyes, but archaeologists might dig them. (Pun intended)


.

Might dig them?! Of course! Have you heard of the Range Creek Canyon site in Utah? It is a series of sites that fell on private land for many years, and which were fiercely protected by the landowner. They have provided unprecendented opportunities to investigate almost pristine sites, all due to the efforts of that one man, Waldo Wilcox. Thank goodness for private landowners with that kind of vision! Perhaps your dad's sites could be the next Range Creek Canyon!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

I read a great article on Range Creek in the National Geographic. The landowner is a real western character. Has some fun theories!


.

 

[Mojave Jack]

Mojave, check my reply at COW to this expedition. I may have a volunteer to help carry your gear who's looking for a job when she gets there.

Regards! Michaelson

Great! Though I'm hoping I won't be carrying much more than my GPS and a few site records. Theoretically I will have done my research prior to leaving, and will be organized down to my socks. Practically, however, I will probably be reading the site reports the night before (most likely by lantern light in my tent) and cursing my procrastination!

 

[Mike K.]

...and cursing my procrastination!

Why do today what you can put off 'til the day after tomorrow?!

I am marking my calendar and trying not to procrastinate on my own dissertation so I can hopefully make this event. Unfortunately (at least for the prospects of doing this trip) this is also peak woodstork nesting season, so I'll be busy doing monitoring flights several times per week. The trip also fall during the middle of prescribed fire season and I'm the burn boss. I'll have to just take this one day at a time and see how things work out. At least I won't be teaching class during the scheduled event. How did my life get so busy?[huh]

Just out of curiosity, how vintage/retro are we doing this camping trip? Are we talking leather knee boots, khakis, and canvas tents? Or will most people be sticking with goretex, nylon, and polartec?

Mojave - if I can make it, you have my services as photographer if needed.

 

[Nick Charles]

We are looking into the Classic Aspect currently. I'm going to be as traditioinal as possible. If we can get the canvas tents then its pretty much the biggest factor. We are squared away on the tents if we use regular modern ones.

 

[Feraud]

I believe Cabela's sells canvas wall tents that might suit your needs.

 

[Nick Charles]

Oh we found some good ones the problem is whos wants a $300 tent for one time use. I'd love to own one but would use it about as much as the modern one(still in the box) Will you be joining us? No snow here (yet)

 

[Shimmy Sally]

Theoretically I will have done my research prior to leaving, and will be organized down to my socks. Practically, however, I will probably be reading the site reports the night before (most likely by lantern light in my tent) and cursing my procrastination!

We could nag at you every day to remind you...

 

[Mojave Jack]

We could nag at you every day to remind you...

I can use all the help I can get! I did contact the rangers at White Tanks, and the archeologist will hopefully get back to me soon. If I can get my ducks in a row (or woodstorks, as the case may be), then hopefully I will be able to speak intelligently about the sites while we are there!

I am marking my calendar and trying not to procrastinate on my own dissertation so I can hopefully make this event. Unfortunately (at least for the prospects of doing this trip) this is also peak woodstork nesting season, so I'll be busy doing monitoring flights several times per week. The trip also fall during the middle of prescribed fire season and I'm the burn boss. I'll have to just take this one day at a time and see how things work out. At least I won't be teaching class during the scheduled event. How did my life get so busy?

I know how that is! I begged off on a course I was scheduled to teach this fall, and boy, am I glad I did. Fortunately my busy season will be coming to a close at the end of January. I have my research field exam scheduled for 22-25 January, so I'll be quite ready to relax by this trip! Our grand opening for my curation center is scheduled for 19 January, and that is taking most of my time right now. How do these things stack up so?!

Mojave - if I can make it, you have my services as photographer if needed.

Great! I can use all the help I can get there, too! I really hope you can make it, but you have a pretty good excuse if you can't. Honetly, if this event wasn't so close to home (and tax deductible!) I probably would not be able to make it.

Mike on your question of how vintage, I think I'll probably be a lot of my vintage-inspired stuff, with select accoutrements. The weather will make a lot of those dicicisons! lol My riding boots have slick leather soles, and I try to keep those nice for my uniforms, too, so I'll probably be in chukkas, trousers, bush shirts and jacket, and slouch hat. I'll add sweaters and other warmer gear as necessary.

I forget who originally posted a link to this photo, but it has since become my desktop. This is great stuff!

Kelsey Museum Staff at Kom Aushim, 1926

 

[Nick Charles]

Everyone that want to attend please email me at indyaz@cox.net so we can start putting together the camping costs and list of gear that we have and need.

 

[Feraud]

I truly wish I were attending but might have to miss this trip.
I spent 5 days in the mountains of New Mexico on a hunting trip with my dad. We packed in all our gear on mules and took an hours long horseback ride in to our hunting camp. Our days were spent on horseback in the field. We slept in tents and took all our meals outdoors. We froze in our tent at night and it was one of the best experience of my life!
You will all have a great time.

 

[Nick Charles]

Any more takers, we are also throwing around the idea of going to the Vulture Mine in Wickenburg or maybe Sedona.

Vulture Mine is Now a Ghost Town
The Vulture Mine is about 14 miles from Wickenburg, Arizona. In 1863 gold was discovered here. It is called the Vulture Mine because legend has it that a vulture felled by a gunshot landed near a gold nugget.
The Vulture Mine thrived through the 1890's and was still operational in the 1920's. In 1942 the mining here stopped. There are various buildings, a school and a hanging tree still to be seen there. There is an entrance fee to Vulture Mine and visitors can take a self-guided tour. An additional fee will allow you to pan for gold.

 

[Shimmy Sally]

I love exploring abandoned ghost towns, caverns, and mines. This is going to be so cool. The site linked below lists some of the better known towns. There are many not listed, however.
http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/az/vulturecity.html

 

[Nick Charles]

Anyone else got a suggestion? There are still spaces available.

COME on come all. Any more confirmations?

 

[Mojave Jack]

I've been combing through all my camping gear, which is scattered all around the house! It's amazing the stuff that accumulates! I did round up my enameled tin tableware, though!

I still need to get one of those enameled coffee pots, though. I don't know about everyone else, but there must be coffee in the morning!