Tentative field trips and meeting dates for 2026 are listed below. Updates and changes are in RED.
As more activities and field trips are planned, updated information will be posted here and in the Moki Messenger. Please read General Information About Field Trips and check forthcoming issues of the Moki Messenger and monitor this webpage for updates. Field trip participants must be current SJBAS members. For information about these trips or to sign up, please contact the trip organizers directly.
This trip schedule is a “work in progress.” Although we hope to go on the outings as planned, these dates and destinations are subject to change due to adverse weather or road conditions, unanticipated scheduling conflicts, or changes made by the trip organizers. Click on the hyperlinks for more information about trip destinations or meeting presentations. In addition to the following trips, there are several important conferences scheduled for this year, including the Pecos Conference. Check the Moki Messenger or our website, www.sjbas.org, for details.
Tentative Field Trip and Meeting Schedule – 2026
| January 14 | SJBAS Meeting – “The Ancient Maya from a Frontier Perspective” presented by Mario Borrero, Ph.D. |
| January 21 | Field Trip – Backroom Tour at the Mesa Verde Research Center Join Collections Manager, Gwen, for a backroom tour of selected artifacts. The 1.5-hour tour is scheduled for Wednesday, January 21, at 2:00 p.m. Participation limit is 10. Please contact Lorie Hansen to sign up, lmhansen39@gmail.com. |
| February 11 | SJBAS Meeting – “New Data, Old Questions: Ancient DNA and the Archaeology of Northwest Mexico and the US Southwest” presented by Jakob Sedig, Ph.D. |
| March 11 | SJBAS Meeting – TBA |
| April 8 | SJBAS meeting – “Hohokam” presented by Angela Huster, Ph.D. |
| April 24 – 27 | Field Trip – Pueblo of Zuni Tour – contact Susan Hicks |
| May 13 | SJBAS Meeting – “Continental-scale faunal exchange event with Eurasia that produced the African fauna we know today (antelope, lions, hyenas, leopards, cheetah, rhino, pigs, etc.) which happened between 20-25 million years ago” presented by John Kappelman, Ph.D. |
| June 10 | SJBAS Annual Picnic |
| July 8 | SJBAS Meeting– “Chaco and Beyond” presented by GB Cornucopia. |
| August 6 – 9 | Field Trip – Pecos Conference near Mancos – 3-4 day trip – Contact Rusty |
| August 12 | SJBAS Meeting – James Davenport, Ph.D. |
| September 9 | SJBAS Meeting – “Organization of architectural labor at Betatakin and Keet Seel” presented by Katie Williams, Ph.D. |
| October 14 | SJBAS Meeting – “Agriculture in the Late Middle Archaic and Early Agricultural Period in Southern Arizona” presented by Joseph Birkmann, Ph.D. |
| November 11 | SJBAS Meeting – TBA |
| December | SJBAS Annual Meeting and Holiday Brunch |
SJBAS Field Trips – Safety and Responsibility
Participants in SJBAS field trips and activities are solely responsible for their own safety. SJBAS field trip organizers are untrained volunteers who plan, organize, and lead the trips, but have no special training or expertise in outdoor safety or hazards and are not responsible or liable for the personal welfare and safety of participants. Each participant is the only expert regarding his or her own abilities. Participants are solely responsible for choosing trips appropriate for their own physical and medical ability; for taking proper clothing, equipment, and provisions; for making appropriate decisions in response to terrain, elevation, and weather; and for understanding the inherent hazards of traveling in the outdoors (such as falls, lightning, hypothermia, heat stroke, dehydration, and injuries caused by others).
Field Trip Difficulty Ratings
Easygoing: Trip is suitable for members in reasonable health who have no problem walking on mostly smooth, relatively flat surfaces up to 1 mile. For example, touring a museum or pueblo, or participating in a walking tour in downtown Durango. Trips generally take place close to roads and support services.
Easy Active: Trip is suitable for active people in good health. Hikes are usually less than 3 miles on well-defined trails, with elevation gains and losses up to 250 feet. Trips generally take place within a few miles of roads, but not necessarily other support services.
Moderate: Trip is suitable for energetic, experienced hikers.Hikes may be up to 5 miles, mostly on established trails that can be rocky and steep in places, with elevation gains and losses up to 800 feet. Trips may take place in remote locations.
Hard: Trip is suitable only for physically fit, strong hikers. Hikes are generally strenuous, may be longer than 5 miles, may be on poorly defined trails or off-trail, with elevation gains and losses greater than 800 feet. Trips often take place in remote locations. Backpacking trips, by their very nature, would be considered “Hard.”
Length: Approximate total length of trip, whether out and back, loop, or through hike
Elevation: Approximate total elevation gain (in most cases there would be a corresponding elevation loss)