I really like traveling with Crow Canyon Archaeological Center (CCAC) Cultural Explorations (CE). The staff (David,Adam, and this time, Tyson) is excellent - from planning the trips to getting us to our departures, the days were full, and the Indigenous and Archaeological scholars provided deep meaningful on-site information. I always find out new things, perspectives, and I get to go to rarely seen places. The practice of lifelong learning is enhanced with the CE trips. On this particular trip we visited Pecos, Taos, and Picuris Pueblos and the Jicarilla Apache lands. Of course, we learned some of the history, met several leaders of pueblos, traveled miles, shared impressions, and had pleasant evenings of sleep in hotels or a teepee (recommended). Travel was through some of the best scenery one can imagine - hills, valleys, overlooks, lakes, back roads and towns of New Mexico; travel that crossed the Rio Grande and the Continental Divide a number of times. The pueblos are alive with culture and economies. The missions (original or rebuilt) hold some of the story of the Spanish and Mexican eras. The US history and governance (some not positive) is still being reviewed, acknowledged, and written. In Dulce, while I did not see UFOs/UAPs or Bigfoot, I did learn about basket-making from harvest to finished product and was able to see pottery creation from the raw clay to a before-firing state. Did I mention teepees? Cool construction, sleeping under the Milky Way, listening to coyotes and dogs, and I ate stew with blue flour fry bread while listening to Native American stories from Bryan. A remarkable, memorable, and inspiring journey in miles and looking back into the history of some of the southwest. The new vans were comfortable and quiet enough to allow conversations 3 rows deep. They also handled the hail storm well. Thank you, CCAC!

Amazing trip. Crow Canyon got us into places and gave us access to people we just would nit have had otherwise. It was a once in a lifetime experience. The staff were just too rate.

A true privilege to visit such wonderful sites. Great food, great bikes, great people, the best guides, a truly marvelous experience.

I appreciated learning more about Ute culture and Ute lands. The Puebloan sites were phenomenal and an interesting contrast to the developed sites at Mesa Verde. Our indigenous educators added so much to the experience. Adam, David, and Ben provided great support to us all. Tamara/David and Tammy and crew fed us well and the individual hogans paired with the community Scholar House worked well.

What a great trip! As usual, Adam, David, Ben, Becky and Dave made sure everyone's needs were met and their attention to detail was much appreciated. Biking and hiking in the Tribal Park was an awesome experience. The sites we saw and Becky's, Lyle's and Ritchie's knowledge and stories were excellent. I appreciate all their sharing, especially Becky's excitement in showing us her homeland. I had traveled with most of the group before and experiencing the landscape with them is a truly special experience. While I know such a small group is not economical, it allowed for more connectedness. Being in the Tribal Park had a very similar feeling to being in the Bears Ears. The remoteness, camping in the landscape and learning from the scholars was the perfect triade. If this trip was offered again, my preference would be to camp in the Tribal Park for the entire week. There is so much to explore and being the in the landscape allows more immersion into the culture. It also allows more time to connect with participants and scholars. Kudos to Adam and all the CC staff for putting this trip together. I know its hard work and I appreciate it. Please continue to have Lyle as a scholar and all the young Natives I've traveled with: Ritchie, Autry, Nate, and Stewart. I know I've left someone out but including young Native men and women is imperative to all cultural exploration trips. I'm looking forward to the 2027 trips and hope there will be more camping options especially to the Bears Ears and back in the Ute Tribal Park.