NOTE: Limited to 15 people.  To RSVP, sign up here.  Caravan and carpool from GSEP office to Calf Creek Recreation Area. Day use fee of $5/vehicle to be paid onsite – bring cash. No pets please.

 

Water is a precious commodity in the deserts of the northern Southwest, and plays a key role in settlement patterns and use strategies across the greater Escalante cultural landscape from earliest antiquity right up to the present. This talk will very briefly cover the pre-Contact cultural history of the area with an emphasis on Fremont rock art and food-storage strategies.

 

HIKING INFO: Hike along the Lower Calf Creek Falls Trail.  Hike is 6 miles roundtrip going up and back in the bottom of the canyon. While there is shade along the way, many stretches are in full sun.  Hike is moderately strenuous with sections of sand and a few rock ledges. Hike is not universally accessible.

 

WHAT TO BRING:

• sturdy hiking shoes
• snacks/lunch
• at least 2 liters of water
• sunscreen, sunglasses, and hat
• binoculars

Ralph “R.E.” Burrillo is an archaeologist, author, and conservation advocate for the American Southwest. His writing has appeared in Archaeology Southwest, Colorado Plateau Advocate, The Salt Lake Tribune, Blue Mountain Shadows, The Moab Times, The Navajo-Hopi Observer, Kiva, The Gulch, The Dust, The Archaeological Record, Flag Live, The San Juan Record, and Southwestern Lore. He is also the author of Behind the Bears Ears: Exploring the Cultural and Natural Histories of a Sacred Landscape, which was chosen by ForeWord Book Reviews as their critic’s choice in nonfiction for the year 2020; and The Backwoods of Everywhere: Words from a Wandering Local. Both books are available at regional booksellers or online at Torrey House Press. He currently works as a project manager for PaleoWest, and splits his time between Scottsdale and Flagstaff, AZ.