'Coso of the Mojave: Rock Art and Native Cultures'

Join Dr. Alan Garfinkel for the Crow Canyon Cultural Tour April 2-8, 2019. A Crow Canyon Archaeological Center initiative.

Crow Canyon Cultural Tour

See one of the densest concentration of rock art in North America and visit the Coso Region in the far southern Sierra Nevada, Kern Plateau, and western Mojave Desert. Explore the landscape through descendant community voices and Coso experts. Six days and nights all food, lodging, and admissions covered.

• Member: Single $3,445/ Shared $2,995
• Non-member: Single $2,570/ Shared $3,120

Crow Canyon Cultural Tour

Day 1 - Tuesday, April 2
Arrive in Bakersfield, California. Meet the group for introductions, a program orientation, and dinner with the group. Overnight, Bakersfield. D.

Day 2 - Wednesday, April 3
Begin your day with a journey to the southern Sierra Nevada towards Lake Isabella, the homeland of the Tubatulabal people. Stop along the way to visit palakuc, a prehistoric polychrome rock art site representing the largest rock painting in the region. Visit with and hear stories from indigenous community members at the Indian Cultural Center before ending the day with a behind-the-scenes tour at the Kernville and Nuii Cunni Museums, featuring Native American artifacts dating back to the first-known inhabitants of the area. Overnight, Kernville. BLD.

Day 3 - Thursday, April 4
Today, continue traveling into the southernmost reach of the Sierra Nevada to explore the 'Home of the Sun', an ancient solstice observatory and a nearby fertility cave. Opting for the back road adventure, you venture deeper into the mountains moving up to the high Sierra cresting at Chimney Meadows, an Archaic pinyon base camp with nearby pictographs. Descending the eastern scarp of the Sierra via Nine Mile Canyon you arrive on the valley floor of the Mojave Desert. Along the way, explore a variety of features important to the Coso culture, including short hikes to Fossil Falls and Red Hill. Drive to the mountain town of Tehachapi. Overnight, Tehachapi. BLD.

Crow Canyon Cultural Tour

Day 4 - Friday, April 5
Put on your hiking boots and set out for a full-day of hiking in Tomo-Kahni State Historic Park, an important spiritual landscape of the Kawaiisu people. End the day at the beautiful Tehachapi Heritage League Museum and admire their varied and unique exhibits including the new Kawaiisu Wing. Return to the hotel for cocktails and scholar presentations about what lies ahead. Overnight, Tehachapi. BLD.

Day 5 - Saturday, April 6
Today, you journey to Ridgecrest for another full-day of exploration with a visit to Little Petroglyph Canyon. Don?t let the name fool you. There are over 10,000 individual drawings carved into the basalt cliffs that date back to the Late Pleistocene and continue into the historic Contact Period. Access to these sites requires special permission from China Lake Naval Base. Naval base personnel will determine the location and duration of our visit. After a day outside, you head indoors for another behind-the-scenes tour of the Maturango Museum featuring a Coso Room exhibit. Overnight Ridgecrest. BL.

Crow Canyon Cultural Tour

Day 6 - Sunday, April 7
The final day of your Coso adventure begins in Red Rock Canyon State Park located in the western edge of the El Paso Mountains. Here, you develop a better understanding of how and why certain landscapes are so important to Coso cosmology at the Interpretive Center. Concluding the day, and the trip, with an excursion back to Bakersfield and a closing dinner celebration with your leaders, scholars, and fellow group members. Overnight, Bakersfield. BLD.

Day 7 - Monday, April 8
Depart from Bakersfield, California.

All enquiries, contact Dr. Alan Garfinkel:
avram1952@yahoo.com
or call:
800.422.8975 ext. 457