Sometimes we avocational archaeologists are keen to participate in an official archaeological excavation but cannot afford the fees nor tolerate a month's tent-camping in hot, pestiferous conditions. Or possess the gear and the nerves of steel to scuba dive in a pitch black cenote. [Photo by Melisa French via Archaeology Magazine.]

A gentle reminder, Dear Reader, ICYMI the first time:

Please embiggen this photo by clicking on it. What you see is a recently-built, recently-used fire pit someone erected when they visited an archaeological site located on public land. They pulled stones out of a 1000-year-old pueblo wall to build up their fire ring nice and neat. Baffling, how often this happens around here and around the world, so following are some protips for campers visiting sensitive sites:

Each year, Giving Tuesday kicks off the international holiday and end-of-year charitable season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. In 2019, that Tuesday falls on December 3. Tomorrow, that is. Typepad - our website's blogging platform  - will announce our nonprofit charitable organization in a social media blast associated with Giving Tuesday.

This is our first time participating in Giving Tuesday. From 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, everyone is invited to donate generously to the GCAS to support the educational programs, library, and general funding we provide in furtherance of our mission of preservation and protection of our region's historic, cultural, and archaeological resources.

Each year, Giving Tuesday kicks off the international holiday and end-of-year charitable season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. In 2019, that Tuesday falls on December 3. On December 3, 2019, Typepad - our website's blogging platform  - will announce our nonprofit charitable organization as part of a social media blast associated with Giving Tuesday.

This is the GCAS's first time participating in Giving Tuesday. From 12:01 AM to 11:59 PM on Tuesday, December 3, 2019, everyone is encouraged to donate to the GCAS to support the educational programs, library, and general funding we provide in furtherance of our mission of preservation and protection of our region's historic, cultural, and archaeological resources.

On December 3, 2019, Typepad - the blogging platform on which this GCAS website reaches out to all of cyberspace - will announce our nonprofit charitable organization as part of a social media blast associated with Giving Tuesday. Each year, Giving Tuesday kicks off the international holiday and end-of-year charitable season on the Tuesday following Thanksgiving. In 2019, that Tuesday falls on December 3.

Due to inclement weather, the Stout Elementary School has had to CANCEL their planned visit to the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site today, November 22, 2019. We thank all the volunteers who kindly offered to help make this trip a success. We'll see you all next time!

/s/ webmaster

Due to inclement weather, the Stout Elementary School has had to CANCEL their planned visit to the Mimbres Culture Heritage Site on Friday, November 22, 2019. We thank all the volunteers who kindly offered to help make this trip a success. We'll see you all next time!

/s/ webmaster

Today's Guest Blogger, GCAS President Kyle Meredith, introduces the Featured Speaker at our next GCAS general meeting on November 20, 2019:

Greg Conlin is the current GCAS Vice President in charge of Field Trips. He has been active in our group for almost 15 years, including the NM SiteWatch program, for which he is currently Site Steward for the Woodrow Ruin. He assists with our educational programs and has volunteered for professional excavations in the Gila/Mimbres area. He was a 2019 recipient of the Richard A. Bice Award for Archaeological Achievement presented by the Archaeological Society of New Mexico. For many of the past several years he has spent time traveling throughout the Andes in Ecuador, Peru, and northern Chile. His adventures take him well off the beaten path to places that most tourists have never heard of. His travelogues include photographs of sites that predate the Inca culture and give us a glimpse of ancient empires (and today's rural lifestyles) largely ignored by popular tourism.

Everyone is invited to come to the November 20 GCAS general meeting beginning at 6:00 PM at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City, New Mexico. Light refreshments will be provided. After the meeting, Greg will tell us about what lies "Beyond Machu Picchu: a Travelogue of Pre-Columbian Architecture in Peru." We'll see you there!

/s/ wemaster

The GCAS proudly donated funds to the Southwest New Mexico Audubon Society in partnership with the Mimbres Region Arts Council Youth Mural Program, to support their latest civic educational and beautification project. The mural was dedicated to the public on October 26, 2019. As the Southwest New Mexico Audubon Society describes,

The mural theme, “Plants, Pollinators and Climate Change,” was proposed by SWNM Audubon and designed by Aldo Leopold High School art students, under the direction of teacher Alison Phillips, with input from supporting organizations and based on original photographs by Elroy Limmer. Mimbreño designs bridge past with present, the border consists of blue to red stripes depicting global temperature changes over the last 100 years.

Today's Guest Blogger is our very own GCAS President, Kyle Meredith, accompanied by Guest Photographer and GCAS Field Trip Coordinator, Greg Conlin. Together they report on a very satisfying visit to the Fort Bowie National Historic Site in southeastern Arizona:

We couldn’t have asked for better weather on our field trip to Ft. Bowie. Greg and Josh and Kyle arrived at the Tyrone parking lot way too early, but were gratified when new member, David Burr, and veteran member, Janet DeLoache, showed up for the adventure. We were all able to fit into one car (with Greg’s little dog Layla) and arrived at the trailhead ready for lunch before heading up the trail. We traveled as a pack, each asking questions and sharing our observations about the vegetation, landscape, and signage on the loop to and from the fort.