The Archaeology of Perry Mesa

Join AAHS for a two-day tour of sites atop Perry Mesa with Connie Stone and R.E. Burrillo.

Travel and Accomodations: this a two-day event where attendees have the option of coming for one or the other or both.

• Motels are scarce in the immediate vicinity, with the closest ones being in Black Canyon City to the south or Cordes Lakes to the north.
• Dispersed camping is also available all over the top of Perry Mesa, so people who want to attend both days are encouraged to camp. High clearance and/or 4WD are necessary to reach all of the locations for the planned visit, so it will be crucial to plan for carpooling once the list of attendees is finalized. 
• Travel to the Perry Mesa vicinity from Phoenix takes about 45 minutes, and from Tucson about 2.5 hours. 

Sites and Locales: this is a two-day trip where attendees have the option of joining us for one or both of the days. 

• Day One (Saturday) will take place in Agua Fria National Monument, with retired BLM archaeologist Connie Stone leading folks on a tour of locations to be decided within the monument. We will all meet at 9:00 that morning at Badger Springs where there is an enormous parking lot to chat with each other, meet Connie and learn a bit about the monument, and plan for things like carpooling before we depart. This will be the easiest day in terms of hiking, no more than a few miles total. 
• Day Two (Sunday) will take place atop Perry Mesa, with researcher and AAHS trip director R.E. Burrillo leading folks on a tour of three major population centers. We will all meet at 9:00 that morning at the juncion of Copper Creek and Bloody Basin Roads atop the mesa (see map below) to chat with each other, meet R.E. and learn a bit about the places we'll be visiting, and plan for things like carpooling before we depart. This will be the toughest day in terms of hiking, probably totaling around eight miles, although it will consist entirely of walking around three major archaeological sites so folks can move at their own pace and skip over any areas they don't want to attempt. 

Trip attendance is limited to a maximum of 20 people including the trip leaders, and a waitlist has been created. There is no cost to attend but donations are accepted and greatly appreciated. We will also not be providing food or transportation, in order to help keep these trips free for members. 

If you have any comments or need additional clarification, feel free to email the AAHS Field Trips Committee at AAHSFieldTrips@gmail.com.