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ARCHEOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES FILL SUMMER CALENDAR

FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND AT CREEDE

FOURTH OF JULY WEEKEND AT CREEDE will find Vince Spero and Ken Frye of the San Juan/Rio Grande National Forests with a crew of volunteers conducting a test excavation for the Rio Grande Hotel Restoration Project, funded by a grant from the State Historical Fund. This structure, an example of an 1892 boarding house in a mining camp, is used for housing the Creede Repertory Theatre's crew. It is one of the few surviving buildings from Creede's early history due to a series of fires and floods. The Rio Grande Hotel is located on the west side of town above the park where Creede's Fourth of July events are held. The hotel is a tall, two-story building with brown wood siding, on the side of the ridge.

This project came about after a cut-bank revealed a refuse dump, possibly dating to the early years of the hotel's operation. Exposed artifacts have included bottle fragments, crockery, and other cultural materials. The area will be impacted during building restoration, and a grant proposal called for archaeological investigation of this area.
A limited number of local volunteers and SLV Archaeological Network members are needed for this excavation project, June 2-4. If you are interested in volunteering, please phone Vince Spero at 852-6242 (work) or 873-5916 (home). Visitors also will be welcome to view the work anytime during the three-day work schedule from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 5:00 p.m. daily.

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FIELD TRIP AT BONANZA

ON SATURDAY, JULY 17, A FIELD TRIP AT BONANZA will be led by Holly Felmlee. The tour group will meet at the Bonanza turn-off just north of Villa Grove at 1:00 p.m. and will travel up the Kerber Creek drainage. Bring water, extra sweaters or light jackets, and snacks. The tour will have stops at several mill sites, including the Cocomongo, the Bonanza and Exchequer cemeteries, and some old mine diggings, with a return to Villa Grove at about 5:30 p.m. Please keep children at your side around sites, many of which can be dangerous. For more information about the field trip, phone Holly at 589-4315.

The Saguache County Museum has received a Colorado Historical Fund grant to survey 10-15 min sites in the Bonanza area. The purpose is to determine the feasibility of surveying over 100 known sites in order to submit a nomination for Historic Landscape designation for the Bonanza Historic Mining District. This summer our member Holly Felmlee, who participated last year in the Forest Service's PIT project at Bonanza, will have an Eagle Scout, several Boy Scouts, and two other teen volunteers helping with the survey work during the week of July 13-17. They will be staying at the Brewery Creek Guard Station during the project while they learn about historical archaeology and also have some fun. Congratulations to Holly for developing this educational project, and thanks to her crew of boys!

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A FIELD TRIP ON FRIDAY, JULY 30, AT 10 A.M. AT LUDLOW

A FIELD TRIP ON FRIDAY, JULY 30, AT 10 a.m. AT LUDLOW, near Trinidad, is being organized through the courtesy of Mark Walker, director of the Archaeology of the 19131914 Colorado Coalfield War Project. We will visit both the Ludlow and the Berwind sites. To learn about this important project, please see the attached copy of its newsletter. Because of the field crew's work schedule, this trip will not take place during a weekend, with apologies to those who might be unable to attend as a result. Those attending will need water, lunches, sun protection, and walking shoes. Carpooling will be arranged for those who wish it. Those who plan to go should call Virginia Simmons at 657-2923 so that we will know if we have enough people to reserve the guided tour and to arrange carpooling. Virginia will be away from July 12 to July 21, so please phone her by July 10.
Up to date information can be found at http://www.du.edu/anthro/ludlow/cfarch.html

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Taos County Historical Society field trip

Thanks to our member Earl Casteel, Archeological Network members have been invited to attend a Taos County Historical Society field trip on Saturday, August 7. The group will be exploring prehistoric rock art at various sites in the Taos area. If you wish to attend this all day field trip, please call Connie Casteel after 6:30 a.m. at 589-2061 for further information. Be sure to let her know if you wish to attend, as the Taos group wants to know in advance how many of our members they might expect.

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TRINCHERA CAVE NEAR TRINIDAD

Vince Spero has been in touch with Mike Novak of Colorado College, who is project director of an archaeological investigation at Trinchera Cave near Trinidad. They will be scheduling a field trip to the cave sometime in September or early October. Information about this trip will be provided in our August newsletter.

COCHETOPA PASS STONE STRUCTURE

Also in the August newsletter, watch for Vince's report on the Cochetopa Pass Stone Structure Recording and Test Excavation Project. Led by Vince and Ken Frye, six of our PAAC trained members worked on this project June 10-12. It was sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, and our San Luis Valley Archaeological Network.

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