Mysterious Mojave Learning Expedition

March 15–21, 2015

Come and explore the mysteries of the Mojave Desert with Arizona State Museum…from Clovis to Elvis!

High and dry, the Mojave Desert is located at the intersection of Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah.  Cold winters, hot summers, and less than 13 inches of rainfall a year mean that not much more than Joshua trees dot this stark landscape.  Despite its inhospitable appearance, people have called this desert home since the arrival of humans in the Americas and continue to do so in grand fashion—just look at Las Vegas, an entire universe unto itself!  With a long and dynamic history that is often shrouded in ambiguity, Las Vegas provides the ideal setting for the tour's home base, as we take an evocative trip into the past while reveling in contemporary globalization.

Arizona State Museum experts will lead you on a five day experience of this enigmatic place and explain the archaeology, history, and modern cultural phenomena that have shaped the region for millennia.

You will discover ancient petroglyphs and pueblos, visit old mining towns full of ghosts and hungry donkeys, walk in the footsteps of early Spanish and Mormon explorers, drive old Route 66, explore legendary Death Valley, all while learning about the cultural and ecological diversity that marks this complex landscape.

Full Itinerary Coming Soon!

$2,100.00 per person for non ASM members ($400 tax deductible)
$2,000.00 per person for ASM members ($300 tax deductible)
$450 single supplement
**Participants are responsible for their own transportation to and from our Las Vegas hotel.**
Registration fee includes lodging, motor coach transportation from our home base in Las Vegas, all breakfasts, all lunches, two reception dinners, snacks and beverages on board the motor coach, all entry fees, all gratuities. A minimum of 20 persons/30 persons maximum.

Register Today!

Print and mail in the registration form: Sign-up Form (PDF requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Or you may call Darlene Lizarraga at 520-626-8381 to reserve by phone with your credit card.

Arizona State Museum's Payment and Refund Policy

• 50% deposit due at time of reservation.
• 100% refund possible >60 days prior to departure date.
• Payment in full due at least 60 days prior to departure.
• Gift portion only refunded 59–30 days prior to departure date.
• No refund <29 days prior to departure date. Amount becomes tax-deductible gift to ASM.

Your Guides

Michael M. Brescia, Ph.D. is associate curator of ethnohistory at Arizona State Museum and associate professor of history at the University of Arizona where he teaches courses on Mexico, comparative North America, and world history. He has conducted research in archives and rare book libraries in Mexico and Spain on the living legacies of Spanish water law in the southwestern United States and religious identities in colonial Mexico. He has published books that address the broader dimensions of the Mexican historical experience, including its more comparative features.

James T. Watson , Ph.D. is assistant curator of bioarchaeology at Arizona State Museum and assistant professor of anthropology at the University of Arizona. His research examines health and disease in prehistoric populations through skeletal remains. He is specifically interested in understanding prehistoric human adaptations in desert ecosystems and the role local resources play in the adoption of agriculture and their impact on health. Current projects involve the excavation and analysis of the earliest farmers in the Sonoran Desert and of incipient agriculturalists in the Atacama Desert, along the northern coast of Chile. Jim has worked excavating archaeological sites in Sonora for the past decade and has contributed greatly to the preservation of its cultural resources. His research has been published in a variety of scholarly journals.

Your Host

Arizona State Museum’s scholars and extensive collections are among the most significant resources in the world for the study of Southwest peoples. Arizona State Museum is Arizona’s premier research museum, the oldest and largest anthropology museum in the Southwest (est. 1893), home of the world's largest collections of Southwest Indian pottery and American Indian basketry, and a Smithsonian Institution affiliate. Your support of our programs helps us continue our work. Thank you!

Image credits:
Map of Mohave Desert from National Park Service
Other images by ASM staff

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