2015 Tour to New Mexico, Texas, and the

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN
Prof. Richard Little’s
FANTASTIC LANDSCAPE TOUR
TO
NEW MEXICO & WEST TEXAS
“CAVES, GYPSUM DUNES,
And the Rio Grande’s
BIG BEND”
MARCH 10 – 22, 2015
Dunes & Caves
Cost = $2790 per person / dbl. occ’y.
Travel will be via 12 person van, with 6 passengers.
Start and finish
You will be impressed by these AMAZING LANDSCAPES
with beauty and geologic stories that will leave you
awestruck. We have reservations at the only lodge IN
Big Bend National Park and we have the last ones
available for these coveted spring dates.
Big Bend
The Itinerary:
---This is a new itinerary for us, so we all will be experiencing new things. Exciting!---
Day 1. March 10 -- Arrival Day -- Lodging (next 3 nights) at the DoubleTree by Hilton. This hotel has a great location with
walking distance to El Paso’s city attractions and Rio Grande park. Day 2 & Day 3. March 11 & 12 -- Exploration of El Paso’s
landscape and city scape. Walk to Ciudad Juarez (much safer than previous years) an
option. Exact itineraries for these days will be discussed later.
Day 4. March 13 -Today we head 90 miles north to Alamogordo, the gateway town to White Sands National
Monument. There will be sunset dune explorations. Overnight at the Fairfield Inn
(Marriott).
Day 5. March 14 -- We will plan a morning visit to the dunes for photos
and perhaps a slide down a slip face. Then for the afternoon we will proceed to Carlsbad,
about 150 mi away. Lodging for the next two nights at the Carlsbad Fairfield Inn. We will
check to see if the bats are active. It is quite a sight to see them exit the cave, but it is a
bit early for them….still too cold, probably.
Day 6. March 15 -- Today is Carlsbad
Caverns day. We will head underground along one of the National Park Service’s tour
routes. The “Big Room” trip is recommended. It has a one mile or ½ mile option. Back to Carlsbad for the night.
Day 7. March 16 -- Travel day to Alpine, TX. It’s a scenic, rural 200 mile trip, as we cross through the Guadalupe Mts National
Park of West Texas. Guadelupe Peak is the highest point in Texas at 8,700 feet. Overnight at the Hilton Hampton Inn, Alpine.
Day 8 -9 -10 -11. March 17 -20 -- It’s into Big Bend National Park for four nights at the Chisos Mt. Lodge, the only lodge in the
Park. There are many itineraries here: interesting hiking trails of varying difficulty, the Rio Grande shoreline, and exploration of this
rural, dramatic, and geologically interesting region. We will see sedimentary layers cut by faults and then impacted by volcanic
processes: volcanic ash, intrusions of magma, and lava flows. Erosion has carved great canyons and deposition has filled valley
bottoms and piled alluvial fans against mountain slopes. The mountains and valleys support a grand range of biologic diversity and
we should see spring flowers making their appearance before the summer heat sets in. As the National Park Service states: Big
Bend is “a place in Far West Texas where night skies are dark as coal and rivers carve temple-like canyons in ancient limestone. Here,
at the end of the road, hundreds of bird species take refuge in a solitary mountain range surrounded by weather-beaten desert.
Tenacious cactus bloom in sublime southwestern sun, and diversity of species is the best in the country. This magical place is Big
Bend.” (N.P.S. web site) And we have the last rooms available at the lodge -- booked a year in advance! Day 12. March 21.
Today is the scenic travel day back to El Paso. 330 miles. Overnight at the DoubleTree Hotel (or plan your flight for home this
evening). Day 13. March 22. Flight home.
THE COST: only $2790 Per person / double occupancy + air
Includes: First Class Lodging, Transportation by 12 passenger van (with 6 passengers), Experienced Tour Leader, Guide
Book, Pre and Post Trip Meetings, Video Record of Trip. The cost does not include: air fare, food, gas, and costs of parking
and entrance fees to parks, etc. Gas, etc., costs will be divided amongst the group members.
Who is your tour leader? Richard Little (pictured in Death Valley
pointing out geology stories) is professor emeritus of geology at
Greenfield Community College, author of 2 books and 2 videos on
Connecticut Valley geology, and has been elected to the Mass. Science
Educator Hall of Fame. He has been leading “Fantastic Landscapes”
tours since 1981. His wife, Suzanne, the “flower person”, is a former
teacher and social worker.
To Enroll
Send $100 per person deposit (check to “Earth View LLC),
6 Grand View Ln, Easthampton, MA 01027-1075)
For questions or more information, contact Prof. Little by phone or email.
Deposit is Fully Refundable until Feb. 1, 2015. FINAL PAYMENT DUE Feb. 1, 2015
Cancellation fees: after Feb. 1st = $50 pp; after Mar. 1st other cancellation fees may apply due to
hotel policies.
www.EarthView.Pair.com RDLittle2000@aol.com (413) 527-8536