Field Trips: Field trips give members opportunities to experience specific aspects of archaeology such as visiting important field sites or museums. You must be a member in good standing to participate in field trips and sign a release waiver

Field Projects: Field projects are often conducted in cooperation with the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The projects allow members to work with professionals on historic preservation projects such as archaeological excavations and surveys, rock art recording, and historic structure reconstruction.

Upcoming Field Trips

    • 10 Jun 2023
    • 9
    Register

    Railroad Wars-Central Oregon

    Leaders: Leslie Olson, Dick Bryant

    Coordinator: Leslie Olson

    Saturday, June 10, 2023

    Time: 8:30 AM to 3 PM

    Registration Opens: 8 AM,  Saturday May 27

    Limited to 15 participants

    Visit various sites along the route Trout Creek-Mecca Flats-Madras-Metolius-Redmond.  Travel will be on secondary roads as much as possible, starting at Trout creek (north of Madras on 97 by Gateway) and working our way back to Redmond. Learn about the 1910-11 building of two competing railroad lines up the Deschutes River.   

    Meet at the Redmond Coffee Company, 3716 SW 21st Pl, Redmond, OR 97756, which is in the old Redmond Depot to start the trip. It has some nice historical information.


    Parking is limited at some stops, so we have a 15 participant limit.  If you decide to ride with someone else, you cannot leave your car at the Redmond Depot. You can leave your car at the Deschutes County Fairgrounds close by. The total driving distance is about 80 miles.

    There will be some walking involved. If you would like to walk on the old rail grade (now a hiking trail), be sure your shoes are comfortable and close toed. Be aware that these areas have ticks and rattlesnakes.

    Bring lunch or purchase along the way in Madras or Metolius. Remember your hat, sunscreen and water.





    • 24 Jun 2023
    • 20
    Registration is closed

    Hart Mountain & Long Lake Rock Art

    When: Saturday, June 24, 2023

    Lead: Bill Cannon,

    Coordinator: Darla Rozelle

    Signups begin online 8 AM: Saturday June 10,2023

    Participants: 20 (six vehicles)

    Overnight stay 1 or 2 nights (June 23 & 24 ) by Lakeview (camp or motel) with a daylong excursion on Saturday June 24 beginning at 8 AM (so travel to Lakeview on same day is not recommended). The trip is limited to 6 high clearance 4WD vehicles to and from the site. Darla will try to arrange ride sharing from Lakeview to and from the sites.


    Participants should contact the Lakeview Chamber of Commerce for lodging RV park information; phone number 541-947-6040. For campers, Bill recommended Camp Hart Campground. It is a former CCC camp, with no cost but is primitive.

    Field Trip to Hart Mountain from the ASCO archives by Pat Blue Heron with photos by Mary James.

    On June 15, 2015 20 ASCO members took an incredible trip with Bill Cannon. Bill has studied the 250 rock-art sites in the Hart Mountain/Lakeview area for over 40 years! This was a long day trip that afforded a great overview of the area.

    Rock Art on this part pf the Great Basin occurs as both pictographs and petroglyphs. Some of the rock pictures can be nearly 12,000 years old; others thousands. We visited Greaser Petroglyph Site, which is a very well preserved, large basalt boulder with dozens of images. This site, along with many others, has images that were made during different time periods.

    The highlight of the trip was a stop at Long Lake to see over 10,000 images that span the 2 ½ mile ridge. This area is what Bill describes as having been the “Safeway” supermarket to the Northern Paiutes, who collected the abundance of roots in the uplands, where there was once a pluvial lake. Bill calls this a gathering place for groups of Paiutes in a 200 mile radius, who sometimes walked 25 miles a day to shop at the “Safeway.” He talked about the panels, some of which were old figures long the soil line that were Pre-Mazama and found below two feet of ash.

    Bill talked about his interpretation of rock art representations and why he doesn’t subscribe to the theory that they were made in places where only male shamans went. He showed us, near the panels, numerous manos showing years of wear from use by women, as surfaces for grinding roots.

    I have often wondered if these were teaching sites, where children studied, while women did their work. I guess each of us can only imagine or guess.

    It was a great day for all, and we are grateful to Bill for taking us on a second field trip, the first being six years ago!



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