Afternoon: Road Scholar registration with your group leader in hotel lobby between 4:00 and 5:30 PM. You may check into the hotel anytime after 3:00 PM. [Please note that this is a preliminary itinerary only and is subject to change based upon local conditions.]

Dinner: Dinner from 6:00-7:00 PM in the hotel dining room

Evening: Program orientation and introductions in hotel meeting room from 7:00-8:30 PM.

Lodging: MCM Elegante

Meals Included: Dinner

Note: Standing for up to 30 minutes while on the tram

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining room from 7:00-8:00 AM

Morning: The morning will be devoted to classes about the geology in the Albuquerque area (mountains and surrounding high desert areas), about history of the area, how plant and animal life have developed and adapted within geological regions, and how human life, from early Native Americans to present day occupants in and around the city have adapted to the geology and climate.

Breaks every hour.

Lunch: Lunch in the hotel dining room from 12:15-1:15 PM

Afternoon: Enjoy a bus exploration of the city of Albuquerque and a ride on the Sandia Tram (2:00 pm visit scheduled) to the top of Sandia Peak, where you will be able to see for miles and miles. Your view will show you the incredibly diverse variety of geology in the immediate area. When you board the tram, you'll ascend 4,000 feet in about 15 minutes, gliding along the western face of the rugged granite-faced Sandia Mountains, eroded into spires, cliffs and pinnacles. The hardy pines, fir and spruce growing there are home to many different birds and other animals. Tram riders may see an eagle, a mule deer or perhaps a black bear as they look out the glass walls of the cable car into the deep canyons. From the top, you can see 11,000 square miles of the Land of Enchantment. To the west is a volcano field, to the north are other volcanic necks and plugs, to the northwest, Redondo Peak in the Jemez Mountains rises from a caldera known as Valle Grande, a volcanic crater reported to be the largest in the world. To the east lies the heavily wooded back side of the Sandias, and on the far horizon, the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and the capital city of Santa Fe. Farther to the south, the Estancia Valley and the Manzano Mountains frame the view. The summit is 10,378 feet in elevation and will give you an overview of an incredible amount of geology.

Dinner: Dinner at a local restaurant from 6:00-7:30 PM

Evening: Free evening for rest and socialization

Lodging: MCM Elegante

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Albuquerque Departure/Petroglyph National Monument at Boca Negra/Valley of Fires/Arrival In Alamogordo

Note: Walking up to two miles over hilly uneven terrain

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining room from 7:00-8:00 AM

Morning: Bus departs for Petroglyph National Monument at Boca Negra at 8:00 AM. Petroglyph National Monument protects a variety of cultural and natural resources, including volcanos, archeological sites and an estimated 20,000 carved images. Many of the images are recognizable as animals, people, brands and crosses, others are more complex. These images are inseparable from the cultural landscape, the spirits of the people who created, and who appreciate them. Afterwards, bus continues to Valley of Fires Recreation Area with a stop in Socorro, NM to pick up boxed lunches at El Camino Restaurant. Valley of Fires Recreation Area is located immediately adjacent to the Malpais Lava Flow. Approximately 5,000 years ago, Little Black Peak erupted and flowed 44 miles into the Tularosa Basin, filling the basin with molten rock. The resulting lava flow is four to six miles wide, 160 feet thick and covers 125 square miles. The lava flow is considered to be one of the youngest lava flows in the continental United States. From a distance, Valley of Fires appears as barren rock, but when you walk through the nature trail there are many varieties of flowers, cactus, trees and bushes typical of the Chihuahuan Desert. Animals living there include bats, roadrunners, quail, cottontails, mule deer, barberry sheep, and lizards. It's also a virtual birdwatcher's paradise with great horned owls, burrowing owls, buzzards, hawks, and gnat catchers.

Brunch: Boxed lunch at Valley of Fires recreation area

Afternoon: Bus travels from Valley of Fires to Alamogordo, New Mexico with several site visits in between. Bus will depart around 2:30 pm for Alamogordo. Check in at Best Western Desert Aire Hotel in Alamogordo.

Dinner: Dinner at Pepper's Grill

Evening: Free evening

Lodging: Best Western Desert Aire Hotel

Meals Included: Breakfast, Brunch, Dinner

Note: Walking up to two miles over hilly uneven terrain

Breakfast: Breakfast at the hotel and check out

Morning: Check out of the hotel and board bus by 8:30 AM. Pick up boxed lunches at Our Country Kitchen. You'll have a discussion of the area on borad the bus as it travels about the geologic history of the Alamogordo area. At 9:15 AM, you'll arrive at White Sands National Monument to explore the area. Lying at the northern end of the Chihuahuan Desert is a mountain-ringed valley called the Tularosa Basin. Rising from the heart of this basin is White Sands, one of the world's great natural wonders. Here, great wave-like dunes of gypsum sand have engulfed 275 square miles of desert and have created the world's largest gypsum dune field. The brilliant white dunes are ever-changing: growing, cresting, then slumping, but always advancing. Within the extremely harsh environment of the dune field, even plants and animals adapted to desert conditions struggle to survive. Only a few species of plants grow rapidly enough to survive burial by the moving dunes. Several types of small animals have evolved with a white coloration that camouflages them in the gypsum sand.

Lunch: Boxed lunch at the monument

Afternoon: Board the bus at 12:30 PM and travel on to Carlsbad. The bus will make several stops, and your study guide will point out various geological features of the landscape. Check in at Days Inn around 4:15 PM.

Dinner: Bus departs to take you to dinner at 5:00 PM. Dinner at the Trinity Hotel restaurant; you'll be able to select from a large number of menu options. After dinner, there will be a geology lecture at the hotel.

Lodging: Days Inn Carlsbad

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Walking up to two miles over hilly uneven terrain

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining area

Morning: Bus will depart for Carlsbad Caverns with arrival at 8:30 AM. There will be a brief orientation followed by a walk through the Caverns. The Caverns, as well as numerous other caves, exist within a Permian-age fossil reef. The Civilian Conservation Corps built many of the structures in the park, and today, the caverns, with their incredible formations of limestone, are highly accessible to tourists. Participants will walk through the Caverns with a Park Ranger.

Lunch: Lunch Caverns cafeteria. You'll take the elevator up from the Big Room, have lunch, then go back down into the Caverns on the elevator to continue your visit.

Afternoon: After the walk through the Caverns, the group will return to ground level via elevator, and will explore the lovely Visitors' Center. Bus returns to the hotel at 3:30 PM.

Dinner: Dinner at Red Chimney Pit Barbecue

Evening: Free evening

Lodging: Days Inn Carlsbad

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Walking up to two miles over hilly uneven terrain

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining area from 7:00-8:00 AM. Box lunches will be picked up or delivered around 8:15 AM.

Morning: The bus leaves for Guadalupe Mountains National Park at 8:30 AM. This park contains the southern end of the Guadalupe Mountains, an isolated range surrounded in all directions by desert. The mountains are part of an ancient fossilized reef which also includes the Carlsbad Caverns - a huge limestone formation. The high country has much exposed rock with fossils, and a climate typical of lands much further north, with pine, fir and aspen trees and animals such as elk, mountain lions, and even black bears. You'll enjoy some trail walks and a ranger program in and around the Visitors' Center.

Lunch: Boxed lunch at the Park

Afternoon: Continue exploring Guadalupe Mountains National Park. At 3:00 PM, bus will return to the hotel. Rest period at the hotel from 4:00-5:00 PM.

Dinner: Board bus at 5:00 PM for a trip to the No Whiner Diner where you'll have dinner from 5:30-7:00 PM. This restaurant is fun and the food is good - it's one of Carlsbad residents' favorite restaurants. You'll have an extensive number of options from which to choose.

Evening: Free evening for rest and relaxation

Lodging: Days Inn Carlsbad

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Note: Standing at the museum

Breakfast: Breakfast in hotel dining area from 7:00-8:00 AM and hotel check-out.

Be prepared to have your luggage at the bus no later than 8:15 AM for an 8:30 AM departure.

Morning: After breakfast and hotel check-out, bus departs for Albuquerque at 8:30 AM.

With several stops on the way, you'll travel to Roswell and visit the Roswell Museum and Art Center from 10:00 AM until 11:30 AM.

At 11:30, bus travels to lunch destination.

Lunch: Lunch from 11:45 AM to 12:45 PM at Roswell's Golden Corral

Afternoon: Bus continues on to Albuquerque at 12:45 PM. Total travel time is approximately 4 hours.

There will be videos shown on the bus. Arrive at MCM Elegante Hotel at approximately 5:00 pm for check-in.

Dinner: Dinner from 6:30-8:00 PM in the hotel dining room.

Closing comments from participants, study guide, and group leader end the evening.

Lodging: MCM Elegante

Meals Included: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Buffet-style breakfast in hotel dining area and departure. Hotel check-out is no later than 12:00 pm.

Breakfast: Buffet reakfast in the hotel dining room any time between 7:00-9:00 AM

Morning: Departure after breakfast. Check-out time is 12:00 noon.

Hotel provides free shuttle service to Albuquerque Sunport and Amtrak Station with advance reservations.

Meals Included: Breakfast