“Ancient Relics,” 7:30 pm Wednesday, May 21, at Fuller Lodge

For those who like to get off the beaten path there are endless discoveries awaiting in the desert southwest.

Outdoor adventurist Dave Rice has spent more than 50 years exploring the outdoors and following his interest in Native American archaeology. At the May meeting of the Los Alamos Mountaineers, Rice will describe several sites that are easily accessible from Los Alamos and the discoveries a visitor might find there.

Rice has been involved in almost every non-motorized adventure sport there is, including rock climbing, rafting, mountain biking, and hiking. Any time he is in the backcountry, whether exploring a slot canyon or taking a foray into the desert, he is guided by his interest in Native American archeology. 

Rice is a certified river rafting guide and has done dozens of trips on the San Juan, Green, Yampa, Gunnison, and Colorado rivers. Many of his photographs of ancient Native American sites come from exploring side canyons on these river trips.  His explorations have been in the four corners area, as well as upper Utah, southern Wyoming, Southeast Colorado and areas farther afield in New Mexico and Arizona.

Over the years Rice has been to hundreds of sites and has taken thousands of pictures, most of which are of sites in the Four Corners area.  In "Ancient Relics" his photos will show and he will describe sites that adventuring Los Alamosans could visit.

Rice is an urban planner and currently lives on the Western slope in Delta County, Colorado.

The Los Alamos Mountaineers, founded in 1952, promotes a variety of outdoor-oriented activities. For information on the Mountaineers and upcoming trip opportunities, including canyoneering, skiing, hiking, biking and horse-packing, please visitlamountaineers.org