2023 tours (get on the mailing list for updates)

March 28–April 2, 2023 • AZ and NM Through the Ages • with Neil Mangum

Beginning and ending in Phoenix, we’ll take five days and five nights for an eclectic, whirlwind tour of natural and historic sites, including many locations associated with the Apache Wars, see ancient ruins of Ancestral Puebloans, visit present-day Pueblos, and enjoy a cultural program on the White Mountain Apache Reservation. We’ll plan our trip to take in the Trinity Test Site, where the first nuclear device was detonated (only open to the public two days per year), and the El Morro National Monument. Natural history highlights will include visits to the Grand Canyon, the Petrified Forest and Painted Desert, and the Sunset Meteor Crater.
Grand Canyon, photo by Carol Highsmith (LoC)

MAY 16-20, 2023 • Walk the Wilderness and Spotsylvania, with Gordon Rhea

Gordon will lead the group on foot over every mile of trail (or nearly so) on the Wilderness and Spotsylvania battlefields (two days for each battlefield). We'll view this hallowed ground from the perspective of the soldiers who fought there. Walks include the Wilderness Crossing Trail (1.5 miles), Gordon Flank Attack Trail (2.1 miles), Vermont Monument Trail (0.4 miles), Widow Tapp Farm Trail (1 mile), Federal Line Trail (7.2 miles); Bloody Angle Trail (1.1 miles), Spotsylvania History Trail (5.7 miles). 

JULY 19–23, 2023 • Hoofprints in History: Jeb Stuart from Brandy Station to Gettysburg  (Gettysburg 160th), with LBG Chris Army
Over 5 days, we'll follow the route of J.E.B. Stuart's Confederate cavalry from the Battle of Brandy Station, to the fighting at Gettysburg's East Cavalry Field. ​Chris, a Gettysburg Licensed Battlefield Guide, is a tremendous guide who will lead us to many spots that are difficult to find on one's own. We'll cap off this unique roadtrip with a tour of the Gettysburg battlefield. 

AUGUST 10 to 13, 2023 (Klamath Falls, Oregon)
The Modoc War of 1872-73 (150th anniversary)

Based in Klamath Falls, Oregon, the tour will spend two days on the Modoc War of 1872-73, culminating in the fighting at Captain Jack's Stronghold and Thomas-Wright Battlefield in today's Lava Beds National Monument (California). The Modoc War was among the costliest wars in U.S. history, and the only time during the Indian Wars that a general officer in the U.S. army was killed. Besides the battlefield, Lava Beds NM preserves an array of geologic wonders, including lava flows and lava tubes. 

SEPTEMBER 28 to October 1, 2023 (Billings, Montana)
Little Bighorn Symposium and Tours

Over four fall days at the DoubleTree Hotel in Billings, Montana, we are bringing together many of the foremost scholars, authors, historians, and guides working on the Battle of the Little Bighorn today. The event will include a full schedule of presentations in the hotel ballroom, book sales and signings, and screenings of select films. During the weekend, a number of guided tours (via motor coach from Billings) will be conducted at the Little Bighorn and Rosebud battlefields. 

OCTOBER 11–16, 2023 (El Paso, Texas)
Bad to the Bone: Outlaws & Gunslingers of the Southwest, with Neil Mangum

Beginning and ending in El Paso, retired National Park Service historian Neil Mangum will lead us on an adventure in the tracks of John Wesley Hardin, Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Elfego Baca, Pancho Villa, and the legends of Tombstone. 

NOVEMBER 2–5, 2023 • The Campaign for Vicksburg (160th), with Terry Winschel

Over three days, longtime Vicksburg National Military Park historian Terry Winschel will tell the tale of Ulysses S. Grant's efforts to capture the Confederate citadel. We'll follow Grant's troops as they crossed the river below Vicksburg and fought a series of battles including Port Gibson, Raymond, Champion Hill, and the Big Black River. Special attention will be given to the May assaults against the formidable Vicksburg defenses. A visit to the salvaged remains of the gunboat, U.S.S. Cairo, completes the tour.