White Sands & Saguaros-NM & AZ Apr 28-May 2, 2025-2 spots
Tuition - $1895 (Deposit $500) (Does not include meals, lodging, rental car, airfare or gratuity. )
Although the southern Southwest of the US is desert country, it is amazingly photogenic. In this area resides 2 lesser-known national parks -- White Sands and Saguaro National Parks.
The giant saguaros are the universal symbol of the American west and are found only in a small portion of the United States, surrounding the Tucson, AZ area. These massive cacti will astound you with their sheer prevalance and stature in this national park.
And a few hours east of Saguaro sits one of the world's great natural wonders - the glistening white sands of New Mexico. Great white wave-like dunes of gypsum create the world's largest gypsum dunefield. White Sands National Park preserves another of one of the Southwest's most beautiful and photogenic locations.
But we don't stop there. Along the way we will visit historic Tombstone, AZ for some history and, of course, more photography. And then we polish off the week with a visit along the El Paso Mission Trail before we fly home with our week's cache of fabulous photos.
This workshop starts with an introductory meeting Monday April 28th at 8pm in the Tucson Holiday Inn Express and ends around 3pm in El Paso, TX on May 2nd.
(No refunds for cancellations after November 1, 2024 unless there is someone on the waitlist who can take your place. For this reason, we strongly suggest travel insurance for non-refundable fees.)
Airports:
There are 2 options for air travel:
1) Fly in to Tucson, AZ on April 28th and out of El Paso, TX on May 2nd or 3rd. This schedule is the most efficient as we start the workshop in Tucson with an introductory 8PM meeting on April 28th, and then we finish up in El Paso the afternoon of May 2nd.
(You may need to fly out on the 3rd)
OR
2) Fly round-trip into and out of El Paso, TX. It is a 4 1/2 hour drive to Tuscon where we start the workshop with a PM meeting on the 28th, and then we finish up in El Paso the afternoon of May 2nd.
(You may need to fly out on the 3rd)
(No need to schedule stopping by Tombstone on your way as that is included in the workshop)
RENTAL CAR:
All major rental car companies can be found at either of these airports.
PLEASE NOTE: There is a bit of driving in the middle of the trip. This workshop will require about a 4 1/2 drive when transferring to White Sands National Park.
LODGING - BOOK the Following 2 Hotels
Holiday Inn Express
2548 E Medina Rd
Tucson, AZ 85756
(520) 889-6600
Book: April 28 & 29
(also book April 27 if flying on the 28th won't get you to the introductory meeting in time on the 28th)
Holiday Inn Express
100 Kerry Ave
Alamogordo, NM 88310
(575) 434-9773
Book: April 30, May 1
(Note: the workshop ends in El Paso, TX on the 2nd. If you do not want to fly out on the 2nd, be sure to book a hotel of your choice in El Paso for the night of the 2nd....my choice being Holiday Inn Express El Paso Airport)
For this Workshop:
Weather - The weather in the southwest is generally dry and sunny, but not always. Temps vary between chilly in the morning and evening and warm in during the day. Be sure to bring warm clothing and outerwear (including gloves and hats) for sunrise and sunset shoots as windy summits can be fairly cold at different times of day.
Activity Level - This workshop requires hiking on sand dunes. Most of the sand is somewhat hard packed and fairly easily walkable, but there are areas of loose sand on an incline or decline. You will need to be able to walk about 2 miles round trip in the sand.
Accessories - We do not require that you purchase any specific equipment for this workshop. With that said, however, we do recommend that you bring a circular polarizer for each of your lenses for this workshop.
