Sustainability and Food Study Day
at Los Poblanos

10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

$350 per person; limited to 25 people

Spend a day at Los Poblanos, a beautiful 25-acre property and organic farm located in Los Ranchos de Albuquerque, an hour south of Santa Fe. You’ll have the opportunity to hear from leading writers and thinkers working in sustainability, food, and agriculture. Sessions will include James Beard Award–winning author Deborah Madison in conversation with Nicolette Hahn Niman, author of Defending Beef, as they talk about whether meat production and consumption can be sustainable. Chef and Native foods educator Freddie Bitsoie will be on hand to talk about the role chefs and the food industry can make in creating a more sustainable food system. And Los Poblanos’ director of horticulture, Wes Brittenham, will talk about the challenges of arid farming and how they’re creating a blueprint for sustainable growing in the Southwest. The day will include three sessions with lots of opportunity for asking questions, a three-course lunch created by Los Poblanos’ award-winning Campo restaurant, and a farm tour, and will wrap up with a cocktail demonstration showing how Los Poblanos turns herbs and botanicals into drinks.

If you want to extend your stay, you can book a room or spa treatments at Los Poblanos for a truly memorable getaway.  

Indigenous Voices and Perspectives  at the School for Advanced Research’s Historic Campus

9 a.m. to 3 p.m.

$150 per person; limited to 25 people

Indigenous voices offer unique, varied, and important perspectives about our history, collective memories, and relationship to the land. Participants of this literary day trip will be treated to a private tour of the Indian Arts Research Center’s collection, which is celebrating its 100th year this summer. SAR’s vaults hold over 12,000 works that span from the sixth century to the present, one of the most significant collections of its kind in the world. Then the group will enjoy a poetry reading by Max Early (Laguna Pueblo). Early, who was an Indigenous Writer-in-Residence at SAR, writes in both English and his native Keresan language. Finish the day with a self-guided tour of historic SAR’s campus.

Founded in 1907, the School for Advanced Research (SAR) is one of North America’s preeminent independent institutes for the study of anthropology, related social sciences, and humanities. SAR is home to the Indian Arts Research Center, one of the nation’s most important Southwest Native American art research collections.

Hungry for More: A Day of NM-Inspired Cooking and Writing

10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

$170 per person; limited to 25 people

How do you combine all of the ingredients that are needed for successful food writing? In this literary day trip you’ll join James Beard Award winner author Cheryl Alters Jamison at the internationally acclaimed Santa Fe School of Cooking to find out. Jamison will lead a morning demonstration of some classic New Mexican dishes (like those she pays tribute to in her book Tasting New Mexico: Recipes Celebrating One Hundred Years of Distinctive Home Cooking). There will be an opportunity to put on an apron and join in tamale making while Jamison shares her expertise on how to make your food writing stand out.

This day trip will be equal parts cooking class, food writing class, and—get this—a full New Mexican lunch with a flight of New Mexico wines! Jamison will share what food writing means to her and what inspires her—writing’s connection to memory, stories, and more—and use vibrant New Mexican ingredients and cuisine as the jumping-off point for work that makes readers, quite literally, hungry for more. She’ll also share her secrets for how to craft the best food writing, especially with recipes, combining technical writing with an evocative literary style—one that shows off a distinctive culinary voice. 

Writing in the Wild

9 a.m. to 12 noon

$125 per person; limited to 15 people

Join Katie Arnold, author of the critically-acclaimed memoir Running Home, ultrarunning champion, and contributing editor at Outside magazine, for a morning on Santa Fe’s renowned hiking trails. Together we'll explore the connection between movement, nature, and our imaginations. Walking through the natural world is a form of story-gathering and telling, as well as a moving meditation. The deeper we go into the forest and mountains, the deeper we go into our own minds. Join us as we walk the trails in search of ideas and inspiration, foraging for stories. A longtime student of Zen, Katie will share her life's practice of moving outside as a way of writing. This is a generative, process-oriented walking and writing workshop. Bring a pen and a notebook and your curiosity, as we’ll be stopping often along the trail for writing exercises and prompts. All levels of hikers, walkers, and writers are welcome. 

A Day of Guided Fly Fishing with William deBuys

9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

$300 per person; limited to 6 people

Spend a day meandering the meadow creeks of the Valles Caldera with William deBuys. Guided by Kyle Ruggles from The Reel Life Fly Shop, this day on the water will focus on-- basic fly fishing terminology, casting lessons, trout behavior, basic entomology, and hopefully playing, landing, and releasing trout! Alongside the fishing, this is a unique opportunity to spend time with Mr. DeBuys who not only is the author of 10 acclaimed books, but he also served as founding chair of the Valles Caldera Trust, which administers the 89,000-acre Valles Caldera National Preserve (2001-2004). 

What you will need—

 All of the necessary fly fishing gear will be provided for the participants. This includes: a rod, reel, flies, and all other terminal tackle. However, if you have your own gear, please feel free to bring it. Hiking pants, long sleeve sun shirt, hat, sunglasses and comfortable hiking shoes are recommended. Participants will need to provide their own transportation to and from the preserve. We will be meeting at the front gate of the preserve at 9 a.m. You will need a valid New Mexico Fishing License to participate in this class. This can be bought online or at The Reel Life Fly Shop and is not included in the price of the class. A day license costs $27 with the necessary habitat stamps.

First come…

We’ll be adding more Literary Day Trips in the following months. To preserve the human scale and intimacy of each immersive experience, numbers are limited. If you’d like to be the first to know when tickets go on sale, sign up for our email newsletter.