FOSM members Rene Archer, Sam Beard, Dan Benton, and Cliff Giles hosted twenty-one 8th-grade students and 6 teachers and parents from the Digital Arts and Technology Academy (DATA) on October 31, 2022–a beautiful day for a Halloween adventure in the Sandias.

Teacher Sue Cote and FOSM member Lou Romero worked months planning this activity. Unfortunately, Lou was unable to enjoy the fruits of his labor.

The day included a trip to Sandia Crest and a 2-mile hike at Capulin Picnic Area with information about the Forest Service, Sandia Mountains Wilderness area, geology, water conservation, hiking safety, wildlife, tree species, and wildlife drinkers provided during the day.

According to Sue: The kids had SO much fun, they were buzzing on the school bus and when they got back to school Monday afternoon, and were very excited to see the GPS tracks for the hike that we had followed, especially the stats about elevation, etc.

More information and photos are available at https://friendsofthesandias.org.

Cliff Giles