Join us at Castro Adobe State Historic Park for an open house event “Vaqueros y Banditos (Cowboys and Bandits).” Highlights include a tour of the property and a talk illustrating the use of ground-penetrating radar (GPR), a technique used by archeologists to scan the ground for buried deposits.  The GPR process increases the efficiency of site testing, and also reduces destruction to resources.

The Castro Adobe connects us to a time when cattle ranching was king on the coast of California. Get to know the tools of the cattle trade; listen to cowboy songs and tales of infamous bandits; relax in the beauty of the garden and ground with spring in full spring.

From 1-2 p.m. Scott Byram, PhD, UC Berkeley, and the UCSC Archaeological Research Center, will speak to visitors about his GPR work earlier at the site working with UCSC Archeological Field School students. As an affiliated researcher at UC Berkeley since 2007, Scott has conducted GPR survey and mapping of several California archaeological sites including Mission Santa Clara and Mission San Juan Bautista.

At 2 p.m. visitors are invited to attend a tour of the adobe, led by interpreter Joseph Carr-Ritchie, or visitors may join Scott and the UCSC students in the field to watch the process for collecting GPR data.

Free admission (donations gratefully accepted). Parking is limited; carpooling is encouraged. Active construction site, open only during scheduled events like this.