Join Richard Laugharn for a memorable camping/photography trip to the Sonoran Desert. Richard, a veteran of more than 300 trips to remote areas of the Sonoran Desert, will discuss his approach to the photographing the desert landscape. In addition, Richard will also touch on natural and cultural histories of the area.

We will leave on the afternoon of Friday, November 15, and return on the afternoon of Sunday, November 17. This weekend coincides with the annual Leonid meteor shower. Participants should meet on Friday (11/15) at 1:00 p.m. in Gila Bend (90 minutes southwest of Phoenix) at the Chevron Station at 623 West Pima Street in Gila Bend. We will then drive down to the Sauceda Mountains, between Gila Bend and Ajo.

The roads we will be traversing require high-clearance vehicles, such as pickup trucks. We will be attempting to pair drivers of suitable vehicles with riders.

This will be remote desert camping with no facilities. Food arrangements will likely be potluck style to maximize our time photographing and enjoying the desert. If you’re interested in joining, but you don’t have camping gear, it may be possible to borrow gear from other participants. Renting camping equipment is also an option.

We will be limiting the group to five high-clearance vehicles. When you sign up as a driver, please indicate how many riders you can take. Preference for assigning riders to vehicles will be given to those who sign up earliest.

We will work out the necessary gear, the number of participants, and a protocol for food prep and other issues via group emails in the time between the sign-up closure date of November 1, 2024 and the trip. Members will sign up in one of two categories: drivers and riders. We will try our best to accommodate as many members as possible.

REGISTER HERE

About the Guide
Richard Laugharn was born in New York City in 1959 and grew up in California.
From an early age, he found solace in the natural world. As a young man, Richard enjoyed long walks in what wildness he could find around my home in Southern California. These places no longer exist except in his (and perhaps a few other’s) memory. As he grew older, a camera and a vehicle were pressed into service on these excursions and he began to travel to the desert. Books about the desert (natural and cultural histories, memoirs, tales of exploration) bounced along on the seat beside him. Eventually, Richard moved to the desert to hear the sound of his footsteps in the dry air, to sit quietly in the shade of an ironwood, and to travel, as gently as possible, through wild landscapes. Richard is grateful to live with his wife and two children in the Salt River Valley of Arizona.

His last name is pronounced “Larn” (rhymes with barn).