a Geographer's Place

My fascination with clouds might stem from years ago when our family lived in Blue Creek. Sometimes, while the older kids were all gone to school, my mom and I used to go on “nature walks” and watch clouds. We looked for shapes in them. Even though I’m sure we looked at thousands of clouds, I can only remember seeing a rabbit, a pirate ship, and a dog. But since then, I always “look up and marvel” as the Cloud Appreciation Society says. There are literally hundreds of different types of clouds and scientists love to classify them. This jellyfish-like cloud, for example, is a type of cumulus. But the little “tendrils” are referred to as “virga”…precipitation that evaporates before it is able to hit the ground. Sexy.

We’ve been having a LOT of rain here in the Valley of the Sun. One of my study sites I’m monitoring has received almost 6 inches in the past week! That’s more than it’s received in all the months previous to now! I can’t wait to see how much the site has changed after this rain! All this rain has reminded me how much I enjoy the greening and clouds associated with precipitation…so that’s what I’m blogging about today. Although I do enjoy bright colors, gray is my favorite. In any shade. You know, that gray-ish blue tint the clouds sometimes get—almost a tungsten hue. And gray skies make me smile…because they’re pretty, because they bring rain, and because I know what (usually) comes after gray skies. But others fail to notice the beauty of gray. Or rain. I was having dinner with some friends last night. One of them said, “I don’t like the cold and wet. Cold is okay, but wet I can’t handle. And the gray skies. I need sun!” Another said, “Well, where I grew-up, there were always clou...

I LOVE being "in the field"! It was one of the things that drew me to Geography! My first experience with REAL field studies was at Weber State with Dr. Murphy. He is a great Geographer and really loves field work (and traveling!). His love of the field rubbed off on me. Even today I play in the field as much as I can. This picture was taken on a recent field excursion through the Sonora River Valley in Mexico. I was driving along, observing the landscape, when all of the sudden we see this road cut that has a volcanic dike shaped like Mexico! How cool! (That's me, squatting on what would be the Yucatan Peninsula...) Of course, we HAD to pull over and take pictures! (The word "MEXICO" had already been painted on the road cut). I love finding "Natural" features that represent everyday objects. And this was one of the coolest representations I've found!

Here it is: my 1983, four-door Mazda GLC. Why is it my favorite car ever? Maybe it’s my favorite because it was the first car I ever bought on my own. Although I did have to borrow the $300 from my gracious sister—whom I paid back way before the deadline we had set. Or maybe it was the fact that I could fit all I owned in it: I could actually live in the car. Or maybe it was the manual moon roof: flip down the crank handle and turn it (like a non-electric window, only on top of the car’s ceiling). Or maybe it was the fact that it easily topped 100mph…or that it was small enough to switch drivers over the hood while driving…that’s right: out the window, across the hood, and into the other window while speeding down the freeway. Ask Jared. He was there. Or maybe it was all the road tripping I did in it from 1993 to 1994. Or maybe it was the $250 Alpine stereo I installed myself…so loud the car almost bounced. Good thing I had sexy aluminum rims! When I think hard, it was my favorite ...

My first car was a 1979 Ford Pinto . It’s pictured below on the left-hand side (this is the only picture of it I have). The location in this picture is where we used to go during the “hot” summers in Northern Utah: “The Flumes”! Basic fluvial processes were at work: when moving water gets forced into a smaller area, the velocity increases…so as the water got “squeezed” into the “flume”, the current got stronger and faster. And at the other end of the flume there were “rapids” big enough to “surf”! Really. We must have gone “fluming” a hundred times in the early 1990s. “We” means Jared (my brother), Todd (my cousin, jumping in the picture), and various friends. But this blog is about my Pinto … The Pinto was given to me by a “friend” of the family (I use “friend” very loosely, since he sort of came and went…and no one knows where he is now). I was offered a choice by this friend of the family: a 4-speed stick-shift 1979 Ford Pinto or an almost-new 1989 Ford Mustang convertible. At t...

As a Geographer, knowing where you are is paramount. So, before I embarked for the Isle of Spice (Grenada) several years ago, I purchased a behemoth of a watch—the ultimate watch for a Geographer: the Casio Tri-sensor Titanium solar-powered watch. It was top of the line Casio at the time. It had an altimeter (measure altitude), barometer (measure air pressure), thermometer, and a digital compass! I spent more for this watch than I did for my first and second cars combined! It was a great watch. All the sensors worked wonderful. I took it snorkeling, sea- and river-kayaking, swimming, hiking, camping, and through several countries—including a trek higher than 5150 meters in the Andes! And I never had a problem with it. Then, a couple weeks ago, all of the sudden, it died. The little “charging” sign keeps flashing. You’d think, living in Arizona with all the sun we have (it’s still in the 90s!), this SOLAR-POWERED watch would stay “charged”. I’ve had it “charging” for days. But still th...

11 November to 25 November. My favorite fortnight of the year. For three reasons: First, Veteran’s Day falls within the week. The fact that our Veteran’s only get two days each year that focuses on them is appalling. But at least, collectively, they are officially recognized for their valuable service. The military represents an important part of this Country. Even if you disagree with how it’s administered or how it does things, it’s tough to deny their powerful influence throughout history. If I felt worthy, I’d salute every veteran—past, present, and future—with pride. But I feel inadequate next to those that have served our Country, and I can only let them know the admiration I hold for them. I am honored that they risk their lives for me. Their service, what they do, symbolizes our Country’s ideals. Second, it’s Geography Awareness Week! For several years the second week of November has been set aside to promote Geography. While some people say it’s important to know the locatio...

In my quest for Professordom, I search everywhere. I turn over every stone possible, extending my search even internationally. But this advert really caught me off guard. The job title says, “Assistant Professor of Geography”. Read on and it says the candidate will be responsible for teaching “World Geography…in the Department of Humanities”. That’s exciting! Geography in the Humanities. Right up my alley. But then, listed as the first requirement: “Ph.D. in History”. Even funnier, it says, “Ph.D. in History required for this position”. WHAT ?? It’s bad enough that people confuse Geography with geology, but having someone with a PhD in history teach geography? The students will be getting a world history class instead of a world geography class. And there is a HUGE difference. Trust me. I've taken many history courses (it was one of my undergrad majors before I found Geography). I’ve also worked closely with Historical Geographers (who use history as a method to do Geography). T...

As a Geographer, I’ve traveled. A lot. I’ve taken solo jaunts and been on guided excursions; been a group tour guide and one for myself. After years of traveling from all different angles, there’s one thing I’ve noticed: most tourists try and do too much. Whether you’re planning a trip on your own or you have a travel agent/company doing it for you, be careful to pace yourself. Here are a couple examples… Let’s say you only have a one week vacation coming and you want to “do Europe”. The first-time tourist (and sometimes the perpetual tourist) might think, “Okay, seven days…I’m seeing London, Paris, and Amsterdam”. Can it be done? Sure. But can you REALLY appreciate anything along the way in five days? (Five days because it takes one to get there and one to get home). A trip of five days visiting London, Paris, and Amsterdam might look something like this: Day 1: Fly from home to London, overnight flight Day 2: Grab the “tourist” hop-on-hop-off bus way early and zip around the city wi...

My favorite thing to do when Traveling? Get lost. Travel is fine. Getting lost when Traveling, well…that's fantastic! Now, to me, "getting lost" while Traveling means wandering without any specific agenda. Sure you should have a guidebook and know about the place you're visiting, but by getting lost, amazing experiences occur. Imagine this… You've just finished an incredible lunch of gnocchi and are wandering down a small side-street in the Tuscan city of Siena, Italy. You could take the "main" street back to your hotel, but instead, you decide to wander down a small corridor lined with interesting shops very dissimilar from the "main" street. You're "lost"—perhaps more in thought than on the ground—although you know your hotel is somewhere in that general direction. But this is Travel after all, and you relish the chance to be Traveling. Coming out of a small shop that specializes in silversmithing, you see an odd sight: a blu...

After reading the entire Harry Potter series (I finished book seven Saturday afternoon—21 July 2007), it occurred to me that there were several really, really excellent life lessons. While there are countless truisms and lessons throughout the Harry Potter series, these five “lessons” represent, IMHO, the concepts of how a meaningful life can be achieved. 1. Sometimes, you just have to find out things on your own. This painful lesson is often skirted by parents and loved ones in the name of “protection”. If, for example, someone you love (see #5) is about to do something that YOU, from experience, know will be harmful, the first thought is to help them avoid it. But what good does that really do? Ignoring the someone doesn’t work either, as Dumbledore learned in OoTP. The trick is to be a guide through the “trial” and, though frustrating, let the person gain their own experience. Dumbledore learns this the hard way, paying with his life in HBP, and Harry is left to sort it out on his o...