We are offering two field trip options this year. Both will run on Sunday, 10/6. Choose your trip in the registration portal.
Exploring the “Fermented Landscapes” of Texas Wine
On this field trip, we will tour the beautiful Texas Hill Country by van with tour guide services from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies’ resident “scholar-somm”, Dr Colleen Myles. We will travel from San Marcos, TX to Stonewall, TX for a tour and optional ($25) tasting at a Texas winery. Feel free to bring a packed lunch with you or be prepared to purchase lunch on-site. Next, we will experience a driving tour of the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. If there is time or interest, a short stop can be arranged. Following the peek at LBJ’s legacy in the Hill Country and beyond, we will stop for a brief field lecture and optional ($25) tasting at another Texas winery nearby. The van(s) will depart the LBJSC in the morning and drop participants off at the conference Welcome Reception by 4 PM. More details will be posted as the conference approaches.
On this field trip, we will tour the beautiful Texas Hill Country by van with tour guide services from the Department of Geography and Environmental Studies’ resident “scholar-somm”, Dr Colleen Myles. We will travel from San Marcos, TX to Stonewall, TX for a tour and optional ($25) tasting at a Texas winery. Feel free to bring a packed lunch with you or be prepared to purchase lunch on-site. Next, we will experience a driving tour of the Lyndon B. Johnson State Park and the Lyndon B. Johnson National Historic Park. If there is time or interest, a short stop can be arranged. Following the peek at LBJ’s legacy in the Hill Country and beyond, we will stop for a brief field lecture and optional ($25) tasting at another Texas winery nearby. The van(s) will depart the LBJSC in the morning and drop participants off at the conference Welcome Reception by 4 PM. More details will be posted as the conference approaches.
Sensing Place
Co-Leaders: Michael Ratcliffe (Census Bureau) and Clayton Whitesides (Coastal Carolina University)
Remote sensing, imagery, and other sensor data can provide large amounts of data with which to understand the characteristics of a place. While these sources of data are valuable, places are more than collections of pixels and digitized data. Our own senses can add depth and richness that may not be discerned by technology. Being present in a place, experiencing the various sights, sounds, smells, and the way it feels in our hands and under our feet—reading the landscape through our own senses—brings us closer to the way in which the place is experienced by those who live and work there day-to-day. Plus, if you’re like many of us geographers, being out in the field observing and being part of the place we’re studying is more fun than staring at data on a screen all day.
In this field trip, we will experience a location in the San Marcos area (specific location still to be determined) using our senses: sight, smell, touch, and hearing (we will refrain from tasting the landscape!). We will divide into small groups, with each group assigned a specific sense to use to collect information about the location. Each group will document what they “observed” using their assigned sense. In other words, one group will focus on the aromas and odors they detect and will record what those aromas and odors tell us about the location. The other groups will do the same but focus only on what they see or what they hear or how the location feels to the touch.
After returning from the field, we will convene and share what each group sensed, our impressions of the landscape based on what we sensed, our perceptions and assumptions, and how each of our senses can be used to gain a fuller understanding of the nature of a place. Please bring comfortable shoes and clothing for walking on sidewalks and city streets, a field notebook to record your observations and impressions, and a curiosity and a sense of adventure! The van(s) will depart the LBJSC in the morning and drop participants off at the conference Welcome Reception by 4 PM. More details will be posted as the conference approaches.