the NEW ENGLAND - SAINT LAWRENCE VALLEY GEOGRAPHICAL SOCIETY 

Friday October 31

Lodging History in the White Mountains – departs promptly at noon, returning just before 5 p.m.  Meet at the  Court Street cul de sac in front of Rounds Hall (PSU building with large clock tower) - led by Mark Okrant  - limit 14 participants.

     New Hampshire’s White Mountains has had an outstanding tradition of accommodating travelers. Early explorers arrived on horseback, soon succeeded by Concord Coach travel. The development of railroad service, establishment of county and state roads, and ultimately construction of the interstate highway system each influenced travel styles and accommodations - a history that remains written across the landscape today. Mark Okrant will take participants north on US route 3, identifying and visiting a sample of cabins, motor courts, and motels situated along this route. The experience will culminate with a tour of the Mount Washington Resort in Bretton Woods, one of several grand resort hotels within the region which remain operational.

Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, Thornton, NH – Friday, Oct. 31^st. departs from Court Street cul-de-sac at Rounds Hall (PSU building with large clock tower) at noon sharp, returning just before 4 p.m.- led by Geoff Wilson – limit 12 participants

Please visit their website to secure a great deal of information about this facility. http://www.fs.fed.us/ne/durham/4352/hb.shtml

     This field trip travels to Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest (HBEF), established in 1955 as a major center for hydrologic research in New England. HBEF is located within White Mountain National Forest in central New Hampshire. The 3,138-ha, bowl-shaped valley has hilly terrain, ranging from 222 to 1,015 m asl.  A network of precipitation and stream-gauging stations, weather instrumentation, as well as soil and vegetation monitoring sites on small experimental watersheds were developed and data from these installations combined with several initial studies formed the hydrometeorologic foundation for much research there. Following an overview slideshow we will visit some of the treated and reference watersheds, have the option of visiting the archive building, which holds samples dating back to the 1960s, and the air and precipitation monitoring stations. 

Saturday, November 1

Quincy Bog Natural Area Walk, Rumney, NH – Saturday November 1^st. departs from Court Street cul de sac at Rounds Hall (PSU building with large clock tower) at 8 a.m. sharp, returning just before 11 am – led by John Lennon – capacity 12.

     Quincy Bog Natural Area (QBNA) is a 55-acre site which includes a pond and a rich variety of surrounding wetlands that are the remains of a glacial kettle lake transformed by thousands of years of natural plant succession and animal activity. A 1-mile public nature trail and nature center display the area’s rich variety of aquatic, wetland, and forest vegetation, insect life, migratory and year-round birds, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals. In addition to the attributes of this lovely site, we will consider a number of geographic themes. We can map many ecosystems and habitats within the property boundaries of the QBNA. There are many opportunities for geographic exploration and description. The small size of the area raises an important question as to the significance of the boundaries we assign to ecosystems, habitats, and similar classifications that are based primarily, even exclusively, on qualitative descriptions. Should our maps distinguish ‘fuzzy’ boundaries, often representing visible, natural systems, from quantitative ones that are often invisible and artificial? Metadata discusses what is inside a boundary, and the history of that data, but what of the history of the boundary itself, and the decisions that crafted its shape?

Franconia Notch, Saturday, Nov. 1^st. departs from  Court Street cul de sac at Rounds Hall (PSU building with large clock tower) at 8 a.m. sharp, returning just before 3 p.m.  Box lunch provided – led by Toby Fusco and Mike Gregorio – limit 12 participants.

     Resulting from a combination of tectonic and erosional processes, Franconia Notch is one of the more spectacular landscapes in New England. We will visit sites such as (weather permitting) Flume Gorge, Cannon Mountain at Cannon Cliffs, Artists Bluff, and the Basin, observing geologic and geomorphic processes and their resulting landforms.