I just returned from this year's NACIS* Conference, which lucky for me was in our former home of Portland, Oregon. Thankfully I was able to stay with friends and since conferences can be amazingly awkward - especially when you are as horrible at small talk as I am - it was a welcome break at the end of the day to lounge on my friend's sofa in my PJ's.
But it wasn't all time with friends - actually I saw them very little. Mostly I was in the midst of 500 or so cartographers from all over the US - this includes people from Esri, Google, National Geographic, a huge host of government agencies, and a load of freelancers. Map lovers unite!
When I arrived I heard one of my maps was on display in a building downtown. So here is a look into part of my day as a conference attendee, in search of the things I left behind in Portland.
But before any map-related things could begin, I first had a breakfast date with this little guy:
Then, with a belly full of pancakes, I returned to my life as a cartographer... When there was a lull in interesting presentations and a desperate need for a little fresh air, my co-worker and conference sidekick Lee and I walked across the following bridge:
In search of the White Stag Building:
Where I heard one of my maps was on display. Sure enough, there it was. A map I made last year while working in Oregon:
Across the room was the Portland "Map Quilt", which also contains a little map I did - the square on the bottom right. This was completed by 14 different cartographers for this year's NACIS conference:
Later that day we ventured to Powell Books, the country's largest independent bookstore, where I heard my old Mount Hood map - another map I created during my time in Oregon - was for sale. And strangely enough, it sat right above the National Geographic Mount Hood Wilderness map I worked on earlier this summer. Basically, over the span of two years, I have created two competing maps:
And just like that, I realized I had left a little bit of myself behind in Portland. It actually felt pretty special.
*NACIS = North American Cartographic Information Society
And on a completely unrelated note, I sat near a lady on the plane today who actually clipped her finger nails mid-flight. Let's not do that people. It's gross.
But it wasn't all time with friends - actually I saw them very little. Mostly I was in the midst of 500 or so cartographers from all over the US - this includes people from Esri, Google, National Geographic, a huge host of government agencies, and a load of freelancers. Map lovers unite!
When I arrived I heard one of my maps was on display in a building downtown. So here is a look into part of my day as a conference attendee, in search of the things I left behind in Portland.
But before any map-related things could begin, I first had a breakfast date with this little guy:
Then, with a belly full of pancakes, I returned to my life as a cartographer... When there was a lull in interesting presentations and a desperate need for a little fresh air, my co-worker and conference sidekick Lee and I walked across the following bridge:
In search of the White Stag Building:
Where I heard one of my maps was on display. Sure enough, there it was. A map I made last year while working in Oregon:
Across the room was the Portland "Map Quilt", which also contains a little map I did - the square on the bottom right. This was completed by 14 different cartographers for this year's NACIS conference:
Later that day we ventured to Powell Books, the country's largest independent bookstore, where I heard my old Mount Hood map - another map I created during my time in Oregon - was for sale. And strangely enough, it sat right above the National Geographic Mount Hood Wilderness map I worked on earlier this summer. Basically, over the span of two years, I have created two competing maps:
And just like that, I realized I had left a little bit of myself behind in Portland. It actually felt pretty special.
*NACIS = North American Cartographic Information Society
And on a completely unrelated note, I sat near a lady on the plane today who actually clipped her finger nails mid-flight. Let's not do that people. It's gross.
1 comment:
That is SO COOL. I am obsessed with maps, and Scott and I also collect vintage maps from our travels (on top of our collection of 40+ globes!). Maybe one day I can get a signed Tracy original =)
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