Rough Draft of Printed Map

This is a rough layout. Typeface Impact does not work so that needs to change. Color needs work and final size will be much bigger than tabloid. Somehow quotes need to be incorporated without overpowering the topographic outlines of the canyon.

The Emotional State of the Canyon & Trends

Our map is in process...New developments have occurred since our original intentions for our research. After visiting the canyon several times, observing the social interactions between the visitors there, and even getting involved in some of the actual controversy happening, I've found myself more and more interested in the emotions invested in this place. An interesting observation is that we've discovered more and more about the canyon and the people there as we hiked higher up the hills. We've now thought about overlaying quotes over an elevation map to show what is being said and where, to show that the content of the conversation shifts. Today we made map fold prototypes, and considered making a circle map as Glen Canyon has been said to be a "microcosm of social issues", its own little world of problems that represents larger controversies that exist in other parts of the world. I imagined the map to represent the psyche of the canyon, and how humans' actions and words can place an environment in a certain emotional state. When we were conducting interviews, people on the lower trails were mostly dogwalkers who did not know much about the history of the creek, but were pro-restoration. As we hiked up the creek, we met other people who were passionate about the wildlife in the area, and disagreed with humans interfering with the plant growth (ie. restoration). A distinct line between these two positions began to form, and we even witnessed the opposition when a mother coyote ran after an unleashed dog who was barking at a coyote pup. Not all of the dogwalkers in the canyon are against the coyotes, but a strong group of them has made their voices heard. The digital version will still replicate the emotion spots on the physical map, but will contain videos/sound of the quote when the coordinate is clicked on.

Our biggest issue now in creating this "emotion/experience map" is finding trends in our interview research in order to classify the quotes. There needs to be some way that these classifications can be rated on a scale.
Some ideas:
dogwalkers vs. non-dogwalkers
high awareness of the creek vs. low awareness (knowledgeable)
friendly vs. non-friendly
small talk vs. meaningful content
willingness/open to engaging in conversation vs. reluctance/must be constantly engaged by interviewer
emotional/passionate/aggressive vs. unemotional/apathetic/passive
short conversation vs. long conversation
local vs. non-local
young vs. old
male vs. female

Response to "The Beholding Eye"

This reading discusses the various ways in which people can view a landscape. While reading this piece, I kept Glen Canyon in mind, and the conversations our group has had with the visitors of the park. Much of the conversations we have had with these people have much to do with this reading, especially how humans have affected the canyon over time through their own physical and social actions.
     Landscape as Nature: This part reminded me of the current restoration efforts going on in Glen Canyon. We discussed these efforts with a woman we met in the canyon, and she told us "they are trying to make it look like it did in 1776". The idea that nature should be kept to its natural state sounds endearing, but when considered under this comment, it is comical. First of all, what is "natural" anymore? The landscape has changed so much (especially since 1776), and is in a constant state of change. Birds fly in and drop seeds, animals use the land for what they need and move on. The fact is that you cannot travel back in time to change the past, so it is best to just let the landscape be. The people who are trying to restore the area may think that humans are separate from nature, but really we are very much a part of it.
     Landscape as Artifact: When I first visited Glen Canyon and Islais Creek, I believe I held this point of view. Everywhere I looked I saw evidence of human control; the man made bridges, the man holes, and even graffiti marks on the rocks all caught my eye. Even the restoration signs telling people not to enter the area conveyed a blatant message to me. Humans have always tried to conquer nature, instead of living harmoniously with it. What is left to see of Islais Creek is clear, sad evidence of this.
     Landscape as Wealth: When talking to Glen Canyon dog-walkers about the restoration process, some of them had made comments about how they hoped that the restoration would boost the worth of their houses.
     Landscape as Ideology: The other day I was thinking about how humans love to be surrounded by beautiful things, and how this has affected our environment. The California coastline used to be made of sand dunes with very few plants and trees we would consider beautiful today. It makes me wonder why certain things embody this beauty ideal, while others don't. And how has our idea of what it means to be beautiful come to be? A rose is considered to be beautiful, while tumbleweed is not, and so let us rid our world of the tumbleweed even though it is natural, and the rose is not. This seems to have been the kind of reasoning that has led to "unnatural" plants and trees taking over what was once natural. "Beauty" is a human perception that has been forced upon the landscape as a means of control, and eerily reminds me of plastic surgery.

Activity for Thursday. October 7.

We get to the park on time, and it is a clear day without much wind. We hope to see some new people to get some new information, and to capture sound since it is less windy. 
7:10- A woman in exercise gear playing frisbee with a black dog sees us setting up a camera and leaves.
7:11- See "Beatrice" again with her dog. On a cellphone.
7:14- See "Peter" again with his dog.
7:15- Same woman with black dog has already run around the lower trail, and is running toward us.
7:16- Middle-aged man with dog.
7:17- Female runner we have seen before with headphones.
7:26- Three women with three dogs hanging out in rocks to the right of the trail. As they approach us they are gossiping and laughing.
7:28- A black woman with two dogs dressed in warm winter attire walking on opposite trail.
7:30- Walking along the bridge halfway to the summit we meet older man (white, late 60s) who lives on Portola with dog. Stops to talk to us and is friendly. Comes to the canyon everyday.
7:35- Meet with "Leslie" again on the summit. She talks to us a bit more about the history of the canyon. It used to be a motorcycle way in the 1950s where people would race their motorcycles. There also used to be a gun factory located there until an explosion killed/injured several people. She also told us that many of the trees located there were planted as a wind barrier. While we are talking we see a coyote sitting on a mount above the summit. We bolt to the location so we can take pictures, and she tells us it is the mother. All of a sudden she starts barking very loud, and bolts across the canyon to the other side. We run down the trails after it so we can witness the commotion. Apparently a dog off leash started barking/bothering one of the coyote pups, and the mother ran off to its rescue. All of the dog walkers began putting leashes on their dogs, and a man with a toddler child and dog walks away from the scene. The coyote is still howling and barking, warning all of the dogs to stay away. The dog walkers are huddled together near the nursery school saying that the coyote started the commotion, and that the coyotes are no longer afraid of people due to the people that photograph them. They place the blame on the photographers, and take no responsibility for their dogs being off leash. There are signs everywhere warning walkers of the presence of coyotes. It was clear at this point that there was a distinct separation between the dog walkers and the people who support the coyotes. We filmed some of the conversation as it was happening, and soon we felt as if we were involved in the controversy.
8:30- We leave the canyon.

Activity for Tuesday. October 5.

We arrived at the park this morning, and it was much less windy. We started to walk the same trail at 7:10 AM hoping to see a pattern with the people who visit the park. We took note of the types of cars parked in the lot next to the entrance, which was much more packed than yesterday. The cars included a Toyota Sienna, VW Toureg, VW Jetta, Toyota Corolla, an old green jaguar, and a VW Golf (majority are volkswagons).

Breakdown of the activity:
7:10 AM- Male jogger. Begin filming trail.
7:11 AM- Male (early 30s, white, tall) with 2 hyper "Lassie" dogs. Talks to us but in a hurry. Says the creek runs underneath his house.
7:13 AM- Two women (30s, one white I'll call "Ashley" and the other Hispanic I'll call "Cheryl") fast-paced walking with 1 dog (spotted terrier with spiked collar named Ozzie). Talk to us about coyotes. We listen to Ashley's recording of coyote howls on her iPhone, and she says the coyotes are packing and there are 6 of them.
7:16 AM- Woman (50s, tall, white) walking two large dogs. Talks to us about history of the creek. Local and friendly, wise personality.
7:20 AM- Male jogger. See "Beatrice" again walking dog Charlie.
7:21 AM- Man (white, 40s, serious features) walking two dogs. Can't talk. In a hurry.
7:22 AM- Female jogger (20s).
7:25 AM- Young woman with growling black dog crossing bridge.
7:26 AM- Hear large group of people on the opposite (left to us) trail. Sounds like a school trip?
7:30 AM- Reach summit. See man sitting behind a rock smoking. Meet woman I'll call "Leslie" who proceeds to give us her own personal tour of hidden trails after there is some tension with the man behind the rock. Given the opportunity to gain some personal insight we skip the filming of traffic. As she leads us through the steep inclines and dense brush, she fills us in on the politics and drama surrounding the park. She is passionately all for the wildlife in the area and discusses how humans always have to control everything. Talks about the negative rumors surrounding the coyotes, and considers herself a protector of them. Shows us hidden spots in the trails, and warns us not to enter some of them. Vibrant, highly educated, local, and passionate about the wildlife.
8:13 AM- Proceed to walk back to entrance. See "Greg" again with dogs.
8:20 AM- Get back to parking lot. Review notes.
8:25 AM- "Aida" arrives in parking lot with dog. We leave.

Activity for Monday. October 4.

Today was our first day documenting activity in Glen Canyon Park. It went well as we were able to get testimonies from the people we met concerning their experiences and what they know about Islais Creek. We began our walk to the "summit" (a rocky cliff area that overlooks the canyon below, and the car traffic across the canyon). We chose to walk this same trail everyday in hopes of seeing a pattern in the visitors we see on a daily basis. It was very cold and windy, so sound may have been difficult to capture. Some questions we tried to ask all interviewees were the following:
1. What kind of dog do you have? (icebreaker)
2. What do you know about Islais Creek?
3. How often do you visit the park?
4. Do you live close by?

Here is a breakdown of the activity:
7:00 AM- Begin walk from entrance. Begin videotaping trail.
7:10 AM- Male runner to the left trail of entrance.
7:15 AM- Two women, two dogs. Male runner (possibly Hispanic?).
7:18 AM- Older woman I'll call "Laura" (mid-50s, Caucasian, coffee, sweats) with brown dog. Gives us video testimony. Very friendly. A Glen Park socialite. Lives on Conrad St.
7:20 AM- Two female runners, older woman, and dog.
7:21 AM- Older woman (mid-50s, gray hair and black glasses) with dog named Charlie. Meets with Laura, and says she does not want anyone else to know about Glen Park when she hears about project. A "secret".
7:23 AM- Middle-aged woman with 3 dogs. Male runner.
7:24 AM- Young woman with black dog.
7:26 AM- Young woman with another black dog (wearing beanie & sweats).
7:33 AM- Old man with red hat I'll call "Peter" (mid-70s, tired) and dog. Gives video testimony. Tells us he is late for his walk and sees a whole new group of walkers. Comes every morning at daybreak. Local.
7:37 AM- Young man and woman (20s) with 2 dogs.
7:39 AM- Two female hikers.
7:41 AM- Two more female hikers.
7:45 AM- We reach summit. Begin filming car traffic for 30 min.
7:50 AM- Older woman (60s) with dog hiking up summit.
7:53 AM- Old woman (70s) with middle-aged man hiking up summit. 
8:10 AM- Middle-aged woman in sweats with son and a dog. Walking to school?
8:15 AM- End videotaping of traffic. Begin walking down summit.
8:16 AM- Woman (late 20s) with black hair in ponytail walking through summit with dog. Friendly.
8:27 AM- Another woman (late 20s) with big white sunglasses and iPod walking through summit.
8:30 AM- Young woman walking dog with a ball.
8:32 AM- Young female jogger (early 20s) I'll call "Jennifer" running through summit.
8:35 AM- "Jennifer" is already at base of summit.
8:36 AM- Asian woman I'll call "Aida" (late 40s) walking Australian/Chow mix dog off leash. Gives video testimony. Doesn't know much about the creek. Heard about people getting tickets for $275 for having dog off leash so does not visit as much. Friendly.
8:38 AM- Family. Old woman (70s), Middle-aged man with son on shoulders. Two dogs.
8:41 AM- Old man (early 80s) with small black lab.
8:42 AM- Man I'll call "Greg" (late 60s) with two dogs (a black lab and coyote-looking dog). Gives video testimony. Visits the park twice a day. Lives on Lippard St. Friendly.
8:45 AM- Leave Glen Park.