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Geography is my profession as well as a lifelong interest. I'm currently teaching classes on the subject at The Ohio State University at Marion. My OSU professional page is located here, and contains links to my class web pages, research interests, and related information.
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For as long as I can remember, I've been picking up road maps and road atlases. As my interest gradually evolved into a topic for research, I began looking for older maps in order to study the development of the national highway network. It so happens that many other people collect maps as well, and they have banded together as the Road Map
Collectors Association, of which I'm a past president and board member.
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The interest in geography also has led me on countless trips around the country in an attempt to see every county. There are about 3,100 counties or county-like jurisdictions in the United States, and I'm within 10% of completing my goal. My most recent activity has been chronicled in writing and pictures in my county
tally and map. This, also, is a hobby that has attracted a number of like-minded travelers, who call themselves the Extra Miler Club and trade stories on the Yahoo! club "County Hunt".
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As I travel, I make an effort to visit regional and local businesses as much as possible. Shopping and eating where the locals do helps give me a sense of place for the regions I visit, and part of the fun of exploring is the discovery of souvenirs. My favorite souvenirs happen to be regional or small-time sodas, and store-brand knockoffs of Dr Pepper in particular. I'm attracted to them because they're cheap and because they're so inexplicable: why would stores invest in a product designed to taste like a beverage that has a particularly loyal following and a less-than-universal popularity? Cheap, generic orange soda and root beer I can understand, but this never has made much sense to me. Naturally, there's somewhat of a cultish devotion to this exercise as well.
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A work in progress, which has not progressed much since I focused my attention on my dissertation and teaching, is a guide to North
American Auto Trails. These trails were established in the early part of the 20th century to guide travelers across the U.S. before the establishment of a national highway-numbering plan. By 1930, most of the trail names had become history, and this is my attempt to provide a central source of information on the routes. Right now, it contains a listing of trails as well as depictions of their markers and descriptions of their approximate routings. Eventually, I'll add maps and historic information (as well as the hundreds of tips sent in by people who have discovered the site -- thanks!).
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