Field Trip Itinerary

August 21 (Sunday)

  • 10:00am - All flights and people converge in SLC at Transportation Counter, “All Resort Express”
  • 10:30am - Board bus
  • 11:00-11:45am - Walmart for supplies
  • 11:45-12:00pm - Drive 1 hr 10 minutes to Thiokol, Promontory
  • 12:00-12:20pm - Stop at Thiokol Rocket Garden for 20 minutes
  • Transfer to minibus at Thiokol -- 9160 UT-83, Corinne, UT 84307
  • 12:25-1:45pm - Drive through Golden Spike to Spiral Jetty (45 min.) (GPS coordinates 41.438223°, -112.666491)
  • 1:45-3:45pm - Spiral Jetty
  • 4:15-7:00pm - Drive to Sun Tunnels by way of Golden Spike (2 hrs and 45min) (GPS coordinates 41.303501°N, 113.863831°W)
  • 7:00pm - Arrive at Sun Tunnels, stay 1hr (sunset 8:30pm)
  • 8:00-8:45pm - 8pm latest Leave Sun Tunnels, Drive to Montello, NV (40 min. drive)
  • 7:45-8:45pm - Time Change (1 hr.+) Dinner at Montello Cowboy Bar, 443 Front Street, Montello, NV 89830
  • 9:00-9:40pm - Time Change Again (1 hr.-), Depart 9pm, Drive to Wendover, Montego Bay (40 min. drive).
  • ~ 11:00pm - Arrive at Montego Bay, Wendover, NV

Screening: Spiral Jetty

August 22 (Monday)

  • 7:50am - Meet in lobby (Starbucks for breakfast on own prior to lobby meetup, if walking leave at 7:00am)
  • 8am - Bus departs from Montego Bay Lobby with Matthew Coolidge
  • 8am-11:00am - 3.5-4 hour tour CLUI and Wendover area with Matthew Coolidge Meet at orientation building off of skyhawk drive -- bring map -- GPS coordinate -- 40°43'51.1"N 114°01'43.1"W
  • 11:00-11:30am - Lunch at Wendover Taco Truck, Tacos el Canon de Juchipila, 1715 Wendover Blvd, West Wendover, NV 89835 (West of “Wendover Will” statue)
  • 11:30 - Depart for Double Negative (Possible screening: Troublemakers) (5.5 hrs to Perkins Field)
    • Time Change (-1 hr)
  • 4:00-4.20pm - Meet Perkins Field, 1110 Airport Rd, Overton, NV 89040, to swap to smaller vehicles
  • 4:15/4:30-4:45/5:00pm - Drive to Double Negative via Mormon Mesa Road (approx. 30min.)
  • 5:00-5:45/6pm - Walk to North Double Negative Site from Carp Elgin Rd.
  • 5:45-7:15pm - Stay at Double Negative 1.5hrs
  • 7:15-8:15pm NO LATER THAN 7:15 DEPARTURE - Walk back to vehicles from Double Negative
  • 8:15-8:45pm - Drive back to Perkins Field, 1110 Airport Rd, Overton, NV 89040 (Back on bus)
    • (Sunset 8:30pm)
  • 8:45-9 or 9:30 - Drive to Sunset Station Hotel, have dinner on own

Screening: Troublemakers: The Story of Land Art

August 23 (Tuesday)

  • 7:00-8:00am - Breakfast (included in stay, breakfast starts at 6am)
  • 8am - Depart for driving day
  • 8-8:45am - Drive from Henderson to Hoover Dam (30 min. To Hoover Dam)
  • 8:45-910am - Stop at Hoover Dam (Bus stops prior to the MOPT Memorial Bridge, walk across the bridge)
  • 6:00pm - Navajo council chambers tour with Idah Burnside
  • 6:30 - Joined by Jonathan Perry, and Church Rock activists
  • 7:30-10:00pm - Depart from Window Rock, Drive to Albuquerque, NM
  • 10:00pm - Arrive Albuquerque, NM - Stay Days Inn and Suites Airport Hotel

August 24 (Wednesday)

  • 6:00am - Pickup 2 rental cars at ABQ airport (Note: only organizers)
  • 7:00-8:00am - Breakfast at the hotel (Breakfast included in stay, starts at 6am)
  • 7:00am - Car 2 Depart for White Sands
  • 8:00am - Car 1 Depart for Quemado for Lightning Field (2 hr tour of Acoma Pueblo en route)

    • Car 1 Schedule:

    • 7:30am - Receive Panera Sandwiches
    • 8am - Depart for Acoma Pueblo
    • 9:30am - Arrive Acoma Pueblo
    • 9-30-12:30 - Museum, guided tour
    • 12:30-2:30 - Drive to Quemado
    • Overnight at Lightning Field

    Car 2 Schedule (with Harvard Group):

    • 6:00am - Pick up cars
    • 6:45am - Everyone having “breakfasted” in lobby ready to go
      • Pick up lunch at Panera’s 2820 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque NM 87106
    • 7:00am - Depart for White Sands
    • 8:45am - Stop for breakfast at Owl Cafe (77 US 380, San Antonio, NM 87832) (Approx. 1hr 15 to Owl Cafe) flexible this stop can compress
    • 9:25am - Depart for Stallion Gate (approx. 15 minutes)
    • 10:00am - Meet Cammy Montoya at Stallion Gate
    • ~11am Conclude Trinity portion of tour
    • Noon Eat lunch during drive through
      • ?? Drive through base to LC33 (approx. 2 hr.)
    • 2:00pm - Tour Mission Launch Site with PG and Matthew Hersch (possibly curator Darren Court)
    • 5:30pm - Conclude WSMR Tour
    • 5:30-7:30pm - Drive to Truth or Consequences
    • 7:30pm - Buy Groceries
    • 8:30pm - Dinner with CAJ at Riverbend Hot Springs, 100 Austin Street, Truth or Consequences, NM 87901
    • 9:00-10:00pm - Hot springs soaking

Aug 25 (Thursday)

Car 1 Schedule:

  • 9:45am - Pick up lightning field
  • 10:45am - Leave Quemado (9:45am LF) to Very Large Array by 12:00pm
  • 12:00-1:15pm - Very Large Array
  • 12:00pm All cars - Tour with astronomers at VLA, climb radio telescopes in groups, Harvard cars to Los Alamos
  • 1:15-4:00pm - Drive to El Paso. (3hr 30min, try to pick up time en route)
    • Stop en route at Riverbend
  • 7pm - Juarez Scenic Overlook “Scenic Drive” road, discuss border development
  • 8pm - Grocery shop Sprouts Farmers Market, 2036 North Zaragoza Road, El Paso, TX 79936
  • Night Arrive El Paso Airbnb

Cars 2 + 3 Schedule:

  • 9:00am - Eat in room or at Passion Pie Cafe (great coffee and pastries), each car makes lunch for their group
  • 9:30am (sharp!) - Depart to arrive at VLA by 11:30am/Quemado by 2:30pm) to Lightning Field
  • 12:00pm All cars - Tour with Claire Chandler, lead astronomer at VLA
  • 1:30pm - Car #2 departs … Harvard car #3 (leaves later) to Los Alamos
  • 2:30pm - Arrive at Quemado, Lightning Field (Stay)

Aug 26 (Friday)

Car 1 Schedule:

  • 9:15am - Departure for Rubin The University of Texas At El Paso
  • 10:00am-noon - Meet Kerry Doyle (Director of Rubin Art Center), tour border sites
  • 12:30-2pm - Lunch and visit other downtown border sites of note
  • 3:30-4pm - National Border Patrol Museum, 4315 Woodrow Bean Transmountain Drive, El Paso, TX 79924
    • (then 3 hrs to Marfa including photo op at Prada Marfa)
  • 8-9pm - Arrive Marfa

Car 2 Schedule:

  • 9:00am - Pickup at Lightning Field
  • 10:00am - Departure Quemado, NM to Marfa (full day drive 7hr, lose an hr. in transit, accounting for stops en route including Prada Marfa)
  • 1:00pm - Lunch at Passion Pie, 406 Main Ave., Truth or Consequences, NM 87901, groceries for all Bullocks, 630 S Broadway St., Truth or Consequences, NM 87901
  • 1:45pm - Continue driving to Marfa
  • 7:00 ~ 9:00pm - Arrive Marfa, on own for dinner and next morning breakfast

Aug 27 (Saturday)

  • 8:00-8:30am - Walk from Airbnb to cars
  • 8:30am - Cars depart from “Abode” to Chinati Foundation - S. Hill St. and Katherine St.
  • 8:45 latest - Arrive at Chinati
  • 9:00am - Private group tour of Chinati Foundation (All morning)
  • TBA: Lunch in town on own
  • Afternoon: Free time: (time to visit Marfa and Presidio County Museum, open until 5pm [Thunderbird pool!])
  • 6:30pm - Dinner in Marfa at Jett’s with guests Leila Kinney and Karen Pate, The Hotel Paisano, 207 Highland St. Marfa, TX 79843
  • 8:15pm - Sunset private guided tour of Robert Irwin
  • 9:00pm - (optional) Check out Marfa lights (Route 67 on Mitchell Flat), Cars drop off students at Airbnbs

Aug 28 (Sunday)

  • 8:30-9:15am - Breakfast on own in Marfa
  • 9:30am - Check out of Air BnBs, load cars, drive to Judd Foundation (cars driven by team to Fdn)
  • 9:50-1:00pm - Block and studio tour of Judd Foundation
  • 1:00-2:00pm - Lunch in Marfa
  • 2:00-8:00pm - Drive to Austin (6hr 30min)
  • 8:30pm - Arrive in Austin, check in Hotel Van Zandt, 605 Davis Street, Austin, TX 78701, dinner on own
  • 10pm - (optional) Visit to UT Austin James Turrell Skyspace

August 29th, Monday

  • 9:00-1:00pm - Breakfast on own (Hotel Van Zandt has morning tea and coffee service), free time!
  • 1:00pm - Leave Austin (Meet in hotel lobby)
  • 1:00-4pm - Drive Austin to Houston (2hr 45min), pick up grocery staples for group in Houston
  • 3:30pm - One car through Sharpstown to view Mary Ellen Carroll’s Prototype 180
  • 4:00pm - Check in to Airbnbs, early dinner on own if desired [Suggestions: Axelrod (nearish AirBnb apartments driveable, 4 min.); Tacos A Go Go (nearish drivable, 7 min.); or Houston’s This IS IT (walkable). Apartments also have kitchens.
  • 5:45 - Cars depart from Arbor Street residences for Rice University visit
  • 6pm - Arrive West Lot 1 at Rice University Campus. Meet Alison Weaver, director of Moody Center for the Arts, discuss “de Menil years of the Rice Museum,” view Michael Heizer collection in the Engineering quadrangle (45°, 90°, 180).
  • 7:30-8:19pm - Reservation for 13 for sunset sky sequence in James Turrell Skyspace, Rice University

August 30 (Tuesday)

  • 10am - Exhibitions at CAMH
  • Lunch at With Bill Arning, Director of CAMH
  • Optional complementary admission to Yayoi Kusama exhibition at Houston MFA (sign up)
  • Late afternoon: coffee with Helen Winkler Fosdick
  • 7:15 - Live Oak Meeting House visit (Turrell). Jane Houser

Aug 31 (Wednesday)

  • 9-10:30am - Look at Houston based land art proposals and drawings in the Menil Collection, discuss unrealized John Gibson gallery show
  • 10:30 - Rothko Chapel
  • Tour collection and Dan Flavin Richmond Hall until 1pm, lunch on site
  • Optional lunch with Rice School of Architecture Dean Sarah Whiting (sign up)
  • 2-3:30 - Project Row Houses

MIT4_S67F16_bus

Students made a documentary of the field trip, Travelogue of the Undocumentable.

Image Gallery: Land Art and Landscapes from the Optional Course Field Trip

All photos courtesy of Jessica Varner and used with permission.

A photo of the Spiral Jetty, the land art sculpture constructed of mud, salt, and rocks. A photo of the beach and shoreline leading up to the art installation, The Spiral Jetty. A photograph of the art installation, Sun Tunnels, which are comprised of large, concrete tubes with holes drilled to mimic constellations. A photo of the land art, Double Negative, which features a deep trench in the earth. The Enola Gay "hangar," CLUI research center, and Wendover, Utah visit with Matthew Coolidge (CLUI). A photo of the Hoover Dam.