Over the summer, the Maps and GIS team has been scattered across the country undergoing various adventures. With some of us still working remotely and meeting over zoom once a week or so, we thought it could be interesting for some of us to go to a nearby park with a trail map by Purple Lizard Maps. This map brand’s creator is a Penn State alumni, so our library has a collection of donated maps. What makes these maps special is that they include backwoods trails, public forests, and little purple lizards indicating “cool spots”. Since home for me is near Pittsburgh, I was sent the Ohiopyle map.
The drive only took about an hour. As I unfolded the map in the parking lot, I felt some shocked faces probably thinking “is she using a real paper trail map?!” I understand it is rare that someone of my age would even know how to use a print map like this. I will also admit, it was a relief to just leave my phone off in my backpack. We walked around some of the trails and found a spot with a purple lizard to have a picnic. It was a big rock overlooking the river and small waterfalls.
After some snacking and wading in the freezing cold water, we decided to go on the bike trail there, which is part of the Great Allegheny Passage that spans all the way from Pittsburgh to D.C. We biked to a few more of the purple lizards. One was a giant green rock, and another was an interesting little waterfall alongside the trail.
I would recommend this brand of maps for any outdoors lover. We have a variety of their trail maps available here at the library. Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip, and I would love to go back and look for more purple lizards!
Olivia Neill is a 3rd-year Geography major who is also pursuing minors in Spanish, History, and Political Science. Her interests are in human geography, anthropology, and GIS. She has been working at the Donald W. Hamer Center for Maps and Geospatial Information since January 2021.
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