6 minute read
WRITTEN IN STONE
How a journey through the west reshaped PennWest students
By Christopher LaFuria
Before the sun rose on May 7, a minivan rolled out of Pennsylvania, packed with maps, gear and two professors ready to chase deep time. Dr. Kyle Fredrick and Dr. Dan Harris were headed west – not just to teach geology, but also to immerse a group of PennWest students in the living, breathing story of Earth itself.
What followed was a three-week expedition across Colorado and Utah, where textbooks gave way to towering cliffs, fossilized footprints and windswept dunes.
“This is an opportunity to develop a unique community with peer mentorship and peer-to-peer learning,” Harris said.
Students arrived in Denver on May 9, greeted by their professors with two passenger vans. Their first stop: Chatfield State Park, followed by Roxborough State Park, where the tilted red rocks introduced them to Laramide geology – the tectonic forces that uplifted the modern Rockies.
From there, the group explored Red Rocks Amphitheater and Dinosaur Ridge, where fossilized bones and footprints hinted at a prehistoric world. As they crossed the Rockies toward Grand Junction, they paused at Glenwood Canyon to discuss the Glenwood Fault, then camped at James Robb State Park. Some students ventured to Dinosaur Hill, where the Morrison Formation whispered stories of allosaurus and stegosaurus.
On May 11, the students tackled a mapping activity in Devil’s Canyon, then drove the Rim Road of Colorado National Monument, where sedimentary layers towered above them. The next day brought a hike through the Serpent’s Tail and a pebble-counting activity in Unaweep Canyon’s ancient river terraces.
At the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, they sketched the Painted Wall, tracing the story of magma intrusions and uplift. In Ouray, they measured glacial striations and learned to use Rose Diagrams to plot glacial flow directions.
For Jacob Podrasky, a professional geologist who graduated from the California campus in 2019, these kinds of field experiences were pivotal.
You can make diagrams of what faults look like,” he said. “But when you get out there and actually see them in the real world, it really ties everything together.
Podrasky credits the trip with helping him begin a career in the field, especially working on a transmission line project in northern Arizona.
“That trip definitely helped me out tremendously to succeed,” he said.
The group crossed into Utah on May 15, hiking among the red spires of Fisher Towers and camping beside the Colorado River. They explored dinosaur tracks at Utahraptor State Park, sketched stratigraphy at Canyonlands’ Grandview Point, and wandered through Arches National Park before dawn to beat the crowds.
For Katey Bern, a fisheries and wildlife biology major, the trip was a leap into unfamiliar territory.
“I wanted to increase my knowledge about geology, especially from a national park standpoint,” she said. “That’s something I want to lean into and get more involved in.”
Though not a geology major, Katey found hands-on learning transformative.
“We were only out there for two weeks, but I really do feel like I learned significantly more in that two weeks than I probably would’ve ever learned in a classroom for 16 weeks.”
Despite initial hesitation, Bern found her place and her confidence, and the group had become a family.
“By the middle of the trip, our tents were basically right on top of each other. We were like a little community.”
Steve Mosier, a nontraditional student with military experience and dual majors in wildlife biology and geology, brought a unique perspective to the trip. For him, the journey was both educational and deeply personal.
“Depending on what your major is and if you're doing research on something, you don't always get the opportunity to go and visit the site or get firsthand experience on location like that,” he said. “Having the opportunity is hard to turn down.”
Mosier often hiked ahead of the group, seeking quiet moments in nature.
“I just feel like we don't live as naturally as we should as human beings,” he said. “I don't think most human beings who live in a complex state most of our life really know what they're capable of.”
The final days brought rain and reroutes, but also new discoveries – Natural Bridges, Newspaper Rock, and the petroglyphs of Bears Ears. The group hiked through Big Spring Canyon, crossed the San Juan Mountains, and battled wind at Great Sand Dunes National Park. They waded barefoot through Medano Creek and climbed to Zapata Falls, ending with one last hike in Buena Vista before sharing stories around the campfire in Dillon.
On May 23, the students flew home, journals full of sketches, notes and reflections. Dr. Fredrick and Dr. Harris returned the vans and began the long drive east, stopping briefly in Nebraska to scout future field sites.
For everyone involved, the trip was more than a geology course. It was a journey through ancient seas, volcanic eruptions, glacial valleys and fossilized footprints. It was a chance to see the Earth not as a static map, but as a living, changing story written in stone.
“You're really just going through sections of geologic time,” Podrasky said. “The experiences you gain on that trip help you tie everything together and give a little bit more appreciation.”
Bern echoed the sentiment.
“I would recommend this to literally anybody,” she said. “This is something I’ll carry with me for the rest of my life. Not only because I learned a lot, but I also met great people and went places I would’ve never seen otherwise.”
Reflecting on the experience, Harris noted the joy of revisiting familiar geological landmarks through fresh eyes and the satisfaction of guiding students toward a deeper understanding of the natural world. The field course also serves as a bridge to classroom learning, enriching discussions and inspiring future participation.
“Regardless of backgrounds, interests, aptitudes, and even prior education, every student exhibits tremendous growth in a short amount of time,” he said.
