About Me
Professional Background
I have taught geology at Modesto Junior College since 1988. From 1984-88 I taught labs and classes at Santa Barbara City College
University of Nevada, Reno
M.S. degree in Geology, 1985
Pomona College, Claremont, CA
B.A. degree in Geology, 1980 (check out the website and learn about the secret Pomona/47/Star Trek connection!)
Chaffey College, Rancho Cucamonga, CA
A.A. in Physical Science, 1977
Stuff About Your Teacher...
- Folk Music
- I have played the folk guitar since I was thirteen years old. I love to listen to modern folk and bluegrass. Some of my favorite singers these days are Nanci Griffith, Laurie Lewis, Arlo Guthrie, and the Dixie Chicks. Pete Seeger was one of the great voices of all time in the folk music world.
- Birds
- My latest hobby is seeking out and photographing birds. MJC's West Campus is actually a marvelous bird habitat, and I've found 35-40 species in recent months. Check out some of my work at Geotripper's California Birds.
- Paleontology
- Even though paleontology is part of my career, I find it to be endlessly fascinating. I have enjoyed dinosaurs for years (even before Jurassic Park), and I love the search! One of the greatest teaching moments of my career was our 1994 discovery of a partial Zephyrosaurus skeleton in Bridger, Montana. The specimen currently resides in the Museum of the Rockies, in Bozeman, Montana. My own personal "great" moment was the discovery of a cervical vertebrae of a Camarasaurus near Green River in 1996 by me and one of my students.
- Family History
- I have had an ongoing interest in tracing my family roots, but my many other projects have kept me from exploring this area as much as I have wanted to. Luckily, others in my family have done the footwork, and due to their efforts, I can trace some of my ancestors back into the late 1700's and early 1800's. Some of my notable ancestors include members of the Donner Party, a Civil War soldier on the Union side who died in Andersonville Prison, and a confederate soldier who had a price on his head for a time for being A.W.O.L. from the war. My children can trace their ancestry (through my wife) back to the Revolutionary War (one family member served under George Washington), the Mayflower, and even back to the 12th century to a castle in Scotland (although there is a serious gap of about 400 years in the genealogy at this point). It has been noted that my kids do have a claim to the throne of England through their family relations, but a great many others (probably several million) stand before them in the line of succession!
- Southwest Archaeology
- My interest in archaeology dates to a much earlier time than even my interest in geology. As a child, I loved the vacations that took us to historical sites, and I spent hours in ghost towns looking for coins or square nails. My first visit to Mesa Verde National Park was one of the high points of my childhood. It was years before I was able to come back to the Four Corners region, and at that time I discovered that ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo culture were present throughout the entire region. Since then I have included stops on my geology field classes that explore canyons where the ruins could be found. On our trips we have encountered spectacular ruins, petroglyphs, and pictographs in canyons of the American Southwest.
- Cinema
- I enjoy old movies. To relax, I pull out a stack of old DVDs, pop up some popcorn, and vegetate in front of the television for hours at a time. It is a good way to avoid housework and grading! Check out the greatest movies of all time! Want to see all of the latest reviews of hundreds of movies? Click here
Works I've Published
Hayes, G., and Hayes, A., 2013, Geology and Cultural History of the Western Colorado Plateau with a Geologic Road Guide for Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks, self published for a field seminar with the American Association of Petroleum Geologists.
Hughes, N., and Hayes, G., 2012, Geological Excursions in the Sonora Pass Region of the Sierra Nevada, National Association of Geoscience Teachers - Far Western Section, Fall 2012 Conference Guidebook, Sunbelt Publishing, 122 pages.
Editor and Conference Organizer, Geology and Natural History of Lava Beds National Monument, National Association of Geoscience Teachers – Far Western Section, Fall 2007 Conference Guidebook, 113 pages.
Author, From the Foothills to the Sky: A Teacher’s Guide to the Geology of the Tuolumne Meadows Region of Yosemite National Park, National Association of Geoscience Teachers – Far Western Section, Fall 2006 Conference Guidebook, pages 125-155.
Author, A Teacher’s Guide to the Roadside Geology of Kings Canyon National Park and Giant Sequoia National Monument, National Association of Geoscience Teachers – Far Western Section, Fall 2005 Conference Guidebook, pages 39-60.
Garry F. Hayes, 2002, Use of Collaborative Problem Solving in the Field to Predict "Future" Effects of Past Events (abstract). Proceedings of the Pacific Division, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Volume 21.
Editor and Conference Organizer, The Living Geology of the Sierra Nevada, Great Valley and Coast Ranges of California, National Association of Geoscience Teachers – Far Western Section, Fall 1998 Conference Guidebook, 163 pages.
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