Hackaday Southwest Tour

Earlier this summer, I took a trip through the southeast of the country. On this trip I was able to visit several hackerspaces and meet some really great people. We started at Squidfoo in Springfield Missouri. Then Moved on to Makers Local 256 in Huntsville Alabama. After that we saw 7hills hackerspace in Rome Georgia as well as Freeside hackerspace in Atlanta Georgia. The final leg of the trip took us to Chatt*Lab in Chattanooga Tennessee and the Hacker Consortium in Nashville.

For this trip, I am taking my family to the Grand Canyon. Well, that’s the part the kids are looking forward to. I’m looking forward to more hackerspaces and fantastic people. If you’re along the route from Springfield Missouri to Flagstaff Arizona, let me know (we’ll be hitting roswell NM on the way back too). We can go a little out of our way, but not hours.  I would really love to visit some hackerspaces on this trip and do a video tour. You can comment here or hit me directly at caleb@hackaday.com.

confirmed:

OhmSpace.org — Oklahoma City
Quelab.net — Albuquerque
Mikey Sklar — Truth or Consequence
Heatsync — Mesa
Xerocraft — Tucson

Waiting for confirmation:
BorgSpace — Tulsa

20 thoughts on “Hackaday Southwest Tour

  1. In Tempe, a suburb of Phoenix where Arizona State University is located as well, I know that MakerBench is a big one that is relatively new. Sadly, I haven’t been there yet but their emails make is sound like an amazing place

    There’s also HeatSync labs in Mesa that wretch mentioned in his above post. That place seems like an amazing place as well and much more inline with the make culture based.

    In reading this post, I’m going to try to cut out early and head over to one of these to check them out.

  2. in Mesa AZ on main between country club and mesa drive is heatsync labs stop by there if you can HeatSync Labs
    140 W. Main St.
    Mesa, AZ 85201 but probably not since you are probably on a budget and there for vacation not to be in the middle of the city but if you get a chance come on down to check it out

    1. If you’re up for a change of pace, Jivemind in Glendale is a music collab space that feels somewhat like a hackerspace. They’re friends with HeatSync, it’s nice to see people apply a hackerspace concept to other fields.

  3. Not a hackerspace here that I know of, but when you pass through Amarillo, TX, be sure to stop by Cadillac Ranch (search on Wikipedia if you’ve never heard of it). Avoid the Big Texan restaurant (home of the famous Free 72oz steak). The steaks there aren’t worth eating…

    1. Lubbock dweller here, really wish we had a hacker space here. It would clear up most of the clutter in my room and make me feel less like a pack rat. Maybe someone else would want to help me come up with something to do with a few handfuls of P2’s and P3’s

  4. If you are near the Four Corners area, check out the Chaco Culture National Historic Park. It contains what were the largest buildings in North America until around the 1870s. And they are OVER A THOUSAND YEARS OLD

    If your van can’t “hack” the roads going in you can also catch the “Aztec Ruins” in I think Farmingdale, NM. or Pueblo Pintado near Crownpoint, NM. But if you can do it, I would try to go to Chaco.

    http://www.chacoarchive.org/cra/

  5. Hey! Definitely stop by Quelab! I think it’d be great, if nothing else, just to sit down and chat. I’d really like to meet you guys and if you’re coming through Albuquerque anyways, then it’d only make sense to stop on by.

    Also, if you like spicy food, you have to try the green chile here, or just some New Mexican food in general. I can set you up right if necessary.
    Really though, if you’re going through New Mexico, honestly I’d make tasting green chile a bigger priority than going to Quelab, but since you’re already coming to Quelab, the green chile only makes sense to follow.

    Do you guys have any sort of time schedule yet? Departure date perhaps? I don’t wanna miss you guys coming through!

      1. Well what about spicy foods? Perhaps we could order a pizza with green chile on it? Hell, even McDonald’s has bowed down to our green chile addiction and offers green chile cheeseburgers here. I mean, for some people, it’s nothing to write home about, but for many people here, it’s an addiction indeed.

        I look forward to meeting you guys! (and possibly gals because it’ll be family?)

  6. Caleb: You need to contact Adric before you get to Albuquerque and Quelab – he hosts 2600 Fri evenings. We are not normally open Fri evenings except for specific events like 2600. The phone is a google voicemail.

    Would hate for folks to miss y’all because y’all showed up too early.

    I will not be there (I will be out of town), but we welcome you and your family!

    1. Hey Bandit, it looks like Caleb and Adric are already in contact, as says Adric tonight, but Adric’s still unsure as to what day/time hackaday peeps are coming by, so that parts up in the air, but I’ve definitely decided to get some green chile and non-green chile pizza for their arrival.

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