July 19, 2005
Dear ESSE 21 Fairbanks Meeting Participants,
Please read the following email carefully, it contains information you'll need to know for your visit to Fairbanks to attend the ESSE 21 2005 Annual Meeting.
There will be taxis available at the airport to take you to the Cutler Apartments at the university. They will be there as long as the airport receives disembarking passengers. The ride to the University takes between 10 and 15 minutes.
Taxi numbers: Executive: 455-8899, Checker 456-3333, Airport taxi 457-7433
Check-in at the Cutler Apartments is open 24 hours a day. Additional registration information is contained in the confirmation you received from Conference Services. Each apartment has a full kitchen, free laundry facilities (a group laundry facility, not in each apartment), telephone with local phone service, and linens (sheets, pillows, blanket, washcloth, and towels). The Conference Services desk is located in the lobby of the Moore-Bartlett-Skarland (MBS) Complex. The phone number for the Conference Services desk is (907) 474-6769 (or just 6769 if you are dialing on campus).
Campus transportation will provide a bus to take us as a group to each activity, with the exception of the trip to Pioneer Park on Friday and to Denali National Park on Sunday.
The latest draft of the meeting agenda is available at http://esse21.usra.edu/ESSE21/2005draftagenda.pdf
Conference registration will begin at 4:00 p.m. in the lobby of the International Arctic Research Center (IARC) building. At 5:30 a bus will pick us up and take us to the Pump House Restaurant for a Welcome dinner. We will return at 9.
Conference registration will resume in the Globe Room in the Geophysical Institute. A breakfast buffet will be served during registration. Guests of participants are welcome at the complimentary breakfast buffet. The Plenary Session is located down the hall at the GI Auditorium.
Lunch will be boxed-lunch sandwiches at the Large Animal Research Center (tours included). Guest lunch/tours are $20 per guest.
The conference will resume in the Globe Room (where registration and breakfast were located before lunch).
Dinner will be at the River's Edge Resort (Chena's Restaurant). The cost for guests is $32.00 each.
Lunch will be served in the Great Hall (the lobby area outside of the Rasmuson Library). The cost for guests is $12.00 each. Tours will be conducted in groups to the Visualization Lab during lunch.
Dinner will be an Alaskan Salmon Bake at Pioneer Park. The cost for adult guests will be $32 per guest. Admission for children will be $9 each.
Lunch will be served in the Globe room. The cost will be $10 per guest. Arrangements have been made for admission during lunch to the Museum of the North, a short walk across campus. Rides will be available to those who need one. The cost of admission for guests to the museum is $4 each.
The location for dinner is still being determined. The plan is for the bus to make two stops. Stop one will be at a restaurant for a group dinner. The second stop will be downtown for sightseeing. If you opt to go downtown instead of the restaurant, you will be on your own for dinner. We will notify you when the final plans are set.
The bus to Denali will pick us up at 7 a.m. A continental breakfast will be available on the bus along with cold drinks and water. A box lunch will be provided to each person. The cost of the box lunch per guest is $12. The bus should arrive at Denali by 10 a.m. where each person will have 2 choices. Choice 1 is to stay at the Visitors Center and walk the local trails. Choice 2 will be a Park Service bus ride through the park. The park service bus will return to the Visitors Center by 4 p.m. so that there is time for the bus riders to visit the Center (newly renovated).
The Park Service requests that we confirm the number of people who will take the bus ride through the park. If your information has changed since you filled out your reservation page, please contact us. Last minute requests for the Park Service bus tour will be based on availability. The cost for guests on the park bus tour will be $11.00 for each guest.
Our own bus will pick us up at 5 and take us to dinner at Ester's Bunk House Restaurant. A buffet will be served. In an upgrade to the paid buffet, Alaskan Crab is available for an additional $11 (payable by each person at the restaurant). The cost for the regular buffet per guest is $25, with an additional $11 to upgrade to include crab.
Important Notes:
Poster space is limited. If you have not already reserved space, please do so as soon as possible. If you need to ship posters or other materials ahead of the meeting, please send them to our meeting host, Anupma Prakash:
Anupma Prakash
UAF, Geophysical Institute
903 Koyukuk Dr; PO Box 757320
Fairbanks, AK 99775-7320; USA
Phone: 1-907-4741897
Fax: 1-907-4747290
Email: prakash@gi.alaska.edu
Only cash or checks will be accepted to pay for guest activities or meals. Checks should be made out to USRA.
If any information has changed since you registered on-line for the conference, please contact us before July 25. At that time we must give all food services, buses, and activities our final participation count.
The weather in Fairbanks is likely to be in the low to mid 70's during the day, dropping into the 50's at night. Also, some rain is likely this time of year.
Several Fairbanks residents also recommended you bring bug spray. A hat and sunglasses would also be good things to have during your stay.
Contact Phone Numbers:
Conference Services (Cutler Apartments ) Check-in Desk: (907) 474-6769
Lee Mewshaw's Cell Phone: 443-956-4378
University of Alaska Fairbanks maps on line:
http://www.gi.Alaska.edu/westridgemap.html
http://www.uaf.edu/campusmap/index.html
Please don't hesitate to contact Lee Mewshaw at lmewshaw@seabrook.usra.edu (410-740-6216) with questions, changes, or requests.
We look forward to seeing you in Fairbanks!
The ESSE 21 Meeting Planning Team