2006 Interim Conference

We will convene at Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort for slide presentations from the Friday evening until Sunday morning, to give you a good grounding in the geology and flora of the western mountains, and to educate your eye.

You will hear some of the best and most-knowledgeable speakers covering the flora and geology of the area:

Loraine Yeatts:   Western Alpines: Life on the Tundra
     William Parry:    The Geology of the Western Cordilleras

Three presentations on some of the endemic plants:
Noel Holmgren: Penstemon
James Reveal:     Eriogonum
                          Sean Hogan:     Lewisia and other succulents

We will cover the flora of the area, of course:
   Elizabeth Neese:     Southern Utah
Richard Hildreth:   Snowy Range
           William Gray:         Wasatch Mountains
       Stuart Winchester: Ruby Mountains
      Noel Holmgren:   Teton Mountains

And we couldn't do without some good advice on growing the western alpines:
Rick Lupp: Growing and propagating western alpines:
                                       How I do it over here
         Graham Nicholls: Growing and propagating western alpines:
                                       How I do it over there

Then, later on the Sunday morning, we'll turn you loose in the mountains for three-day trips away from our base camp - with full day hikes in new sites (where no NARGS meeting has gone before) and optional informal evening get-togethers with your botanist-guides, to share the floral events of the day, and to consolidate your plant lists.
No night-time lectures; no stuffy banquets; this is field work!

Naturally, there will be the usual array of shopping opportunities at the meeting, but in a not-so-usual order. During the opening Conference, we will have books, art, crafts, and plant seeds for sale - but no plants, so that their care will not be a problem during the field days. Then, upon return to Snowbird on Wednesday afternoon, we will stage our full, frenzied Plant Sale, to give you the opportunity to purchase some of the lovely and intriguing plants you've seen in the mountains, and lusted after.
An early, partial listing of participating vendors includes:
Ames Utah Native Seed (Paul Ames, Eureka UT) – Sego Lily bulbs and seeds of plants native to the Great Basin
Great Basin Natives (Robert and Merrill Johnson, Holden UT) – Unusual plants native to the Great Basin
Intermountain Cactus (Bob Johnson, Kaysville UT) – Hardy cactus native to the Great Basin
Seeds Trust (High Altitude Gardens) (Bill McDorman, Hailey ID) – Seeds from around the world for the coldest climates and shortest seasons
Southwest Native Seeds (Sally Walker, Tucson AZ) – Seeds of unusual alpine plants
Wildflowers Unlimited (Virginia Markham, Hildale UT) – Seeds of Great Basin wildflowers
Willard Bay Gardens (Barney and Della Barnett, Willard UT) – Unusual alpine and rock garden plants
(For information, the Great Basin is a physiographic province that encoumpassses the western portions of Utah, most of Nevada, small portions of Idaho, Oregon and northern California.)

The final presentation at Wednesday night's Banquet will - thanks to the marvels of digital photography - be comprised of scenes from each of the five field trips: plants, scenery and people.

Post-Conference tour to the Bighorn Mountains, northern Wyoming
A trip is planned to leave immediately following the Conference, departing Snowbird on the morning of Thursday, July 27th and returning to Salt Lake City on Tuesday, August 1 (5 nights, 6 days). There will be overnight stays in Riverton, Burgess Junction and Cody, Wyoming, and daytime stops or extended hikes in and around the Wind River range, the
Bighorn Mountains and the Absarokas.

More details and costs will be available soon.

Accommodations:

Our "base camp," where we will hold the early lectures and the last-night, post-field banquet, will be Snowbird Ski and Summer Resort, a complex of stunning buildings nestled into Utah's Wasatch Mountains.
http://www.snowbird.com/

All prices given are for the rooms, regardless of occupancy (single,
double, etc.)

Prices for standard single-room accomodations:
Cliff Lodge - Full mountain-view bedrooms have two queen beds and full bath: $130.
(Cliff Lodge is the main building, where the meeting activities will take place)

Lodge at Snowbird - Standard bedrooms have two queen beds and full bath: $105.
(This building is just down the path from Cliff Lodge)

In addition, there are the following options for expansion and sharing, with a variety of configurations, in both buildings, from which to choose. Please go to http://www.snowbird.com to see photos of the rooms and contact Joyce Fingerut for further information and prices: (See address at foot of page)

Cliff Lodge:
All rooms include a coffee-maker, small fridge, two telephones with modem jack, hair dryer, humidifier, iron and ironing board.

- Deluxe bedrooms come in a variety of shapes and sizes, but all give you expanded space, which would be especially delightful if you are planning on taking the Wasatch field trip, coming early to the Conference or staying on afterward: $179.

- One bedroom suites, with two queen beds in one room and a king in the other, can accomodate up to 6 people, which would be ideal for a family get-together: $248.

Lodge at Snowbird:
All rooms include an exterior balcony with a view, telephone with modem jack, hair dryers, and humidifier. Iron and ironing board are available upon request.

- Studio has a queen sofa-bed, full bath, fully-equipped kitchen, living and dining area with fireplace: $105.
- Efficiency offers two double wall beds (Murphy beds) to sleep up to 4 people, full bath, fully-equipped kitchen, living and dining area, fireplace.
- One bedroom condominium, with its combination of a Bedroom and a Studio, can accomodate up to 6 people: $188.
- One bedroom condominium with Loft is a nifty combination of a Studio on the ground floor (with sofabeds) and the Bedroom in the Loft (with two queen beds): $261.

As in any hotel, all rates quoted are exclusive of state sales and lodging room taxes, which will be applied at check-out.
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Registration fees:

The price for the six-day meeting will be $850 US per person, and will be inclusive of:
- All lectures, activities and meals for the Conference at Snowbird, from Friday afternoon until Sunday morning, when everyone begins the field trips.
- All transportation, lodging and meals for the three-day field trips.
- Plant Sales and closing banquet upon return to Snowbird on Wednesday,
July 26.

For the many who have expressed interest in attending only a portion of the NARGS-sponsored International Interim
Rock Garden Plant Conference: we have separately priced the two portions of the Conference:
the lectures at Snowbird, and the three-day field trips.

SNOWBIRD EVENTS: includes all meals and 12 lectures at Snowbird, from the evening Reception on Friday, July 21st
until the Sunday morning departure for field trips; also includes the Wednesday, July 26th, afternoon Plant Sale,
and the evening reception and closing Banquet, with a presentation of slides from all five field trips.
Price: $450
Without Wednesday reception and Banquet: $375

FIELD TRIPS: includes all meals,* transportation, and hotel rooms (based upon double occupancy) for the three-day
field trips, beginning with departure from Snowbird on Sunday morning, July 23rd, till the return to Snowbird
on Wednesday afternoon, July 26th; as well as the Wednesday Plant Sales, reception, and closing Banquet,
with a presentation of slides from all five field trips.
* Those on Tetons trip will purchase one dinner in Jackson, WY, on their own
Price: $500
Without Wednesday reception and Banquet: $425

Due to the recent exorbitant increases in transportation costs, NARGS has waived the $100 late fee.

Registration forms will be included with the Winter issue of the "Rock Garden Quarterly" which will be mailed in mid-January. You can view a version of the conference brochure containing the schedule and information regarding the field trips as well as the registration form which you can print, complete and mail with fees to:
Joyce Fingerut
537 Taugwonk Road
Stonington, Connecticut
06378-1805
U.S.A.

For further information, Joyce may also be contacted by e-mail at alpinegarden@comcast.net
or by telephone on 860-535-3067


	Tired of sitting in dark lecture halls, just talking about the gorgeous flora of our western mountains? Dying to get out there and see, smell, touch the real thing? Here's a great opportunity to learn about the US western alpine flora through lectures AND extended field trips.