Workshop Logistics
Location
All workshop sessions and activities will take place on the campus of Arizona State University (ASU) in Tempe, Arizona, about 8 miles (13 km) east of downtown Phoenix.
Duration
The workshop will begin at 5 PM on Sunday, February 26, 2012, with a dinner at the R.S. Dietz Geology Museum on the ASU campus, and will end after a group dinner on Tuesday, February 28. Participants must attend all sessions. We anticipate that many participants will depart following Tuesday's dinner. However, if travel considerations would require you to stay over in Tempe the night of Tuesday, 28 February, there are hotel rooms being held for that night (see below).
Although it is not part of the workshop, we anticipate that some participants may be interested in visiting the Grand Canyon's Trail of Time. Steve Semken is willing to lead an informal trip on Wednesday, February 29, weather permitting. If you choose to stay over the extra day for this trip, please be advised that we will only go if the roads are safe, and we do not have a "foul weather" alternative plan.
Lodging
Participants are responsible for their own lodging expenses. Blocks of rooms are being held at the Four Points by Sheraton Tempe and at the Holiday Inn Express. Both hotels are a 15-minute walk from all of the workshop venues on the ASU campus. Participants are welcome to share a room to reduce costs, but will have to make these arrangements independently.
- To reserve a room at the Sheraton: Book Your Room via their website. To take advantage of our discount group rate, make your reservation by Friday, January 27.
- To reserve a room at the Holiday Inn Express: call the hotel at 480-966-7202 and let them know that you are with the Cutting Edge Time workshop. This block will be held for us until Sunday, February 12, 2012.
Travel by air
Plan to fly in and out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport (PHX). Participants must make their own arrangements for transportation to and from the airport. Several options are available:
- The workshop hotel, Four Points by Sheraton Tempe, offers a free airport shuttle service.
- Taxis are always available, but expect to pay about $25-30 each way (not including gratuity).
- SuperShuttle operates regularly between PHX and Tempe.
- You can ride Valley Metro Light Rail from PHX to Tempe. Take the free Metro shuttle bus from your terminal to the Light Rail transfer, and board any eastbound train (toward Tempe and Mesa). The closest stop to the Four Points and the ASU campus is the University Drive and Rural Road station.
Travel by car
Use ASU's Interactive Map or driving directions to ASU to navigate to the ASU Tempe Campus.
Visitor parking is available at a rate of $8 per day. Visit the ASU parking website for information. The closest parking structures to the workshop venues are the Apache Boulevard and Rural Road structures.
On-Site Logistics
Walking to the Workshop
Each of the two workshop venues is about a 15-minute walk from the hotel, and the weather is most likely to be beautiful! These maps will help you navigate:
- For Sunday evening: from the Four Points by Sheraton to the Dietz Museum in Bateman Physical Sciences F-Wing (PSF on campus maps)
- For the remainder of the workshop: from the Four Points by Sheraton to the ASU Memorial Union (MU on campus maps)
If you will need transportation between the hotel and the workshop venue because of a disability, please contact Steve Semken at semken@asu.edu in advance so that he can make arrangements for you.
Check-In
Workshop check-in will be available from 4-7 PM on Sunday, February 26, 2012, at the R. S. Dietz Geology Museum in the first-floor lobby of the Bateman Physical Sciences F Wing (PSF on campus maps) on the ASU Tempe Campus. Look for the big permineralized ("petrified") Araucarioxylon arizonicum tree trunk—Arizona's state fossil!—just outside the main building entrance on the south side (see photo at right). The opening activities and Sunday night dinner will take place here.
Dress
Dress will be educator casual during the entire workshop. Don't forget comfortable walking shoes, and a broad-brimmed hat if you are sensitive to the desert sun. Daytime high temperatures will likely be around 74°F (23°C) and nighttime lows around 50°F (10°C). (Phoenix is a winter resort town for good reason!) It probably won't rain, but bring a folding umbrella just in case. Indoor temperatures will be about the same as the daytime high.
Internet
ASU provides free guest WiFi all over campus, including the interiors of buildings.
Dining
With the exception of Sunday and Tuesday nights, all of the activities will take place inside the ASU Memorial Union (MU on campus maps), which houses a large variety of dining establishments) on three different levels. The workshop takes place during a normal week in the spring semester, so all of these places will be open—and the MU will be full of Sun Devils, so be prepared to wait in line a bit during peak times. Our final dinner will take place at Z'Tejas in Tempe.