An overview of travel information, transportation to and from Snowbird Resort, and some of the more famous sites are included in these pages. Additional meeting information will be forthcoming in articles by the Program Chair in issues of the ASP Newsletter.
Snowbird, Utah is located 29 miles from the Salt Lake City International Airport.
Southern Travel Agency, the official travel agency for the American Society for Photobiology Meeting, has negotiated airfare discounts with Delta Airlines for travel to Salt Lake City, Utah. These discounts are for the exclusive use of ASP Meeting attendees and can be obtained only through Southern Travel.
For airline reservations call Southern Travel Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST. Identify yourself as an American Society for Photobiology Meeting attendee. Tel: 1-800-356-3287 or 706-724-1973; FAX 706-722-5017.
Canyon Transportation provides van transportation to and from the Salt Lake City International Airport and Snowbird Resort. Reservations should be made in advance directly with Canyon Transportation. A Transportation Form is included in the centerfold section of this booklet. To guarantee seating, form must be filled out completely. Fax form to 801-255-1868. For phone reservations, call 800-255-1841 or 801-255-1841 (be sure to say you are an American Society for Photobiology Meeting attendee). E-mail: res@canyontransport.com.
Cost is $36 per person round trip ($18.00 one way). Van travel time between the resort and the Salt Lake City International Airport is approximately 45 minutes.
Airport to Resort: Vans are located at the outside curb of the baggage claim area of the terminal. Departure times are hourly starting at 8:00 a.m. and ending at 10:00 p.m.
Resort to Airport: Vans pick up outside the main hotel lobbies with departures hourly from 6:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m.
For van transportation before or after the express shuttle hours listed above there is a 3 person minimum charge.
Historic Temple Square is located at 50 W. North Temple right in the heart of downtown Salt Lake City, The center-piece of this beautifully landscaped 10 acre plot is the six-spired Salt Lake Temple. Also located on the Square is the domed Tabernacle, home of the world-famous Morman Tabernacle Choir. Free tours are given daily starting every few minutes at the flagpole on the square.
Utah Museum of Natural History is located at 1390 E. Presidents Circle and features 200 million years under one roof! Native American artifacts, Jurassic dinosaurs, hands-on activities and exhibits that showcase Utah's natural wonders are all highlights of the Museum.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest lake west of the Mississippi. Only the Dead Sea has a higher salt content than the Great Salt Lake. The lake's salinity varies, but percentages have been as high as 27%. A good spot for viewing the lake is located approximately 17 miles west of Salt Lake on Interstate 80, Exit 104.
National Parks of the Colorado Plateau make up an immense area of land bordered on the south by the Sonoran and Painted Deserts, on the west by the Great Basin of Nevada, on the east by the Rocky Mountains, and on the north by the Unita Mountains of Utah. Utah boasts 45 State Parks where spectacular scenery, a wide variety of outdoor activities and quiet nature trails abound. Several of the more popular parks, located south of Salt Lake City (approximately 230 to 325 miles depending on the park) are featured below. Plan time before or after the meeting to enjoy the natural beauty of Utah and bring your family!
Rain, wind, temperature changes, and the shallow generally peaceful Virgin River are master sculptors, chiseling out Zion Canyon and its massive stone formations. Giant sandstone and shale monoliths give the park its power and character.
The Watchman stands guard at the park entrance and rises 2,600 feet above the road.
West Temple is located just inside the park and is made of layer upon layer of rock ascending more than 4,100 feet from the base.
Great White Throne is comprised of Navajo Sandstone. The top of the megalith has less iron oxide than does the base and so its pale shoulders are set off by a darker body of stone.
Weeping Rock is a grotto carved from the stone and lavishly furnished with hanging gardens.
From the rim of the canyon, the ground falls away to reveal an incredible assortment of hoodoos, fins, mazes and spires. The vantage point at Bryce, located on one of the high plateaus of Utah, offers a view of over 200 miles. The gray, white, vermillion, pink and chocolate cliffs create a breathtaking panorama of rock and almost defy description. The rocky forms have names like Queen's Garden, Sinking Ship, Silent City, Wall Street and Fairyland Canyon. Bryce also offers another world - one of forests (Aspen, pine, spruce and fir) and meadows.
Born of seeping salt, the formation of the arches began 300 million years ago in the Pennsylvanian Period, when salt water from a nearby ocean flooded the area. Repeated flooding and evaporation left deposits of salt which over the years became thousands of feet thick. Later debris washed down from higher elevations, gradually accumulated and compressed into rock creating the fantastic arches.
The arches have colorful and descriptive names: Delicate Arch is probably the best known feature of the park and is 46 feet high and 35 feet wide. From its lofty vantage point, the views are of mesas, canyons, the Colorado River Canyon, and the La Sal Mountains.
Landscape Arch at 306 feet is one of the longest natural stone arches in the world.
Other fascinating spires, fins and monoliths are Courthouse Towers, the Three Gossips, Devils Garden, Parade of Elephants and the Tower of Babel. Certainly all are worthy of hours, if not days, of exploration.
Utah's largest and most rugged national park awes visitors with the power and size of its landscape. The three sections of Canyonlands, Island in the Sky, the Maze and the Needles, are divided by the Green and Colorado rivers and are primitive worlds so vast that with even repeated exploration they will never give up all of their secrets.
Island in the Sky is the highest and northernmost section of the park. Formed by a broad, level mesa it features geological features with names like Grand Point Overlook, Cataract Canyon, White Rim and Upheaval Dome.
The Maze is in the westernmost section of the park and is certainly the most rugged. It has been called one of the most remote and inaccessible regions in the U.S. The Maze is a tortuous jumble of canyons. There are bizarre towers, walls, buttes and mesas - Land of Standing Rock, the Doll House and the Fins to name a few.
The Needles District is found in the southeast section of the park. An area of immense diversity, it features arches, spires, canyons, prehistoric Indian ruins and fascinating pictographs. The most striking landforms are the Needles themselves - massive sandstone spires of orange- rust and coral-colored rock that stand upright in tangled formation. For some of the more remote areas four-wheel-drive vehicles are recommended.
Accommodations in and around Utah's National Parks are in heavy demand during the summer months. (Canyonland and the Arches have no dining or lodging services within the parks.) If you are planning to visit the parks as part of your meeting plans, be advised to make your reservations early.
For park information call:
Bryce Canyon 801-834-5322
Arches 801-259-8161
Zion 801-772-3256
Canyonlands 801-259-7164
Utah State
Parks
Golden Spike Nat'l Historic Site
Dinosaur Nat'l Monument
Capitol Reef Nat'l Park - Including
cryptogamic/cryptobiotic soil.
It's alive!
Fossil Butte Nat'l Monument
Salt Lake City Airport
Canyon Transportation
Temple
Square
Mormon
Tabernacle
Great
Salt Lake
Sonoran Desert
Painted Desert
Zion Nat'l Park
Bryce Canyon Nat'l Park
Arches Nat'l Park
Canyonlands Nat'l Park