Location

Hotel Little America
2515 East Butler Avenue
Flagstaff, Arizona 86004
United States of America
(+1) 800-352-4386
http://flagstaff.littleamerica.com

The workshop location is the Hotel Little America in Flagstaff, Arizona. USA. Please do not use the phone number or web page above to make your reservation! We have a dedicated link for reservations by workshop attendants on our registration page. Several options on how to reach the hotel are given on our travel page.
The meeting area in the hotel can be reached through the gift store to the left of the central registration desk. The main meeting room is the Grand Ballroom A/B (see map). In addition, Grand Ballroom C, the hallway and alcove area are available for break-out meetings and breaks. The reception on Sunday, August 11, 2013, will be held in the Flagstaff room (see map).

Flagstaff

Timezone: Arizona/Phoenix [like Pacific Daylight Savings Time (PDT) at the time of the workshop]
Elevation: 6,910 ft (2,106 m)
Weather:
Flagstaff visitor guide: [pdf ] [web]
Flagstaff is an old railroad town founded in 1876. It is located in northern Arizona, the 48^th state of the United States of America. It lies at the southwestern edge of the Colorado Plateau, along the western side of the largest contiguous Ponderosa Pine forest in the continental United States. Flagstaff is located adjacent to Mount Elden, just south of the San Francisco Peaks, the highest mountain range in the state of Arizona. Humphreys Peak, the highest point in Arizona at 12,633 feet (3,851 m), is located about 10 miles (16 km) north of Flagstaff in the Kachina Peaks Wilderness within the Coconino National Forest. Flagstaff is also about 81 miles (about 130 km) south of the Grand Canyon National Park.
[With text adapted from this Wikipedia page.]

Getting around
As with many other cities in the Southwest of the US, it may be a good idea to rent a car even just for getting around in town, see full listing for rental car companies and other means of transportation, including taxi services. The panel on the right has links to the reservation pages of major rental car companies present in Flagstaff. Renting a bicycle from this company (and probably others) may be an interesting way to explore the city and surroundings as well.
   Flagstaff has a nice and walkable historic downtown area, but it is about two miles (about 3.2 km) from the workshop location - and there are also things of interest a bit further away. We will have one or two University of Arizona vans around for short distance transportation, but they may not always be available. Please check this Flagstaff webpage for more information, especially the visitor guide.
   There is public transport provided by the Mountain Line buses, which connect the workshop location to Flagstaff's historic downtown every 20 minutes between 6:00am to 10:00pm (Monday through Friday) and 7:00am through 8:00pm on the weekends. Please check their webpage for more details and updates.

Restaurants & pubs

Flagstaff features more than 100 restaurants at various price levels and cuisine. The railroad district around the train station and just south of the railway, and the historic downtown north of Santa Fe Avenue/US 180/Historic Route 66, have a high density of restaurants and pubs.

Things to see in and around Flagstaff

Local attractions

Lowell Observatory is located about 3.1 miles (approximately 5.0 km, about 10 minutes by car) from the workshop location. It was established in 1894 and is thus among the oldest observatories in the United States. It is a National Historic Landmark, and the original 24-inch (0.61 m) Alvan Clark Refracting Telescope, built in 1896 at the original site on Mars Hill Road, is still operated as a public education tool. The 13-inch (0.33 m) Pluto Discovery Telescope used in 1930 to discover the dwarf planet Pluto is located at the same site. Lowell Observatory currently operates four research telescopes at the Anderson Mesa dark site, located about 12 miles (20 km) southeast of Flagstaff.
Visiting the observatory is free of charge, and we can arrange a dedicated guided tour on Friday, August 16, 2013, in the afternoon, in case of sufficient interest exists (please indicate on the registration form!). We will provide transportation for up to 6 people using our van, and will try to coordinate more transportation using private vehicles if needed.
[With text adapted from this Wikipedia page.]

The Pioneer Museum is one of several museums operated by the Arizona Historical Society. It is located in the historic Coconino County Hospital for the Indigent, which was built in 1908 using rocks from a 500,000 year old explosive eruption of Mount Elden. The hospital ceased operation in 1938. Exhibits reflect on the local history of ranching, logging, transportation and general pioneer life in Flagstaff. The museum is located about 4.0 miles (6.4 km, 10 minutes by car) from the workshop location, on North Fort Valley Road/US 180, which ultimately also leads to the Grand Canyon Village.
[With text adapted from the Arizona Historical Society Pioneer Museum page.]

The Museum of Northern Arizona down the road from the Pioneer Museum features exhibits related to the anthropology, biology, geology, and fine art of the Colorado Plateau. It reflects on the unique cultures of the Grand Canyon and northern Arizona region, such as the Hopi, Navajo, Zuni, and other Native American tribes in Arizona, in the present and past. The museum, which was founded in 1928 as a community effort, is located about 4.9 miles (7.9 km, 12 minutes by car) from the workshop hotel, on North Fort Valley Road/US 180.
[With text adapted from the Museum of Northern Arizona page.]

Nearby attractions
Many of the most interesting and impressive sights around Flagstaff are located inside National Parks or National Monuments. All parks and monuments charge entrance fees (typically per passenger car). If you are interested to visit more than one or two, you should inquire with the ranger at any of the entrance booths about the annual pass, which is valid for all National Parks and Monuments and can mean considerable savings with respect to the individual entrance fees.

Grand Canyon National Park encompasses a large part of the Grand Canyon with the Colorado river gorge. Its South Rim, which is closest to Flagstaff (about 90 minutes by car) is the most visited and easily accessible, while the North Rim, which is about six hours by car from Flagstaff (190 mi/305 km), it less developed. Both are expected to be open for the public at the time of the workshop.

Please note:

If you are planning on lodging within the Grand Canyon National Park, including camping on the South or North Rim, reservations need to be placed well in advance. This is also true for any lodging close to the park, e.g. in Tusayan, Arizona (close to the South Rim park entrance).

The Grand Canyon Skywalk is not located inside the Grand Canyon National Park; rather, it is on the Hualapai reservation and owned and operated by the tribe.

The Grand Canyon Railway runs daily from Williams, Arizona (about 35 mi/56 km west of Flagstaff - about 40 minutes by car), to Grand Canyon Village inside the Grand Canyon National Park. Round trips are possible within one day. Please consult the webpage for schedule, reservations (well advanced is highly recommended) and pricing.

Sunset Crater National Monument is located around a classic (inactive) cinder cone volcano which erupted around 1050 AD. While the rim of the volcano is inaccessible for visitors, other hiking trails allow to get close to lava flows from this eruption.

Walnut Canyon National Monument features Sinagua cliff dwellings, about 25 of which can be explored following the Island Trail, or just watched from the shorter and easier Rim Trail.

Wupatki National Monument hosts the remains of a large (> 100 rooms) and several smaller pueblo structures occupied after the eruption of Sunset Crater around 1050 AD and abandoned about 1225 AD.

Navajo Nation
The Grand Canyon National Park can be entered or exited through the eastern park entrance (near the Desert View Watchtower), on route Arizona (AZ) 64. This road connects to US 89 south (Flagstaff) and north (Page/Grand Canyon North Rim) at Cameron, Arizona. AZ 64 roughly follows the Little Colorado River gorge and passes through the western part of the Navajo Nation. The Little Colorado can be seen from at least two viewpoints - please check here for the ones with free access and ones which are a fee area in the Navajo Nation Tribal Park system. The view points typically feature picnic and rest areas, and local vendors selling Navajo jewelry and other local crafts and art products (you'll have to find out about the quality yourself - sorry, no recommendations or warranties!).