January 24, 2008

Dear AAPS Members;

The Tucson Show begins in about a week, and this year there are a number of things you should know before you leave for the show. See the article by member Geoffry Notkin below on the road construction.

Our Fossil Dealers Show Guide will once again be available to show goers, distributed at many of the Tucson Show locations. It is available in PDF below.

When packing up for the show, don't forget a donation for the AAPS Auction which will be at the Student Union on the grounds of the University of Arizona once again. The public is welcome, so invite your customers to the meeting and auction.

Have a safe trip, and I hope to see you all in Tucson.

George Winters, Administrative Director

Greetings all.

I know many of you will shortly be heading this way, and I also know many of you are Tucson show veterans. However, you'll find things very different around town in 2008 and I thought it would be helpful to post a few tips and announcements.

We're all familiar with the traffic problems and the shortage of parking during the gem show, especially along the Frontage Road strip (Day's Inn, Howard Johnson, etc.). Well, the bad news is it's going to be a lot worse this year.

I-10, the interstate which blasts right through Tucson is undergoing major construction and ALL downtown exits, in both directions are closed, all the way from 29th Street in the south, to Prince Road in the north. That means on ramps AND off ramps. You cannot get on, or off, the highway, anywhere in downtown or central Tucson.

Frontage Road and Freeway (the service roads on either side of the highway) have been temporarily widened and will take the brunt of the traffic. For those of you flying in, you will either need to drive all the way through town from the airport, or take I-10 part way, and then exit at 29th Street and make your way up Frontage Road to your destination. If you're staying in the north (Orange Grove, Ina, etc.) those exits are open as normal. So, it's going to take longer than usual to get where you want to go.

This Arizona Department of Transportation site has a very helpful map and other info:

http://www.i10tucsondistrict.com/29toP.html

Here is a useful FAQ for first time visitors:

http://www.visittucson.org/visitor/events/gemshow/faq/

Parking is going to be particularly difficult this year, so you may wish to consider using the free Gem Ride shuttle. You can download a PDF route map from here:

http://www.visittucson.org/visitor/events/gemshow/shuttle/

It's also been a little chillier than usual so far this year. Your regular shorts and sandals might not be enough. Consider checking the local weather before you leave:

http://www.weatherunderground.com/US/AZ/Tucson/KTUS.html

Regards,

Geoff N.
www.aerolite.org

p.s. If anyone needs last-minute show accommodation, let me know. I have a couple of leads.

The 2008 meeting will be held on Saturday February 9th at 7:00 PM at the Student Union Memorial Center on the grounds of the University of Arizona. The annual Auction follows the meeting at about 8:30 PM. Please bring a donation for the Auction.

Note that Martin Zinn Expositions has once again donated Shuttle Service from the Inn Suites and Ramada Limited the evening of the meeting. Shuttles will leave the Lobby of both hotels starting at 6:30PM and returning to the hotels at the end of the auction. Refreshments will be available starting at 7PM at the Meeting, Dinner starts at 7:30PM.

Please Note, you will need to purchase your meals prior to February 7th. Meals cannot be purchased the evening of the meeting. Stop by the AAPS booth and purchase your dinner tickets as soon as you can after arriving at Tucson, or call my cell phone 435-757-6017 to make reservations.

AAPS in association with the International Wild Life Museum is proud to present a public lecture by Kirk Johnson PhD, and Ray Troll, author and artist - Authors of "Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway". Friday February 8th, 7:00 PM at the International Wildlife Museum, located at 4800 W Gates Pass Road in Tucson. Stop by the AAPS booth for driving directions.

Hear about the zany adventures of Troll and Johnson as they drove across the American West in search of fossils. Much of their travels were spent in remote places where they discovered small-town museums packed with paleontological treasures, rock quarries that have yielded hundreds of fossils, and ancient seashores tracked with dinosaurs footprints. There are fossils everywhere, but it takes knowing what to look for to find them-especially at 65 miles per hour. Troll and Johnson are the illustrator and author, respectively, of the new book, Cruisin' the Fossil Freeway: An Epoch Tale of a Scientist and an Artist on the Ultimate 5,000-Mile Paleo Road Trip, from Fulcrum Publishing.

Free Admission, but due to limited seating, you must pick up a ticket at the AAPS booth in the Cooper Ballroom of the Inn Suites Hotel prior to Friday evening or call 435-757-6017 to make reservations.

Membership Dues for 2008 are now due. Business dues are $35.00 and General Membership dues are $25.00. Please stop by the AAPS booth in Tucson to pay your current membership fees. Sign up a client or customer during the show, and they will recieve a free AAPS membership pin.

2008 Cover
The 2008 Tucson Guide to Fossil Dealers and Events has been printed and will be distributed in Tucson starting the afternoon of January 28th.

We will be expanding our distribution at the 2008 shows, with display racks in each of the lobbies. The board will also be preparing posters for display in dealer member rooms, and on Marty Zinn's Show Boards located throughout his show locations

The Guide pictures a select group of AAPS Auction items. Stop by the ballroom at the Inn Suites, and visit the AAPS Booth, and Custom Paleo's table to see many more donated items that will be auctioned off the nigh of the annual meeting.

Download the 2008 AAPS Show Guide PDF. If you have any problems opening the file in your browser, right click on the link and save the file to your computer. Then open it using adobe acrobat reader.