travel to conference

[Jill Greer]

Hi, all,

Actually,  I'm sorry to say that it will entail renting a car from any of the airports, unless one wants to brave a Greyhound type bus.  The Fayetteville airport is a little over an hour from Joplin, Springfield's airport is slightly less (and does not require any complicated navigation - just get on I-44 west, and go straight to Joplin which is about 45-50 minutes without stopping).  

Tulsa is about one hour and 20 minutes from Joplin, and the best road is the Will Rogers Turnpike (the same highway as I-44, but with tolls added on.)

I do apologize for the costs -  I warned folks that there is no cheap way to get here by air, and of course driving isn't cheap anymore either.  If there were enough people coming in to the same airport at the same time, perhaps I could arrange a university van as a shuttle, for a small fee per person.  

That also raises the issue of registration costs.  The only cost to me will be any food  that we provide, so I was hoping to keep it minimal, like $10-12 per person?  Is that in line with past years???  


And speaking of travel arrangements,  I just reserved a block of 25 rooms (it is primarily king beds only, because there is a sporting event that weekend, and many of the doubles were already booked).  Our meeting rate is $54.95/night, with wireless hi-speed access and breakfast included, as well as exercise room.  You may call the Baymont Inn, (417) 623-0000 and ask for the Siouan Conference (Sorry, they didn't have room on the form for Caddoan, too!)  There are a few pricier options also (a Holiday Inn Executive Center, a business-oriented Mariott), and perhaps there is something cheaper somewhere, but the Baymont is close to I-44, and lots of restaurants, and relatively easy to get to MSSU from there (by car).  

Please let me know if you need clarification or more info.  You can also visit the MSSU webpage for more campus info on the school and area also at www.mssu.edu    
 
Best,
Jill



>>> "Catherine Rudin" <carudin1 at wsc.edu> 4/27/2008 12:05 PM >>>
Hi, all.
I'm just looking at flights to the Joplin area, and wondering whether it makes sense to
fly into Tulsa.  It's almost $200 less than either Fayetteville or Springfield (though
still not cheap - airline prices are amazing these days).  What transportation is there
from Tulsa to Joplin?  I'm guessing it would mean renting a car, which would be ok but
might boost the price back up to Fayetteville levels.  If anyone else is coming in that
way, maybe we could share?   Are there busses or shuttles from any of the area airports?


Just kind of thinking out loud here and wondering what others are planning, since I'm
not familiar wth the area at all.  May yet end up just driving from Wisconsin, but it's
a pretty long haul.

Catherine