2017 IAFI Fall Field Trip & Membership Meeting
WA 98851
USA
The 2017 annual Fall Field Trip and Membership Meeting and the semi-annual Board of Directors meeting will be Sept 29 and 30 in Soap Lake, WA, the lake of healing waters (Smokiam), located in the original plunge pool of the Lower Grand Coulee. The membership meeting and tour is hosted by the IAFI Lower Grand Coulee Chapter. Just as for the 2009 Fall Membership Meeting and Tour, the City of Soap Lake and the members of the Lower Grand Coulee Chapter are looking forward to welcoming the members and guests of the Ice Age Floods Institute.
The headquarters for this year’s Fall event is the Soap Lake Resort, which includes Don’s Restaurant, the Inn at Soap Lake and the Notaras Lodge. Friday afternoon, the registration table will be set up in the Patio at Don’s Restaurant from 4 PM through 6:45 PM. Your packets for the membership meeting and the tour will be at the registration table. The Annual IAFI Membership meeting will be held in the Ballroom/Banquet Room of Don’s Restaurant (enter from Main Avenue). The Membership Meeting will begin at 7 PM followed by the planned program.
Early Saturday morning, the registration table will again be available from 6:30 to 8 AM in the Patio at Canna Street and Main Avenue near where the buses will be loading. Also, Don’s Restaurant will be open to serve breakfast at a reasonable price during this time, so you do not have to board a bus hungry.
There is a limit of 150 seats for the Membership Meeting on Friday evening and 140 seats on the buses for the Fall Tour on Saturday, so please submit your registration or register online early. Priority for each event will be given to IAFI members. The early registration rate for the 2017 Fall Tour is $65 for IAFI members and is $75 for non-members. After September 5, registration will be $75 for IAFI members and $85 for non-members. Please indicate on the Field Trip Registration form if you are planning to attend the 2017 Fall Membership Meeting and Program on Friday evening.
The Fall Tour will have a number of stops along the way to view and learn about the numerous Ice Age Floods features and geology that dominate the area. We will first travel east, then north to the view the landscape along Pinto Ridge Road and at Summer Falls Park at the upper end of Billy Clapp Lake (Long Lake Coulee). We plan a box-lunch on the lawn at the Grand Coulee Dam Visitor Arrival Center. After lunch, we will travel southward through the Grand Coulee to the Dry Falls Interpretive Center and then through the Lower Grand Coulee to the Lake Lenore Caves with the last stop on the Ephrata fan.
Room reservations can be made at the Masters Inn and the Soap Lake Resort, and rates are reduced for IAFI members. Recreation vehicle and camp sites are available at two locations – the city’s East Beach Smokiam Campground and the Smokiam Resort at the north end of the Soap Lake.
For reserving your room in Soap Lake, please visit the following websites:
- Soap Lake Resort – www.soaplakeresort.com – IAFI members: please use promo code “iceage15” (this applies to any member’s stay within the period from September 25 through October 5, 2017. So, come and enjoy an early Fall vacation at Soap Lake.
- Masters Inn – www.mastersinnsoaplake.com – IAFI members: please use promo code “iceage” when making your reservation online.
For an RV space and/or campsite, please visit the following websites:
- City of Soap Lake Smokiam Campground – www.cityofsoaplake.org – rates are listed under the places tab; no reservation required; when arriving, choose your space, put money in envelope, etc. There should be a camp host onsite.
- Smokiam RV Resort – www.smokiamrvresort.com – also includes cabins and tepees for lodging; book your reservation by phone or online.
For information about the Soap Lake area, please visit the following web sites:
- Soap Lake for Locals – www.soaplakeforlocals.com
- Coulee Corridor Consortium – www.couleecorridor.com
- For those wanting a massage or other service, contact the Healing Water Spa and Gallery to make your reservation – www.healingwaterspa.com. “Come to the Spa and Gallery and relax.”
Tentative Schedule of Activities
Friday, 9/29 9 AM-4:30 PM – IAFI Fall Board of Directors Meeting w/ lunch in the Ballroom/Banquet Room at Don’s Restaurant
Friday, 9/29 7 PM – IAFI 2017 Fall Membership Meeting & Program in the Ballroom/Banquet Room at Don’s Restaurant – “Fire; Ice; and Megafloods — The Geologic Formation of the Grand Coulee” – Gene Kiver will present some of the observations and ideas developed with Bruce Bjornstad during some of their visits to the Grand Coulee that are also summarized in “On the Trail of the Ice Age Floods, the Northern Reaches”
Saturday, 9/30 6:30 AM – Breakfast at Don’s Restaurant or J & J’s Diner, Soap Lake WA
Saturday, 9/30 7:30 AM – Assemble and Load Buses on Canna Street north of Main Avenue for the IAFI 2017 Fall Tour from Soap Lake WA
Saturday, 9/30 8 AM – 5 PM – IAFI 2017 Fall Tour of the Plateau area between Crab Creek and Coulee City, the Grand Coulee Dam area, and the Grand Coulee south to the Ephrata Fan.
Saturday, 9/30 5:30 PM – – Supper on your own – –
Saturday, 9/30 7-11 PM – Artist’s Reception (Open House) at Fire on Main Gallery, 410 East Main Avenue, Soap Lake WA
Saturday, 9/30 7:30 PM – World premier play at the Masquers Theater – “Dinner Before Dawn”
Sunday, 10/1 2 PM – World premier play at the Masquers Theater – “Dinner Before Dawn” Go to www.masquers.com for more information and tickets.
Come a day or two early or stay an extra day or two to enjoy Soap Lake and to visit nearby areas such as the Moses Coulee, the Waterville Plateau and/or the Drumheller Channels.