Annual Meeting

Information about the 2008 APS Annual Meeting in Nevada.

Come join us for the APS-2008 Annual Meeting in Ely, Nevada on June 13-15. This trip, led by Bob Pennington, promises to be one of our best ever as this is one of the premier areas in the world to view penstemons. There are about 20 species present in White Pine County where we will be meeting. We will visit locations in the Great Basin National Park, White River area, and other locations in the Snake and adjacent Mountain Ranges.

A summary and description for the meetings can be found in the newsletter but here are a few details.
Headquarters for the meeting is the Prospector Hotel on Highway 6 in the north part of Ely. They have offered us a room rate of $72 a night if you register before March 31. Their phone number is 1-800-750-0557.
We will have a informal gathering with a buffet dinner on Friday evening including a program on identifying and keying out the penstemons we will be seeing on the field trips. Saturday and Sunday will be devoted to field trips to different areas where the penstemons are blooming. Saturday night will include a sit-down dinner, annual meeting and guest speaker all at the Prospector Hotel. After you arrange for your own dinner on Sunday night there will be a casual meeting at the Prospector planned with two or three shorter programs, one featuring a compendium of members photos taken on Saturday and Sunday.

An update from Bob Pennington on February 14th, 2008

Dear fellow Penstamaniacs,

It is time for an update on the Ely Adventure, taking place June 13,14,15. We have gotten in about 35 registrants so far, which I think means things are moving along quite rapidly. The weather has been fortuitous around the Ely area with above average snowfall. We can hope that will continue, and that Ely will indeed be the center of the wildflower explosion that it can be.

As to program, Loraine Yeatts of the Denver Botanic Gardens will be presenting a terrific production, with the able assistance of Dwayne Dickerson at the video controls, on technical aspects of keying out plants, specifically Penstemons of course. It will enable all of us who will be in the field for the next few days to more accurately figure out what we are looking at, with positive identification the goal. Dr. Noel Holmgren, considered by many to be the “Modern Godfather of Penstemons” will be talking to us about his experiences and discoveries in the Ely area. An extra treat is that Dr. James Reveal, accorded the same honorific as Noel in the field of Eriogonums will likewise be in attendance! At this time we can only imagine what the synergy of these two taxonomic legends will produce. In addition, one of the program planners, Steve Caicco a field botanist who has been working in the Great Basin for years will lead trips in the area of his expertise, the White River Basin, and will talk to us about the topic of endemism, or the plethora of rare plants in the area.

In short, the registrations are coming in, don’t delay. This ought to be a truly fantastic floral experience.

Trip Registration is $100 per person. This includes meals on Friday and Saturday evenings, materials, speaker fees, and incidental costs. Your Registration Form should be sent with your check to Bob Pennington. If you wish to pay with PayPal please send your Registration Form to Bob and indicate that you have done so.

Interested in attending? Download the Registration form here.

The PayPal button below is specifically for payment for this trip. Remember to also complete and mail the registration form as well.

Some photos from the area around Ely, Nevada

Penstemon arenarius. Photo by Steve Ciacco, slcaicco/USFWS.

Please visit Steve's personal website to view more exquisite penstemon photos at Planet Plants

Penstemon confusus. Photo courtesy of Bob McFarlane

Wheeler Peak Photo courtesy of Bob McFarlane

Photos from Stanley, Idaho 2007 Annual Meeting