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Revised Directions |
This assignment was designed to give us experience laying out detailed instructions. This is the revised draft of the original, also found on this site.
Grand Canyon National Park to Korman Center, Philadelphia PA
In order to get from Canyon View Visitors' Center in Grand Canyon National Park in Arizona to Korman Center at Drexel University near 33 rd and Market Streets in Philadelphia , PA , I decided to map out an unconventional route. This trip will consist mainly of flights using only airlines that are not one of the 10 major national carriers. With nothing but a credit card, a cell phone, and an internet connection, you can get from Canyon View Visitors Center in Grand Canyon National Park . This is the route I planned out using only the Internet.
Note: All flight times are for February 1, 2006 . The number of passengers is 1: you. Obviously, times and prices vary.
1) Canyon View Visitors' Center to Grand Canyon National Park Airport
You should start out from the Visitors' Center at around 9:00 AM , to ensure that you make your flight. According to the Grand Canyon Transportation Section of the National Park Service website (http://www.nps.gov/grca/grandcanyon/south-rim/transportation.htm), there is 24-hour taxi service available from the Visitors' Center to the Airport. To get a taxi, call (928) 638-2822 or (928) 638-2631, ext. 6563. Travel time should be about 10 minutes.
2) Grand Canyon National Park Airport to North Las Vegas Airport
GCNP Airport is a small 2-runway airport located just south of Grand Canyon National Park on Route 64. There is a small airline which flies out of it called Scenic Airlines (http://www.scenicairlines.com) which does sightseeing tours in small aircraft as well as one-way service to and between select airports in California and Nevada . Through their website, in the “Scheduled Flights” section, you can make a reservation to fly Full Fare Coach for $149.00 (plus tax and fees) or Discount Coach for $99.00 from GCNP to North Las Vegas Airport in Las Vegas, NV . Flight 9309 is scheduled for 10:30 AM on February 1, 2006 . Flight time: 15 minutes. The flight takes us slightly away from Philadelphia , but we'll make up for that during the next flight.
3) North Las Vegas Airport via free shuttle to McCarran International Airport
There is a free shuttle between North Las Vegas Airport and McCarran International Airport , where the next airline awaits. According to the Scenic Airlines website, in order to take advantage of this, you have to call the following Scenic Airlines reservation number: 1 (800) 634-6801. They will give you instructions to find the shuttle at the airport. A trip from NLV Airport to McCarran should take about 25 minutes.
4) McCarran International Airport to Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport
According to the McCarran International Airport website's Flight Information section (http://www.mccarran.com), there are several non-major carriers flying out of Las Vegas from McCarran. One in particular caught my eye: Sun Country Airlines. Their website (http://suncountryairlines.com/) is very helpful. One almost-funny aspect of flying out of Las Vegas via Sun Country is that you are only able to fly to Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport, which I assume is their hub. The site does not allow you to choose any other destination besides Minneapolis/St. Paul, so that's where I'm going next. You can make a reservation to fly non-stop from Las Vegas to Minneapolis/St. Paul on Flight SY206 for $210.30 (including taxes and fees). The flight is scheduled to depart at 5:45 PM on February 1, 2006 , so you have a few short hours to have some lunch or go to the casinos in Las Vegas . Flight time: 4 hours 55 minutes.
Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport to Courtyard Marriott ( MSP Airport )
By the time you make it into Minneapolis/St. Paul, it's already 10:40 PM . That's too late to catch a flight out that night. You deserve a rest anyway, so check into the Courtyard Marriott at Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport. Through Marriott's website (http://www.marriott.com), you can enter all the relevant information and make a reservation. You can book one of their Quality Rooms, which includes breakfast for one, for $157.00 for one night. According to MSP Airport 's website, the Courtyard is located complementary shuttle service runs between the Courtyard and the airport. To take advantage of this, call the Marriott at (651) 452-2000.
6) Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport to Philadelphia International Airport
According to the Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport website (http://www.mspairport.com), Sun Country Airlines and our next airline fly into and out of the same terminal: Humphrey Terminal. This makes this layover easy, at least. For the final flight, I chose Midwest Airlines. It's larger than the 2 previous airlines I used, so a flight to Philadelphia is available. You can make a reservation on Midwest Airlines' website (http://www.midwestairlines.com) to fly non-stop from Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport to Philadelphia International for $524.01. Flight YX 158 departs at 6:00 PM . Flight time: 4 hours 29 minutes. There are also flights with stops in Milwaukee , Wisconsin available, but I would choose the only non-stop flight because both kinds cost the same amount, but the Milwaukee layover takes longer and is more complicated.
6) Philadelphia International Airport to Korman Center
There are several ways to get from the airport to Korman Center . Taxi service at the terminals is available for about $20-25. Another route would be using SEPTA's RI Airport line to go from the airport train stop at each terminal to 30th St. Station, where you could walk down Market Street to Korman Center or pay $1.30 for a trolley from 30th to 33rd . Once at 33rd and Market Streets, proceed down the diagonal path toward Drexel's “Quad”. On the right-hand side is Korman. Go through 3 sets of doors facing the Quad, and you are in the computer area. Go straight back to Room 105C, and sit in the second seat from the middle in the front row.
