Donner 2006

Donner Party 2006

Announcing a new book and two upcoming events.

Frankye Craig of Reno, Nevada, announces the publication of her new book, The Fateful Journey of Tamsen Donner. "Tamsen Donner relates the story of her family's disastrous journey from Illinois to the terrible entrapment in the snow-covered mountains of the Sierra."
This fall Ms. Craig will host a cross-country bus tour and a symposium to commemorate the 160th anniversary of the Donner Party's journey. Anyone interested in the Donner Party is welcome to attend -- history buffs, descendants of Donner Party members and their rescuers, authors, educators, students.

Bus Tour

The 2006 Donner Party Tour will begin October 6, 2006, in Independence, Missouri, and approximate the Donner Party's route across Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Utah, Nevada, and into California. The tour will end at Donner Lake on October 13, just in time for the Commemoration (below). On-board guides will be Frank Mullen, Ross Marshall, and Kristin Johnson.

Itinerary:

October 6	Meet in Kansas City.
October 7	Tour Kansas City sites.
October 8	Alcove Springs, Big Blue River, a Pony Express station, and a trails museum.
October 9	Great Platte River Road Archway Monument, Fort Kearney, Chimney Rock, Courthouse Rock, Jailhouse Rock.
October 10	Scottsbluff, Fort Laramie.
October 11	National Trails Interpretive Center, wagon ride and chuck wagon breakfast, Independence Rock, South Pass.
October 12	Fort Bridger, Wasatch Mountains, Great Salt Lake Desert.
October 13	Elko, Humboldt River Iron Point, Truckee Meadows.
October 14- 15	Commemoration and Symposium

Commemoration and Symposium

Following the bus tour the 2006 Donner Party Commemoration and symposium will be held at the Boomtown Hotel in Verdi, Nevada. Tables will be provided for authors who want to sell their books.

Saturday, October 14, 2006

Morning: Bus tours, with on-board guides, of the route from Verdi to Alder Creek, visit to Donner Memorial State Park and Donner Pass. Cost for the bus tour is an additional $10 per person, on a space available basis.

3:00 p.m.. – 5:00 p.m. Seminar at the Convention Center

     ●Speakers: Kristin Johnson, Author, Unfortunate Emigrants
                       Frank Mullen Jr., Author; The Donner Party Chronicles
                       Frankye Craig, Author, The Fateful Journey of Tamsen Donner
     ●A slide show presentation on the journey of the Donner Party.
     ●Donner Archaeology
                    Part One: Report from the Latest Archaeology
                    Part Two: Do They Have the Right Site?
     ●Did They or Didn’t They? Cannibalism and the Donner Party.
     ●Exploding the Myths

6:00 p.m. – Banquet Dinner

●Entertainment: "The Rescue of the Donner Party" by Frank Mullen Jr., as Captain William O. "Le "Gros" Fallon.

Sunday, October 15, 2006

9:00 a.m.

●Brunch with presentations.

Cost

Bus tour: $1,995 per person, double occupancy. Price includes meals, lodging, excursions, admissions, and also includes the 2006 Commemoration.
Commemoration: Cost, including all events except bus tour, $99 per person; added charge of $10 for the bus tour, on a space available basis. Seminar only: $20. Lodging at the Boomtown Hotel is $79 per night (plus 12% tax and $3.00 energy surcharge). Call Boomtown reservations, 877-526-6686, and mention code SCRA.

Registration

To register or request more information, contact Frankye Craig, email FrankyeEBD@aol.com, phone 775-747-1139, cell 775-772-8770. Space is limited on the bus tour, so please register right away.

E-mail to Kristin Johnson

Revised: 31 Jan 2006