Frequently Asked Questions HERMES Collaboration Meeting at NMSU 1) Which airport to use? El Paso, Texas, which is about 1 hour from the University. DO NOT fly to Albuquerque, NM, which is a 3-hour drive from Las Cruces. 2) What to bring? Planned athletic activities includes a (indoor) volleyball and (outdoor) soccer games, and a weekend outing (hike, also outdoors). Sturdy hiking boots are better than tennis shoes, as the terrain is rocky and cactus-infested. The sun is very strong at our altitude (4000+ ft.); a wide-brimmed hat, high-SPF sunblock, and sunglasses are recommended. If you bring skis, plan on driving at least to Santa Fe or Taos. It is probably too cold still for the rattlesnakes, but on warm days I would keep my eyes open when hiking; take heart in the fact that rattlesnake bites are rarely fatal, and rattlesnakes are very shy. Other potentially dangerous beasts include Black Widow and Brown Recluse spiders, scorpions, and killer bees, and on the larger scale bears, mountain lions and wild pigs. However none of these hazards compare, statistically, with New Mexico drivers. Recent daytime temperatures have been in the range of 60-70F dropping into the 30's at night. Las Cruces has had 0.1" total precipitation for the year, so raingear is probably not necessary. It can be very windy, and windbreaker-type clothing is useful. 3) How do I get to the hotel? The conference hotels are the Sleep Inn and Comfort Suites in Las Cruces, NM. They are located near the university about 15 minutes walk from the conference center. From the El Paso airport take Airway Blvd. about 1 mile to Interstate Highway I-10. Get on I-10 Westbound. Stay on I-10 for about 45 miles until it intersects the start of Interstate Highway I-25 heading North. Take I-25 1 mile to the University Avenue Exit #1. Turn left (West) on University Avenue and cross I-25. The hotels are on the right side of the road next to I-25. 4) What to do at check-in? Mention you are with the HERMES Meeting. The hotel will have a packet for you with maps of the NMSU Campus and Las Cruces and other information (including a copy of this FAQ). 5) How do I get to the conference center? The Meetings will be held in the Corbett Center on the NMSU campus. Refer to the NMSU map in your packet. The hotels (not shown) are located at the top right of the map near the intersection of Triviz and University (M-1). Corbett Center is building 285 (I-4). From the hotel, cross University Avenue and walk Southwest until you hit a broad walkway just west of the Pan American center (bldg. 284). The walkway runs past Corbett Center. The meeting rooms are on the third floor of Corbett (see map in packet). We have three rooms reserved for most of the week. The main sessions are in the Senate Chambers. Room 315 is a second meeting room, and room 317 is our computer room. The Council Meeting will be held in the New Mexico Room on the same floor. 6) What about computers? A HERMES computer center with two SUN computers and two Tektronix x-terminals will be set up in Corbett Center 317. The hostnames are hermes1 ... hermes4. The Sun's have "hermes" accounts with the usual password. 7) Where is the banquet? The banquet will be held Thursday 25-Feb-1999 at the Double Eagle Restaurant on the Mesilla Plaza. There will be a reception with no-host bar at 18:00 followed by dinner at 19:00. People with cars should help provide rides. We will leave from the Sleep Inn at 17:45. 8) What about other meals? You can get lunch at the cafeteria on the lower floor of Corbett or at the Food Court (bldg. 262, G-6) near Corbett. Here is a list of restaurants we recommend for dinner. Refer to the Las Cruces map for directions. Price categories for dinner excluding drinks: Inexpensive <$10, Moderate $10-$15. Expensive $15-30. Billy Crews (Steak) 1200 Country Club Rd. in Santa Theresa, NM. Moderate. Steak cuts to order. 15,000 bottle wine cellar. About 45-minute drive from Las Cruces. Great American Land and Cattle (Steak), Vinton, NM off I-10 about 20-minutes S of Las Cruces. Moderate. Best steak place in the region. Hacienda (Anglo-Mexican) 2605 S Espina. Inexpensive. Mexican food to suit Anglo tastes; located near University. El Comedor (Mexican), 2190 Avendida de Mesilla. Inexpensive. La Posta (Mexican), near Mesilla Plaza. Inexpensive. OK Mexican food, colorful atmosphere. Lemon Grass (Thai), 2540 E El Paseo (near University Ave.). Expensive. Lorenzo's (Italian), 1753 E University (next to hotels). Moderate. Meson de Mesilla (Continental), 1803 Avendida de Mesilla. Expensive. Nellie's Cafe (Mexican), 1226 W Hadley Ave. (East off Valley Drive between Amador and Picacho). Inexpensive. Best Mexican food in the State, but no beer/wine and no credit cards accepted. Luckily they are across the street from the best micro-brew in town. Do not confuse them with the "Little Nellies" which usually sucks. Si Senor (Mexican), 1551 E. Amador. Inexpensive. Tatsu (Japanese) 930 El Paseo Road. Expensive. Way Out West (Tapas), 1720 Avendida de Mesilla. Moderate. Good food with brewery on premises. If you like American chain restaurants, like Red Lobster or Chiles, there are a number of them on Telshor near the Mesilla Valley Mall. The fast food strip is El Paseo Blvd. 9) What about pubs? Bennigans 1745 E University (near hotels). Greasy food, but large beer selection on tap. El Patio Bar, Mesilla Plaza. Bottled beer. Hangout for students, bikers, you name it. High Desert Brewery, W Hadley across from Nellies. Best micro-brew in town. Good pub food. O'Ryans Tavern, 700 S Telshor (in the Mesilla Valley Mall). Second best micro-brew in town. Won gold medals at Great American Beer festival. Pub food. Way Out West, 1720 Avendida de Mesilla. Moderate. Good food with OK brewery on premises. 10) What about nightlife? Not much in Las Cruces. The students go to Juarez, Mexico, (population about 1 million) which offers all the colorful diversions of a typical large Mexican border city and is worth a visit. You can walk across the bridge from downtown El Paso (driving into Juarez is not advisable). To get there: drive toward downtown El Paso on I-10 (East). Take the Santa Fe street exit, turn right and drive about a mile where there are many large parking lots near the Bridge of the Americas. You can park and walk over the bridge. No Mexican visa is required; Mexican customs/immigration personnel are present but normally will not stop you. The US customs/immigration are more formal, but a drivers license is sufficient ID for US citizens. Non-citizens should carry their passport and visa. You will not need Mexican currency, but small denomination US currency is very useful. From there you are on your own. 11) What about travel outside Las Cruces? Las Cruces/El Paso are in a special immigration zone, where Mexican citizens can travel on a day visa. When you leave Las Cruces in any direction (except the I-10 corridor to El Paso) you will pass through US Border Patrol checkpoints. Non-citizens are advised to have passport and visa to avoid hassles.