October 9 is Columbus Day apparently and a public holiday in the US. We could set it to Sept 30/Oct 1 weekend tentatively, until the dates of the WHC are confirmed (we will know next week).

Virtually everything is open on "Columbus Day" (National Park sites would not be closed) or "Indigenous Peoples Day" in some states. About half states don't observe the holiday (though Ohio does to some degree). I notice some of the mounds sites that are not administered by the park service have various hours, including sometimes closed on Monday's/Tuesday's regardless of any holiday. It might be the most advantageous to do the whole circuit from October 5th to October 9th.

For Example: 10/5 to 10/9 (arrive late on Wednesday or early Thursday)

Thursday - Early Skyscrapers Walk (twhs) & Unity Temple (whs)
Friday - Robie House (whs) Morning 10am Tour, drive 4.5 hours to St. Louis (Gateway Arch evening - dusk) *former TWHS Eads Bridge
Saturday - Cahokia Mounds (whs) in the morning and drive 5 hours to Cincinnati
Sunday - Cincinnati to Columbus OH Drive (3.5 hours), all major Hopewell sites (twhs) along the way: Fort Ancient, Seip Earthworks, Hopewell National Historical Park, and Newark Earthworks
Monday - Return to Chicago O'Hare (about 6 hours), if time permitting a stop at Indiana Sand Dunes National Park to enjoy the shore of Lake Michigan OR continue East or South (extended trip for those inclined)

In summary: 1 night Chicago (dependent on arrival date), 1 night St. Louis, 1 night Cincinnati, and 1 night Columbus
- WHS Count: 2 + 1 (if Hopewell is inscribed)
- TWHS (Early Skyscrapers)

*my personal opinion is the Dayton Aviation sites (twhs) and Serpent Mound (twhs) are not worth the time and effort as they are both detours and certainly not actively pursuing world heritage status

Just to be clear, I am interested in attending, but generally I have been to most of the sites. Besides the value of connecting with fellow travellers (big plus), I would be interested in the Auditorium Building tour (early skyscrapers). Moreover, a revisit to Unity Temple would be great (I visited before restoration more than a decade ago!). Having limited pictures of Cahokia from a visit in 2009 makes a return visit worthwhile and to see the updated visitor center would be nice (maybe go to the top of the Gateway Arch and take some pictures of the Eads Bridge/Mississippi river while in St. Louis). Regarding the Hopewell sites, I have not visited Fort Ancient or the Seip Earthworks, I have visited the Hopewell National Historical Park and the Newark Earthworks (if the "golf course" Octagon Earthworks are visitible I would certainly want to go - also in Newark)

winterkjm, your tour sketch looks very interesting and it's whetting my curiosity for that region!

Besides, September was a really bad time and started becoming quite impossible for me, with new appointments popping up. But now, October looks much more possible and feasible, so I would gladly say that my chances to attend a meet-up there are much higher, even if it is still far away in time. Of course, I'd go for an extended trip!

October seems like a better time for Randi and me, but our plans for the year are not complete yet

Hey all. After the confirmation of the WHC dates in mid-September, I've put the Meetup 2023 Announcement page live with place (in and around Chicago) and dates (early October) confirmed.

I will be present (pending visa approval). Hope to see others too!
We can finalize the program in the coming months. I think we should both allow for 'Americans' who maybe only can join for the weekend and 'Europeans' for whom it only makes sense to combine it with a bit more substantial trip.

I would be grateful if some people can take care of parts of the program. So if you know a lot already about Early Chicago Skyscrapers, maybe you can guide us around? And when the program is finalized, we can maybe share cars and look for other discounts.

Great! I am scheduling everything with high hopes.

elsslots, am I sensing some suggestion to the members to go for the "least visited most popular" site on the List, as we discovered some time ago on the WA group? :-) I should be among them...

I'll plan on attending, though at this point I have to decide whether I will fly out to Chicago or to drive out to Chicago from the East Coast. If I do drive out, I may be able to give a ride to some folks who want to continue on to the East Coast at the end of the trip.

As far as the program goes, I would recommend at least half a day in Chicago for the Frank Lloyd Wright component, in order to visit the Robie House and Unity Temple. Both sites require reservations for tours, but we may be able to inquire whether if would be feasible to set up an individual tour for the group. Although not inscribed, I might also recommend a visit to the Frank Lloyd Wright home and Studio at Oak Park, which provides an excellent overview of Wright's career and projects.

The Early Chicago Skyscrapers can be seen on foot in a day, and I would recommend Kyle's review to get a background on four of the proposed sites. For those who have the time and interest, I would also recommend Erik Larson's book The Devil in the White City, which in the beginning provides a very accessible overview of how the architect Daniel Burnham and his business partner John Root solved engineering challenges in Chicago to construct the first building labeled a "skyscraper".