Field Trip Descriptions, Registration Information, and Fees

Space is limited for pre- and post-meeting field trips and spouse and guest activities. Registration for field trips and spouse/guest activities must be completed by May 2, 2011.

Please note:
      You do not have to register for the meeting to attend the field trips.
      Participants are responsible for making their own room reservations.

Pre-Meeting Field Trip, May 13-15, 2011: Cement plant, limestone quarries, tripoli mine, fluorspar, and Garden of the Gods

Note: Important Changes: The pre-meeting trip departs from the I-hotel in Champaign, Illinois, and picks up additional participants in Mt. Vernon, Illinois, at the Illinois Oil and Gas Association office. Participants should arrange their own room reservations, at the Cheekwood Inn, Ullin, Illinois (618-845-3700) for the evening of May 13 and at the Super 8 (618-253-8081) or Economy Inn and Suites (618-253-7651) in Harrisburg, Illinois for the evening of May 14.

This 3-day field trip will include a stop at the Holcim (US) cement plant and quarry in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri. This plant, one of the largest cement manufacturing facilities in the world, is also among the most environmentally efficient and safest. It is the largest single-kiln line, cement-producing facility in the world and has the capacity to produce 4 million metric tons of high-quality cement annually. The plant will ship up to 75 percent of its product to terminals by barge, among the most environmentally efficient means of transportation. Many of the raw materials (coal, gypsum, fly ash) used to make cement at this plant will be shipped by river. The company also has in place an ongoing reclamation plan which will restore the land that has been mined, ensuring that no more than 200 acres of land is actively mined at any one time.

Other stops include visits to quarries in southern Illinois to examine operations extracting high-calcium limestone and construction aggregates from the Mississippian carbonates. Additional stops include a visit to a microcrystalline silica (tripoli) pit and another Mississippian limestone quarry where fluorite is extracted along with construction aggregates. If time permits, we also will stop by the Griffith Farm in Elizabethtown to look at and/or purchase fluorite specimens. The Griffiths are three generations of miners that are currently mining fluorite in Hardin County.

On the last day of the trip, Sunday, May 15, we will drive across the Hicks Dome crypto-explosive structure and view the spectacular scenic view at the Garden of the Gods. The trip will end at Podolsky Oil Company in Fairfield, Illinois where we will have the opportunity to examine a large collection of minerals from Illinois and many other locations worldwide. We will then proceed to Champaign-Urbana, arriving mid to late afternoon. You can register for this trip online.

Meeting Field Trip, afternoon of May 17, 2011: Local quarries

This trip is limited to those registered for the Forum meeting and will examine the geology of crushed stone in central Illinois. The trip will include a visit to a quarry near Tuscola, Illinois, where Middle Devonian and Silurian limestone and dolomite are being currently mined. The trip will conclude at a Pennsylvanian limestone quarry in east-central Illinois. You can register for this trip online.

Post-Meeting Field Trip, May 18, 2011: Silurian reef and Chicago's stone industry

The trip will depart from and return to the I-hotel in Champaign, Illinois. Participants should arrange their own room reservations, if needed.

This one-day field trip is planned to examine the geology of Chicago's stone industry. This trip will focus on how the geology of the region controlled the industry's historical development and led to what today is one of the largest production centers and markets of aggregate resources in the United States.

The stops will include remnants of the famous nineteenth century Athens building stone business, which began shipping construction material on the Illinois and Michigan Canal in the late 1840s. Addition stops will highlight the modern aggregate industry and will include one of the largest quarries in the country exhibiting spectacular examples of a Silurian reef. You can register for this trip online.

Spouse/Guest Activities, May 16, 2011:

A day-trip for spouses and guests includes visiting the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum, a state-of-the-art facility located in Illinois' capitol city of Springfield and home to the world's largest collection of Lincoln-related material. A 90-minute bus ride will take you to the library and museum complex which features "hi-tech exhibits, interactive displays, and multimedia programs." The visit will also include a reproduction of the 1861 White House, holographic and special effects theaters, an opportunity to witness the 1860 Presidential Election in 21^st century style, and an opportunity to see the pen used to sign the Emancipation Proclamation. You can register for these activities online.

Spouses and guests may also attend the Tuesday night dinner. You can register for the dinner online.

Registration Fees

Online Registration
Mail-in Registration Form

Early Meeting Registration (until April 18)

Includes Sunday evening reception, snacks and beverages, Tuesday afternoon field trip to local quarries, and Tuesday evening dinner.
      Professionals: $175.00
      Students: $50.00

Regular Registration (after April 18)

Includes Sunday evening reception, snacks and beverages, Tuesday afternoon field trip to local quarries, and Tuesday evening dinner.
      Professionals: $200.00
      Students: $75.00

Pre-Meeting Field Trip, May 13-15, 2011

Cement plant, limestone quarries, tripoli mine, fluorspar, and Garden of the Gods
Includes transportation, lunch, and snacks.
      Professionals: $125.00
      Students: $50.00

Post-Meeting Field Trip, May 18, 2011

Silurian reef and Chicago's stone industry
Includes transportation, lunch, and snacks.
      Professionals: $75.00
      Students: $25.00

Spouse/Guest Activities, May 16, 2011

Includes transportation, lunch, and admission fee to Lincoln Library and Museum.
      Spouse/Guest trip registration: $35.00
      Spouse/Guest Tuesday evening dinner registration: $40.00

Updated 05/16/2011 SLD