From The Road: On the Road Again!

Jan. 18, 2008

Greetings from the Peripatetic Pair after a long hiatus. Peachy and I wish you all a healthy and fulfilling year ahead. We spent a nice long time with family over the holidays, and now my New Year's resolution is to catch up with these posts!

Some time ago I mentioned Cahokia Mounds. This, the largest prehistoric Indian site north of Mexico, is a State Park, and a World Heritage Site. It stretches over 2,200 acres (down from an original estimated 4,000 ), and consists of 70 mounds of various sizes and shapes. It is a beautiful sight, covered with grass, and shaded here and there by huge trees. The Interpretive Center is very well done, with many exhibits showing the culture and lifeways of the Lake Woodland Indians from archaeological remains. The doors of the Center are particularly beautiful, bearing striking bas-reliefs of eagles in flight.

The largest mound is named Monks' Mound, (named long after the original inhabitants had left the area), and it covers 14 acres, and is 100 feet high. It is the largest prehistoric earthen construction in the Americas, and contained an estimated 22 million cubic feet of earth (all carried in baskets, by laborers). Originally there was a ceremonial structure on the top, but now there is a grand view of the countryside, reached by a set of about 200 steps. The whole area was a center of civilization from 700 AD to around 1300 AD, when it fell into ruin.

Another interesting feature, partially reconstructed, is something called "Woodhenge", a circle of large cedar posts, with another in the center, the whole structure serving as a solar calendar.

My photos are not worth sending, so here is one so you can see that we are still in business. I have decided that the beauty and awesomeness of this country is simply too large for a small camera to capture!

The afternoon before we visited the park we drove off the highway a few miles to check out a state park as a possible roosting place for the night. It turned out to be quite desolate; deserted, with smelly pit toilets, and the sound of hunters' guns somewhere nearby. It seemed prudent to move on, so we turned around and retraced our steps on the levee road raised above the surrounding marsh. Suddenly something caught my eye, and I looked out the passenger-side window to see two red-winged blackbirds flying along beside us - for almost a minute! They have to be one of my favorite birds, for their jaunty red shoulder pads, their ability to perch on reeds and other vertical stems seemingly too weak to hold their weight, and their incredibly liquid arpeggios of song in the Spring. Grace happens!

We ended up spending the night in a campground by the side of the highway, and after a fitful night's sleep, coffee, a shower, and the tour of Cahokia Mounds, we turned on the GPS system and headed into the big city of St. Louis. We will see you there next time. Shalom.