Display of Cahokia as it was in perhaps 1200 A.D., Monk's Mound at upper right

Cahokia. Hmmm. I goofed, in that I did not schedule enough time to do Cahokia justice. I looked at some of the displays in the Interpretive Center, walked one of the trails, and hiked up Monk's Mound, but that was all. I didn't watch the videos, listen to the talks, or take a guided tour. Later I realized that I had missed out on a very interesting experience.

Anyway, here are some of the photos I took:

Monk's Mound -- distance, closer, closer still. This apparently was a ceremonial mound; you can see in the photo of the display at the top of the page a large structure on top. This is a very large mound indeed -- as large at the base as the Great Pyramid in Egypt, although not as tall, and made entirely of dirt. But it wasn't just a pile of dirt; it was engineered for drainage and erosion control. The people carried over 22 million cubic feet of earth in baskets on their backs to construct this mound alone.

The original steps were made of logs; the present ones are more like railroad ties. I began counting them as I climbed, but got mixed up at 210 and quit counting. Some people can't walk and chew gum at the same time; I can't count steps without either losing count or tripping.

Next destination: Gateway Arch in St. Louis, as seen from the top of Monk's Mound

I have a good excuse for leaving so soon: I had a ticket to go up in the Arch in St. Louis, and had to be there at noon; I arrived in Cahokia at about 10:00. Oh, well. On my next trip east, I'm going to schedule perhaps three days here.

As I told one of the guides, Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site is the best place of its kind I have ever visited. Superbly done!

Two Web sites about Cahokia:
  Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site
  United Nations World Heritage Sites

Photos and text ©D.L. Mark 2002

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