The weather improved greatly so our first stop on Thursday was Cahokia, where we climbed up Monks Mound. You could see St. Louis from the top. Cahokia was one of the greatest cities in the world at its time. Parts of its outlying villages continue to be found. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but a state park, not a national park. Like all parks these days, it struggles from budget cuts but its museum displays were outstanding and the grounds beautifully maintained.
A mural of how the city may have looked inside the interpretative center.
“Monks Mound is the largest prehistoric earthwork in the Americas.” Click the photo to read the sign.
Looking up the stairway to the top of the first terrace.
Looking down the stairs at the mounds across the road from the third terrace
View of a mound and a woodhenge, taken with a zoom. There is development all around the site and that appears to be a landfill in the background.
Zooming in on the view of St. Louis from the top.
slowly she turned 