Category: Illinois

art, Chicago, Illinois

In downtown Chicago

Laurie

I didn’t spend very long in Chicago. On Thursday afternoon I was sleep-deprived and it was drizzly.

On Saturday afternoon I spent a few hours in the Art Institute of Chicago, where I took dozens of photos, but I’ll only share one painting photo. Everywhere I turned I saw a slide from one of my art history classes! It was quite impressive and very overwhelming. I couldn’t begin to see it all, so I concentrated on early 20th century paintings, my favorite period.

I was so pleased to see this Franz Marc painting. He is one of my very favorite artists and he died young in WWI so not only was his time cut short on this earth, not much of his art survived the Nazis.

I had never been to Chicago, and I didn’t have much time, but now I will have a better idea of what to do next time I’m there.

Cahokia, Illinois, Missouri, St. Louis trip, UNESCO World Heritage sites

Cahokia Mounds, Part II

Laurie

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.