Old River Towns: Cahokia, Alton and the National Great Rivers Museum

Cahokia Mounds

30 Ramey Street, Collinsville, IL. 618-346-5160. (Off off I-55, north of St. Louis, in SE Illinois.)

https://dnrhistoric.illinois.gov/experience/sites/site.cahokia-mounds.html

More info: https://tinyurl.com/4wkaszzh

Gigantic earthen mounds along the Mississippi River are the site of a 1,000-year-old Native American city, once the largest in North America. It's little known but important, and recognized as not only a state historic site but a federal one as well, plus a UNESCO World Heritage site. So what is it, exactly? There are more than 60 earthen mounds spread over dozens of acres. The largest, named Munks Mound for a group of Trappist monks who once lived nearby, reminds me a little of the once jungle-covered temples of the Mayans, and you can climb it. There are some 170 steps, and Mab was all over that.

We had just started in the museum when she started getting antsy and wanted to do it: the call of the stairs. I wanted to go watch but she insisted I stay in the air conditioning of the museum, then she would come back for me and climb it again. (Nutter.) Well, I poked around a couple of exhibits but drifted back to the window. Of course, it being her, she was wearing a radioactive-pink shirt that showed up like a beacon from way, way off in the distance. She hadn't climbed in a while, but still scaled the mound like a shot. This largest ceremonial mound is shaped like a gigantic bird with outspread wings, with the staircase climbing up the tail and back and finally leading to the head which is the lookout. She got some cool footage on top and came back down again like a champ. Viva Mab!

Monks Mound in the distance.

Monks Mound, over the lumpy guy's shoulder.

Climbing Monks, Mabs-eye view.

               From Wednesday through Sunday there are walking tours at 10 and 1, leading over paved trails that are smooth and very accessible. You must reserve a place by calling 618-346-5160. Ours led by a volunteer who was an archaeology student from Southern Illinois University in Edwardsville. An academic or docent guide can really unlock and fill in background to what you’re seeing in front of you, so we were happy. For instance, she clued us in on what were the remains of a Stonehenge-like ring of stones that served as a calendar or sundial, and you could hear the ahhs from our group. There is also an augmented reality app for self-guided tours at your own pace.

               Nice museum with life-size displays including a walk-through the village. Pushbutton interactive displays of the city and nearby islands in the river, which were a real thing (still are). Tons of relics, tools, jewelry.

        Cahokia RV Parque

4060 Mississippi Ave., Cahokia, IL, 618-332-7700, Cahokiarvparque@gmail.com, cahokiarvparque.com

            This campground is a mile from the Mississippi, three miles from I-55 and about 10 miles from Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site. You can see some of the St. Louis skyline across the river. Mass transit into the city is available nearby, reporting to the website. Its location is a strong point, along with customer service. Two women in the office took special care and rearranged other spaces to get us into the best space for us and my wheelchair. Hands-on and showed us right into our space. The sites are back-in only unless you're lucky and find two unoccupied spaces side-by-side, but they arranged for a pull-through for us — on Labor Day! There’s a relaxed young-family atmosphere here, with a lot of dads playing with their kids, friendly folks out walking, and little rascals having fun at the playground a couple of spaces down. Nobody loud and rude or rambunctious.

               Site number 23 needs slight leveling. Concrete pad for the van with 7 feet of loading clearance for the wheelchair. The RV is parked on gravel. Thick, green grass on the sides has some serious hidden divots where I needed Mab’s help to get out of them. But this section of the park is like that, much of it needing work or under renovation. It’s a developing campground. There are dozens of sites, some with concrete pads, some gravel, some grass. Ours was a combination of the three. Thirty- and 50-amp electricity available. Water. No sewer at our site, but next-door has it. Verizon and T-Mobile working fine.

               Laundry room, small pool, Wi-Fi available (not guaranteed, says the website), propane station during business hours Monday through Saturday 9-6, Sunday 10 to 4. $45 per night.

 

             National Great Rivers Museum

    1 Locks and Dam Way, Alton, IL. 618-462-6979. Website: mtrf.org. Open 9-5 daily.

Great Rivers Museum, entrance.

The Great Rivers Museum stands near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers. The highlight here is a guided tour of the river lock on the site, a massive piece of infrastructure, hundreds of thousands of tons of concrete scanning the Mississippi River since 1990. The Army Corps of Engineers keeps the upper Mississippi 9 feet deep, to within 1 inch, and they do it through a series of 27 locks like this one. The locks are large enough to handle 200-foot barges passing through. The tour was accessible but we were only on the top of the thing: In normal times without COVID-19 they take you inside the workings, which I think I heard is accessible too but be sure to call first. It's nowhere on the scale of Hoover Dam but it's awesome to be on it, controlling the third largest river in the world.

Lock tour.

Infrastructure porn: a lock that riverboats pass through.

Same lock — I wish I got a picture of the barge soon to come.

Same lock: In the water are some of the crazy items that collect, like a bathtub (true story).

               The museum indoors is pretty good for showing the wildlife, history and commerce of the river. There are a couple of short movies and a simulator for the bridge of a river boat. The best thing was that a barge came through the locks while we were there, so we could watch it going through with all of our new tour knowledge.

               Nearby Alton is an old, pretty river town with sloped cobblestone streets and historic shops and buildings. The Clark Bridge, with its tall, gently curving white cables, spans the Mississippi and complements the St. Louis skyline visible about 20 miles away. The bridge was built in 1994, a year after the historic flood. Mab and I saw that flood up close, and as we crossed the river the people of Alton were waging a heroic struggle to save their bridge. Apparently they lost, but the Clark Bridge, stretching across the sparkling waters like a graceful wing, is a beautiful replacement and tribute to the spirit of the town.

               Alton’s small-town community feel is on display in a life-sized statue of one of its favorite sons. Robert Ludlow was the tallest man in the world, ever, as his 8-foot-10-inch statue shows. There is also a bronze replica of his armchair. Folks say my wheelchair is big, but it's nothing next to this. The statue stands in the square next to Southern Illinois University – Edwardsville's Dental College, formerly a teachers college and was Ludlow’s alma mater. Still standing are a few of the old buildings, and a marker about the founding of the college. Across the street is the Alton Historic Museum. The marker about Ludlow said he was 54 when he died in 1940. He never stopped growing, and was in constant pain. Still he remained active in community groups and was described as amiable, definitely sounding like stoic. I found that touching.

SIU-Edwardsville Dental campus, Ludlow statue in the distance.

Bronze replica of Ludlow's armchair.

Historic building on campus.

Historic building nearby.

               Not far away stands the monument to the martyred newspaper publisher Elijah Lovejoy, who was killed by a white mob in 1837 for printing in favor of abolishing slavery. The monument is a column topped with a winged figure. The base of the column is guarded by two other winged figures. It is striking. Unfortunately it is also located in the old town cemetery, which is up some stairs and does not look to be accessible, so we had to admire it from the street, cranking our heads inside the car. A courageous man, who would be tearing it up if he were around today — and might even get himself killed again.

At the end of a beautiful day in a pretty river town, all you need are a couple of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in the City Hall parking lot overlooking the bridge and the Argosy casino boat, while you watch the river endlessly flow. And of course Mab found stairs, 53 of them. Peanut butter stairclimbing powers.

               We ended the afternoon by driving a small stretch of the Great River Road. Watching the gigantic river so nearby and flowing under the late afternoon sun was the perfect capper for the day. The Great River Road is awesome every time drive it.