Russ finished the Katy Trail, and rang the bell at Machens (the end point, not accessible by car), then rode three miles back to Black Walnut so I could pick him up. I thought this was an appropriate achievement for celebration, but before we headed to. for lunch, we stopped to see the Our Lady of the Rivers shrine nearby (“A must-see,” according to Russ’s Warm Showers host of the night before).

It was indeed impressive, with a moving story of people praying to the Virgin Mary to intercede against flooding. The shrine stands right over the Missouri River, just above the confluence with the Mississippi.

But I still think it looks a bit suspicious from the back:

We headed across the river to Alton, IL and the Old Bakery Beer Company. We had a great lunch, Russ got to try a new beer, and Moe was allowed to stay with us. They even brought him a bowl of water!

Then it was off to see the Cahokia Indian Mounds, site of the largest Native American earthworks in America. Like the majestic mountains of the Rockies and Cascades, pictures just do not do justice to the size of these things. My first thought was “My god, this thing is the size of the pyramids.” I’ll let an informative sign give you some idea of the scale of Monk’s Mound, the largest of the structures:

Archaeological investigations suggest that Monk’s Mound and its adjacent constructions were a ceremonial area and a city of some 20,000 people, larger than London at the time (about 1,000 CE). The larger mounds served as temples and home sites for the ruling elite. Although the interpretive center is closed for renovations, the grounds are open, and we walked to some of the larger mounds bordering the Great Plaza.

Toward the back of the site, we encountered a doe and twin fawns. One of the fawns was curious about Moe, and even followed us for a bit.

Then it was back to Eldon Hazlet State Park.