Explore St. Louis: Cahokia Mounds

Last month, my Sister, Mom and I took the kids to Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL. We grew up in the town right next door and my sister actually lives in Collinsville now. We had been to the mounds as kids, but had never taken any of our kids there, so we thought it would be something cool for them to see, especially Landon, who is 7. 

Here is a little snipit from wikipedia about Cahokia Mounds:

"Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site[1], located in the Saint Louis Metro East region of Illinois, was home to the largest prehistoric city north of Mexico. The city was occupied for seven centuries as the American Indians here farmed, traded, created art, studied the sun, and built massive earthen mounds. Between 15,000 and 20,000 people lived at Cahokia when it reached its peak 800 years ago. Today, Cahokia is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. You can walk the grounds where the Indians walked, climb to the top of a 100 ft (30 m) mound, and visit a world-class museum to learn more about life in this part of America before Columbus."

My mom stayed at the museum with Avery, while my sister and I took the kids all the way up the 154 steps, to the top of the Mound. Here are a few pictures from our little hike.

Walking the path from the parking lot to the mound.

 

Heading up Monks Mound!

The beautiful view of the city of St. Louis from the top of the mound.

The boys taking it all in.

My sister's boys, Landon and Mason.

Jackson exploring the top of the mound.

Jackson and I at the top.

The boys exploring.

 A view of the stairs from the top of the mound. You can see the landing, and then there is another set of stairs down that path to the road.

My sister with her two boys and the baby she babysits for.

Jackson and I climbing down the stairs.

There is also a Cake at Cahokia Mounds, so we had to get a picture with it too. :-)

It was a fun day and I think the kids really enjoyed it.