It was a great day for a road trip! We headed east and collected four of the Illinois cakes. As of this post, I finally realized I could make the photos click-to-enlarge. Enjoy!
29. Cahokia Mounds
29. Cahokia Mounds
This cake is right outside the entrance to the Visitor's Center at Cahokia Mounds. We stayed for a little while, but could have spent much more time here. Cakelet most enjoyed the dioramas of the families working and playing. The decline and disappearance of the Cahokian civilization is a mystery, which was also interesting. Most of my indoor pictures didn't turn out well, though. No flash. :(
Cakelet and Grandma and Great-Grandma climbed to the top of Monk's Mound (160+ steps).
30. Brooks Catsup Bottle Tower
This cake is decorated with local roadside architecture symbols. Fitting, because this cake is tucked away under The World's Largest Catsup Bottle. It is 170 feet tall and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2002.
31. Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base, not including housing, occupies over seven million square feet in the plains of Illinois. There is a small visitor's center with an array of real planes on display. Each has an interesting history. They call this area Scott Field Heritage Air Park. We really only stayed long enough to get the cake and say hello to the first plane. This cake is well done - the layers progress through time both around and up.
32. Carlyle Courthouse
The town of Carlyle, IL sits at the south end of Carlyle Lake, which is Illinois' largest man-made lake, created by the US Army Corps of Engineers in the 1950s and 60s. It covers 26,000 acres. It is a popular recreation spot, with lots of fishing and boating.
There is an outermost ring of cakes, all about 50-60 miles from downtown St. Louis (as the crow flies). Happy to say we picked up this one, which is the second furthest. (Meramec Caverns in Sullivan is the furthest.)
There is an outermost ring of cakes, all about 50-60 miles from downtown St. Louis (as the crow flies). Happy to say we picked up this one, which is the second furthest. (Meramec Caverns in Sullivan is the furthest.)
We tried to have a picnic at the lakefront.
We swam.
218 to go.