OCTOBER 2011 TOUR DIARY, Part Four

I left St. Louis early on Tuesday, heading east across the border to Collinsville, IL, and the Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site.

Cahokia was an enormous indigenous city of the Mississippean Culture, a mound-building society, lasting roughly 600 - 1400 AD. Eighty of the original mounds are still present, ranging from short inclines, to "Monk's Mound," which covers over six acres, and rises to a height of 100 feet.  All the mounds were built by hand, bucket of earth by bucket of earth.  Check out the Wikipedia Page for more info.  The mounds were a sight to see, and one could spend hours in the interpretive center learning about this remarkable prehistoric culture.

Monk's Mound from the east.

From the southeast.

Facing south from Monk's Mound, with a view of another, smaller mound across the road.

View of Downtown St. Louis, from the top of Monk's Mound.

Refineries of some sort, to the northwest.

Reproduction of Cahokian woodpecker artwork.

After Cahokia, I drove back into Missouri, heading north through Hannibal towards Iowa City.  At the Iowa border, I decided to take a detour to Keokuk, another town I'd long gazed at on maps without ever visiting.  It was a beautiful river town which had obviously seen better days.  I was too sad to take pictures, and anyhow, I still had a couple hours till Iowa City.

View from my room at the Hotel Vetro, the nicest place I've ever slept. 

James Sturm, Felix de la Concha, and John P. at a fancy dinner Tuesday night.  Photo by Phoebe Gloeckner.

I was in town for the University of Iowa's "Comics, Creativity, and Culture Symposium," a four-day look at comics, featuring panels, presentations, workshops, and an amazing gallery show.

Sturm's hand, Felix, JP, conference organizers Corey Creekmur and Rachel Marie-Crane Williams, Jessica Abel;  Photo by Phoebe G.

With Luis Humberto Crosthwaite;  Photo by Phoebs.

Rachel Marie-Crane Williams opens the conference Wednesday morning.

"Comics and Pedagogy" panel, on which I learned how to pronounce the word "pedagogy."  L-R: Jessica Abel, James Sturm, John P.  Photo by Peggy Burns.

Da Bears; (Conference organizer Ana Merino adjusts her glasses.)  Photo by Phoebe Gloeckner.

Friday night, just before I had to leave for Pittsburgh, I got to meet two of my biggest comics inspirations for the first time:  Gilbert and Jaime Hernandez.  Yes, I gushed.  (Photo by Peggy Burns)

I left Iowa City at 5 PM Friday and started driving east.  I had to be in Pittsburgh (667 miles away) by 10 AM.  I made it.

NEXT: Pittsburgh

MIDWESTERN FANTASIA

As noted in last week's post, I'm am currently homeless, travelling from Denver to Gainesville, Florida, via Northern Illinois.  After three days of loading lots of heavy books down two flights of stairs and into a moving van (thanks Noah!), I set out on I-76 last Wednesday afternoon, making it, with the help of Diet Dr Pepper®, all the way to the rest area at Milford, Nebraska (a couple miles west of Lincoln), before pulling over to sleep.  And sleep I did.  When I woke up in the cab, I could barely move, but I hobbled over to the restrooms to perform my morning ablutions.  Behind the facility were a few concrete paths leading down to the Big Blue River, a typically lazy, non-blue Midwestern stream.  A few concrete observation decks overlooked the sluggish lagoons, and a bridge led over the water to a green park-like setting.  Pretty nice for an Interstate rest area!  The whole place was bustling with life: green everywhere, birds calling, and critters scurrying every which way.  I managed to snap some pictures of the very abundant wildlife.

--Views from the rest area--

"The Big Blue River"

This li'l guy was about the size of a closed fist...

Avoca, Iowa.  When I stopped the truck to take this picture, a lady roared past me in her car, shouting, "Stopped in the middle of the road!!!"  (Avoca Six.)

At my Ma's house in Illinois: Lincoln AKA "Das Boot."

Millie AKA "The Singing Nightingale."

Daisy AKA "Moptop."

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