Keep in mind this was begun by the Indians about 1600 and taken up by the travelers going North. Here is another closer photo..as you can see, we couldn't get very far due to the trees, felled by erosion. The original trace eroded due to topsoil being blown off through many years..and the pathway virtually "sank" in many spots..
This whole thing just blows my mind..to think of all who came before us, walking, riding, pulling wagons..all along this trail to go North for prosperity. This next photo is one taken from the trace looking out at the parkway...Notice the old Indian Scout on the right...is he a ghost?? or maybe just my imagination..Oh..it's only Chief Drivealotamiles, Dennis.
We jumped back into the truck and went a few more miles up the trace to a National Historic Site called Emerald Mound. This is an old Indian Mound created by the Mississippian Indians,(who were related to the Natchez Indians). Best guess is that it was made between 1300 and 1600 as a place to build temples for worship of the sun, ceremonies, and burial spots of the chieftains. I seem to recall that there are some old Indian mounds back home in Illinois around Ottawa, on the way to Captain's Cove restaurant and marina. These mounds are formed like a platform of land with two 30 foot hight mounds at each end. At one time, on each of the big mounds were temples. Here is Dennis climbing to the main mound.
And here I am...at the top of the tallest of the two , standing where a ancient Indian temple once was..gives me goosebumps. I don't know where or how deep the burial sites are..I don't think anyone does for sure.
Here is the view from the top...If you look close, you can see the other mound at other end of this area.
On this sign in the following photo is a drawing of what it looked like and also what one of the temples might have been like. "How did they build those mounds and move all of that dirt?", you ask. So did I. Then I read more about them and apparently they carried the dirt in baskets and animal skins to keep building them higher..Amazing...
(Remember that you can click on any of these photos to make them larger and easier to see.)
Well, tomorow we move on down the road to Lake Charles, Louisiana. We will spend 5 nights at Sam Houston Jones State Park, just North of there. I fully intend to find a cajun joint with deep fried oyster poor boys...I will blog from there in a day or two. As for right now, Chief Drivesalotofmiles is building a campfire, and you know what the "Chief" says..."Too big fire, need sit away...Little fire, sit close"..whatever. Later
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