Mississippian culture tourism

juggerbot

This summer I plan to take a trip to one of the Mississippian culture sites in the Midwest/South. I tentatively picked Cahokia, since it's the largest and most well-known site, in southern Illinois near St Louis. Can anyone familiar with this place or any other good ones fill me in on what to see? How long can I realistically spend there, assuming I'll want to hike around the grounds a bit? For reference, I will be traveling from Lincoln, NE.

captaink

I went here when I was a kid many years ago. We only spent a day, but you sound like you have a specific interest in this area. Still, I imagine you could see the highlights in a long day, maybe 2. If they have contact information on that website, maybe you could shoot them an email and see what they think. It may have been expanded since I went, that was probably 15 years ago or more.

Kate of Lokys

I actually live just down the road from the Cahokia Mounds, though I haven't actually been myself. I have kind of been meaning to check it out, though, so if you're interested, I could PM you a scouting report once I go.

I will offer a friendly travel tip, at least: do not stay, eat, gas up, or sightsee in East St. Louis. It is a terrifying post-apocalyptic wasteland of a city. St. Louis, MO itself has some very nice areas, most of the little towns across the river in Illinois are perfectly lovely, but the city of East St. Louis itself is worse than inner-city Detroit, so just stay on I-70 until you're clear of it.

Collinsville IL is right on the interstate just a couple of miles past the Mounds, and it has a ton of hotels of various sizes and qualities, so unless you're staying with friends or something, I'd recommend it. Also, if you like steak, gluttony, or deep-fried food, Lotawata Creek is a local institution. A single order of their cheese fries appetizer can feed a party of four drunk twenty-something guys.

If you have any questions about the area, or want some ideas about other stuff to do while you're here, feel free to shoot me a PM. I'm not a local, but my fiance is, and I've lived here with him for two years now - I'm at the point where I know my way around better than he does.

captaink

I have a bunch of family in Collinsville, that is crazy!

juggerbot

Yeah, the only thing that gave me pause about the trip was East St. Louis. I've heard nothing good about that city. I was hoping to recruit some of my friends to go, but I'm not completely sure how many I can get. A couple are farmers, and so their summer free time can't really be planned too far ahead. I am by far the most history-oriented of our group, but most should be up just for the road trip aspect. Thanks for the info.