Large-Scale Fun!

"Grand Canyon 2013" launched only a half-hour behind schedule.  We hit the road at 7:30 a.m. after Debbie made about three trips back into the house to make sure no faucets were dripping and everything was turned off.

The morning passed uneventfully - mostly because everybody but the driver was napping.  The weather was gray and rainy in the low 60s.  That didn't stop us from finding 24 state license plates on our first day of travel, however!

We had taken votes on where everyone wanted to stop for meals, and Chick-Fil-A was the hands down winner.  Unfortunately, we chose to stop at an Indianapolis Chick-Fil-A for our first lunch, not knowing that it was actually a "Chick-Fil-A Express" located on a college campus.  It was a somewhat awkward experience, not the least of which was having to wait 10 minutes while they fried up more chicken.  Ironically, of all the Chick-Fil-A's I've eaten at, this one was the least deserving of the title, "Express."

Things began to get a little more interesting as we encountered some large-scale building projects that people of various times, places and motivations saw fit to pursue.  The first stop was this beauty in Effingham, Illinois:

It is a 200 198 foot high steel cross erected at the site of an interstate crossroads.  Why 198 feet?  Because the one in Groom, Texas is 196 feet and the good people of Effingham wanted to build one larger, and anything 200 feet and taller is mandated by the FAA to use strobe lights.  (So there remains an opening for a 199 foot high cross if anyone wants to try to thread that needle!)  For scale purposes, that's Jon, Daniel, Bethany and Katie at the base as Debbie took the picture.

The Effingham Cross was built in 2001, but we had to go back several centuries - Pre-Columbian, in fact - to find the largest prehistoric earthen mound built in the Americas.  I know that's a fairly narrow category, but that is the Cahokia Indian Mounds' claim to fame.  We learned about the moundbuilders in the visitor center and then took a little tour of the grounds.  The largest mound is Monks Mound, and we climbed it in a cloudy, chilly drizzle on this midsummer's day.  Here's Debbie, Daniel, Bethany and Katie atop the mound as Jon took the picture from halfway up: 

Still, it was thrilling as we stood on the heights of Monks Mound and saw our third objective of the day: the St. Louis Gateway Arch!  I didn't really think we were going to go up into the Arch again having done it in 2008 and knowing it's been basically unchanged during those five years, but the family took the vote while I was swimming.  I was alright with the decision until they put us in those tiny compartments for a clanky four-minute "Journey to the Top!"

Regardless, we made it!  And we also took time to look around the Museum of Westward Expansion and the Mississippi River - which this time was not flooded!  We were also able to get our National Parks Passport stamped for the first time.  After getting lost only twice on the return trip to our hotel, we were ready to settle in for the night and prepare for a new day of adventure tomorrow.  Hard to believe this is only Day One!

Our vacation is off to a good start, but I sure hope it warms up!