After leaving the Lewis & Clark Confluence Tower, I continued northward to Alton, Illinois to see the pictograph of the Piasa bird, a creature once legendary among Native Americans in that general area. The current painting is a restoration, the original having been destroyed during the 19th century. It's on a cliffside overlooking an adjacent parking lot along Illinois highway 100.
Behind the cliff bearing the Piasa are some caves, which are off limits. If you go into one of them, you might get injured, arrested, or (according to another person visiting the place) attacked by the Piasa bird.
This sign, in front of the Piasa pictograph, recounts "the legend of the Piasa".
This is the second time I have visited the Piasa bird. The first time was in 2000, when I was on an archaeological tour. This means that if you were born during my first visit, you can legally celebrate my second visit with a drink. So if you like adult beverages, drink to me and the Piasa. For more on the Piasa and its legend, go to Britannica, Alton Museum, RiverBender and Madison County ILGenWeb.
Further up Illinois 100, I made a stop to see the Pere Marquette cross, about two miles west of a city named Grafton. I had the option of climbing up some steps from the west....
....or climbing up some steps from the east.
I decided to climb up the westside steps and took a close-up picture of the cross.
According to Rivers&Routes, the cross marks the spot where French explorer Louis Joliet and Jesuit priest Father Jacques Marquette made a landing while exploring the Mississippi River. There is also Pere Marquette State Park a few miles west of the cross.
No comments:
Post a Comment