On November 10, Chris Krusa and Rich Keating led ten members on the second annual Cahokia Mounds Sierra Club Piasa Palisades Group outing. The group began the day viewing the orientation movie "City of the Sun" (available now on the Mounds website) and a guided tour of the interpretive center with special attention paid to two new exhibits - a 700-year-old cypress canoe and a beautiful wetlands mural with related three dimensional exhibits. 

After enjoying sack lunches in the "Cahokia Cafe" the group ventured out on the six-mile trail through the wetlands property, concluding with the 158-step climb to the top of Monks Mound, the tallest earthen pyramid in the Americas. Rich provided information concerning the flora and fauna, pointing out the importance of maintaining the site in its natural state. 

Participants agreed the outing had great cultural and environmental meaning as well as being an opportunity to get together with others who share interests. Plans for the third annual outing to the Mounds are already under way!