Bucket List: Mounds (Not the Candy)

Yesterday, I ran my first 5K. The 2nd Annual Saluki Dawg Jog started at 8am outside of the SIU stadium. The race began with a big hill, yeesh! Brandon ran with me (stitches and all) the whole way. Yeah, I slowed him down but he really motivated me. I didn't walk! My final time was 34:54. Meaning I ran around an 11 minute mile pace. 3.1 miles is the farthest I've ever run without stopping in my life, so hey there's that. The rest of the results are posted here.


After the race, we showered and then headed north to Belleville with Brandon's parents. The Clarkes had their first Vintage baseball game of the season against the Stags. It was hot hot hot. Luckily there was a big tree that provided shade for most of the game, but after 3 hours the 90 degree weather was getting to us. The nice part was that the Moose Lodge ran a snack bar for us - so we got hamburgers and hotdogs. Brandon hated to be on the sidelines, too bad...

Since we were so close to St. Louis, I convinced the family to go to Cahokia Mounds in Collinsville, IL. We have driven by so many times that it was finally time to cross it off the Bucket List. Cahokia Mounds is the largest pre-historic Indian community in America north of Mexico. There were over 120 mounds in the region with Cahokia as the center of a large chiefdom. Surprisingly, the largest mound, named Monks Mound was named after French monks who settled nearby and planted trees and fruits on the terraces of the largest mound in the 1800s.

Monks Mound is over 100 feet tall and was built in stages by Indians who carried baskets of mud by hand. 

It takes 158 steps to climb to the top.

The view was certainly worth it from the top. Although our heads are in the way, we had an amazing view of the St. Louis skyline, including the Arch.

On the way home, we drove through Red Bud and could help but to purchase a lotto ticket from the winning Mega Millions store:

Red Bud Motomart

May the odds be ever in your favor!

River to River

Yesterday, Brandon participated in the River to River Relay. It is an 80 mile race through Southern Illinois from the Mississippi to Ohio Rivers. Teams of eight members take turns running 2.5-4 miles of the course. Each runner does three legs and while they wait their turn they travel in a van from checkpoint to checkpoint. The course is extremely hilly (you can see the elevation of each leg here).

Brandon's first hand-off

Brandon began his journey before sunrise and was scheduled to arrive at the finish line at around 5-6pm. Knute and Nancy wanted to see him cross the finish line so they picked me up in the afternoon. The finish line was in Golconda, IL. On our way there we stopped at the famous Chocolate Factory. Take a look at their latest treats:

My favorite treats were the Illinois-shaped state chocolates. I went home with some dark chocolate peanut clusters and some chocolate-covered bacon which was the treat of the month. Nancy took home some Snickers fudge that was a-mazing. 

Then we headed to Golconda main street where we waited for the runners to arrive. It was cold!! Brandon was the 8th runner which made the finish even more special for us.

His team joined him for the final 2 blocks of the run. His team, "The Breakfast Club," finished in 10 hours and 45 minutes. Afterwards, they posed for a team pic on the levee.

This race is definitely one of the best attractions in Southern Illinois. So glad the boys got to run it!