Upside Ann

 I really should crop this to be square.... Oh, and that dude on my shoulder?  That's Ringo.

  Hot sweaty day.  Unfortunately, the visitor's center was being remodeled so there was no opportunity to duck in for some education and air conditioning.  Zupe was reluctant to climb all the stairs to the to of this highest mound - the Monk's Mound.  Constructed by ancient people between 950 and 1200, it is the largest "prehistoric earthwork in the Western Hemisphere".* What do I like about this photo?  Not really anything - but I did want to include this site in our trip history as it is impressive and it is the site of my favorite album cover photo.  (NEXT) Cahokia Mounds State Historic Site, 2025, August  Pause the video at 1:30 and find the woman climbing the steps up the Monk's Mound to get a idea of just how large this mound is. *This sort of statement is an inside joke between Kevin and me.  All over Australia we would encounter items identified as "the largest" followed bya an impressive list of qualifiers.. "the longest wooden pier on fr...

 be with you.... Zupe was a big Star War fans for a while.  (He still loves Star Wars, but is more obsessed with Ninjago and, dare I say it, Avengers Doomsday - coming to a theater near you: December 18, 2026.  Mark your calendar!)  We, however, did not have any Star War minifigures. But, at 9, Zupe was happy to make his own.  As you may be unpracticed in imagination, I will introduce you to the characters.  From RIGHT to LEFT (yes, I know that is backward... Your discomfort will be worth it.  Trust me.)  Again, from right to left: Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Darth Vader and..... Emperor Palpatine. Live long and prosper.... Photo: September 2020

 Finally.  Hair cut.

The past 2 summers we have driven to Colorado via Route 70.  As neither Zupe nor I want to sit in a car for 10 hours a day, I plan the trips with multiple, I-hope-to-be-fun stopping points.  I do consider what Zupe might enjoy, but I am much easier to please.  Therefore, I think many of these stops I enjoyed more than him.  In fact, I really, really liked several.  I'll kiss them with an asterisk, in case you want to be me.  All of these stops will someday get featured in Tripping Tuesdays...at least I hope so.  There is only one stop that made it on both itineraries: Lucas, Kansas.  When I grow up, I want to live there. 2025 Batman Museum - Logansport, Indiana Gemini Giant Wilmington, Illinois (Paul) Bunyan Giant (with hot dog) and more (giants)!  Atlanta, Illinois (note - home of the American Giants Museum - but it was closed when we arrived.) * Start of Lewis and Clark's expedition - Frontier Park -  St. Charles, Missouri Jim the Wond...

 "Are you hopeful?" "I'm willing to see what will happen," I replied.  "But I'm not sure it can work." "That is a very sad truth,"  I said.  "I can't be sure of anything.  I know only what I feel." "Then you are ahead of the pack." "Whatever the pack is, if I am ahead of it, then that's another sad truth, " I admitted.