One annual tradition that we didn’t have to change too much due to COVID-19 was our Thanksgiving-adjacent trip to Cahokia Mounds. We decided to go on Wednesday morning, and it was the perfect clear, chilly weather to enjoy the climb up Monks Mound. I actually think we had the clearest view of St. Louis and the surrounding area that we’ve ever enjoyed!

After making our way back down from the top of Monks Mound in the midst of some biting wind gusts, we took what we call our “Turkey Walk” along one of the trails across the highway. We actually walked farther on the trail than we have in the past (we were never really sure where it went before; this year, we decided to find out!), and while we didn’t see any turkeys, we did see tons of deer and even a woodpecker!

The only real loss this year was not being able to visit the Interpretive Center, but we’ve done that so often in the past, we didn’t miss too much. The upside was that Moose got to come with us…his school schedule hasn’t always allowed him to, but this year, he has way more flexibility thanks to distance learning!