Tennessee-Kentucky-Illinois-Missouri

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This morning we drove out of Tennessee into Kentucky. Sticking to the extreme western end of the state we travelled up to Paducah. We enjoyed views of the Ohio River and the floodwall murals that line the levee. We also visited the National Quilt Museum which exhibits some of the best quilts in the country. We have seen quilt exhibits before, and even I could tell that those at the museum are a cut above the average. Some are extremely clever in their design and all are technically impressive. It was like visiting an art museum where the paintings are made of cloth. Unfortunately, photography was not allowed, so I have no pictures to show you. Next we drove west to see the Wickliffe mounds, a prehistoric site where native Americans of the Mississippian culture lived about a 1000 years ago. Much about their civilization is a mystery, but perhaps we will learn more about it as we check out other mound complexes when we move farther north in the coming days. After that we drove west and crossed over to the southern tip of Illinois where we visited Cairo. I wanted to see the confluence of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers, but somehow the sight of the two big rivers coming together was not as exciting as I expected. We went on north from there to Cape Girardeau, Missouri where we stopped for the night. Tomorrow we will see what this river town has to offer.

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