Ladynomad on the Road to Nowhere: Cape Girardeau, Cairo, Kaskaskia and St. Genevieve

I'm still catching up. This was back in May 2015.

Our next stop was Cape Girardeau, MO. Boy, what a nice Elks Lodge. Here we are, parked next to the lake behind the lodge.

Cape Girardeau is on the Mississippi River. I couldn't help but get my feet wet. (And Fancy's, too.)

From the waterfront looking up at the end of the street to the old courthouse. I just love wandering around old town, especially when they seem to still be active with shops and restaurants and people.

You know if there is a fort around, Max will find it. Not much left of this old fort

Although the original church was founded much earlier, this building was not built until 1853.

Called the Red House it is now the visitor center and museum, but was built in the 1790s by a frenchman. It uses the vertical log cabin styling instead of the more common horizontal log cabin.

A block of tea. Do you know how they shipped tea from China? I didn't until we took the interpretive tour. Tea was shipped from China in solid blocks. When you wanted tea, you broke off a small bit and ground it up before steeping it in hot water.

Cape Girardeau has their entire river wall decorated with murals. Here are just a few depicting some of its history.

I spotted this poster at one of the local restaurant/bars. I had no idea what it was all about.

Big Idea Band. We just happened to be back downtown on May 31, so we stopped by to see what was going on. It was Americana music and the name of the band was The Big Idea. We had a great time listening and enjoying the music. We even bought a CD.

There was something going on at the Harley Davidson Dealer, so stopped to check it out. The band got rained out, so we went inside to look at the motorcycles. I really liked this bike, but I do think it was just a tad too tall for me. I was on my tippy toes and could still just barely touch the floor.

Just down the road is Cairo, IL, the spot where the Ohio River flow into the Mississippi. Junction of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers

Cairo also has a mural on its river wall about Lewis and Clark's visit to Cairo on the 1803 Journey of Discovery.

The Ohio is still used for transport. Notice all the barges waiting to head down river.

I love finding old, historic homes. Or just old homes. Love to look at the architectural styles and wonder how many of the homes we built today will still be around in 100+ years.

This was built in 1869 and today is a museum.

The home below was built in 1865 and is still someone's private home today.

Kaskaskia, founded in 1703, was an important place back during the French and Indian Wars because of its strategic location on the Ohio River. Today little remains of the town, except for the church, a few homes and some historic signs.

This church was founded as a mission in 1675, but although the current building is old, it's not that old. Couldn't find out when this church was built.

The town holds the Liberty Bell of the West, given to Kaskaskia by King Louis XV in 1741.

Do you think this home owner is concerned about flooding?

Just upriver from Kaskaskia is St. Genevieve, founded in 1735. It was a french trading town and has the distinction of having the largest concentration of french vertical log homes in the U.S. Most of the old french vertical log homes have been stuccoed over and you can no longer see the vertical log construction. Many of the homes are still in use today, and some are now museums. All of the homes pictured were built in the late 1700s to early 1800s.