Elsah, Illinois

Another day trip on a cool rainy dat. Pelicans at the National Great Rivers Museum, The birds waiting for the fish to come thru the locks and dam because the fish are knocked senseless and are easy picking for the Pelicans

 a lucky fisherman

this is a paddlefish, they have a long snout and look prehistoric

another birthday cake at the museum

Elsah church, the village where time stood still. Founded in 1853 it is located along the "Great River Road" and home to Principia college, a private Christian Scientist College.

The trip's theme was "discovering Benny" the excavation of a 21,000 year old wooly mammoth found on Principia's campus!

Professor Janis Treworgy showing some of the bones found

The is Benny's skull and tusks, his head has been flatten by the pressure of the earth above him

Our group was one of the first to see the beginnings of the display area

Principia sits on the bluffs of the Mississippi river. I've always been interested in archeology so this field trip was a dream come true. Dr. Treworgy was very kind to take time out of her day to show us around.

after leaving Benny, we were to go to the Lewis and Clark confluence tower, but since it was lightning and raining we went to the Lewis and Clark interpretive center instead

55 foot keelboat model that showed how Lewis and Clark traveled on their expedition

our last stop was to view 23 Sears and Roebucks mail order homes. These homes were delivered by the railroads and you had 48 hours to get the railroad cars unloaded. Everything was included for the homes except the furniture, you could build them yourself or hire a contractor.

You can find out more about Benny here: http://content.principia.edu/sites/mammoth/