Moundville

DH worked at Moundville while he was working on his masters degree at the University of Alabama and he had often mentioned wanting to visit, so that was the final stop on our return trip from Minnesota.





The museum is small, but beautifully put together.















The mounds that the natives built are impressive. DH said that when he worked here, the building at the top of this mound was open to the public and contained a life-sized diorama, but the park had trouble with vandalism and it is no longer open.



It's quite a climb, but the view from the top is spectacular!










Blaze was very interested in earth lodges.



Close to the river there is a cluster of small houses with life-sized dioramas of daily life.












For more information about Moundville:
http://moundville.ua.edu/moundville/

Mission San Luis Military Muster

Yesterday, we went to the Mission San Luis.





We took the 3 year old I baby sit for.









It was a good day to visit the Mission, because there were demonstrations of the cannon being shot and various guns.







One of Blaze's friends from the homeschool group was in a play, in the roll of Lord Feast.





It's a comical play from 1496.

National Archeology Day at Lake Jackson Mounds

DH had to work today at Lake Jackson Mounds Archaeological Park for the National Archeology Day event, so we packed a picnic and went along.

DH's new T-shirt:



The stairs up to the largest mound:



The festivities, as seen from the top of the big mound:





It was a four-hour event and DH had been worried that we wouldn't find enough things to keep us busy for all that time, but that really wasn't a problem. There were children's activities, lectures, a very small dig to help with, and beautiful nature trails.

Native America design tattoo:



How archeologist graph what they find:



Clay pot making:



Using an atlatl to throw a spear:



A demonstration and examples of decorative copper work:



A lovely wooded path that led to the next activities:





The "dig" at the end of the trail:



A tour through a storeroom full of antiques and artifacts:



One of the first electric washing machines:



Our picnic at the base of a mound:

Mission San Luis in Tallahassee, FL.

After almost three weeks in Tallahassee, it was time to get out of the house and do something fun. Today was a free admission day at Mission San Luis, a local living history museum and archaeological park.



There is a nice little museum with some of the artifacts that have been found on the site, as well as reproductions of the types of buildings used by the Spanish and the Apalachee people, staffed by reenactors in period clothing.











The goal for an Apalachee ball game:





A Spanish home:







Cooking demonstration, making apple cider pork:







Never before has chicken come to the table so fresh:


Yes, they are alive.

Blacksmith demonstration:







The Spanish fort:







What happens to tallow candles in the Florida heat:



The church:





The church is a massive barn-like building with bats in the rafters.