Pound's Hollow/ Pine Ridge

We went camping at Pound Hollow, which is basically a part of Garden of the Gods and Shawnee National Forest. Camping is $5 a day, and you can have several tents on one campsite, there are a bunch of sites so calling ahead really isnt nessesary.

Pine Ridge Campground in the Pounds Hollow Recreation Area has to be one of the most under appreciated camping gems in southern Illinois. While it officially has 75 sites, half of these are closed most of the time, opened as overflow only on the busier Memorial Day and Labor Day weekends, and even then they’re not necessary. Since Pine Ridge has no electric sites and no shower, it’s not popular with the modern RV crowd. A fair-weather non-holiday weekend may only see five to ten sites occupied—which is all the better for those of us who don’t mind tent camping in a beautiful pine wood, near a tranquil beach, great hiking, and all the attractions of the eastern Shawnee National Forest.

Mound City National Cemetery

My husband and I took the Harley down to Cairo from Rt 37 last weekend, and stumbled across the Mound City Cemetery. A little History:

It is one of twelve original National cemeteries, was established in 1864 following an act of July 17, 1862 whereby President Lincoln was authorized "to purchase cemetery grounds... to be used as a National Cemetery for soldiers who shall have died in the service of their country."

By 1874, the number of unknown soldiers and sailors was as high as 2,637. The inscription reads: "There are buried here 2,637 soldiers and sailors, names unknown, who lost their lives in defense of their country. Their services are here commemorated although their names are lost from the roll of honor."
"Known But to God" are the identities of 2.789 who rest in the hallowed ground of Mound City National Cemetery. Since the great conflict in 1861-1865, this cemetery is the final resting place of veterans, their spouses and dependent children from the Mexican War, Spanish-American War, World Wars I and II, Korean conflict, Vietnam and Persian Gulf. More than nine-thousand interments have been made in Mound City National Cemetery since its establishment in 1864.

It is a truely beautiful cemetery, and I could have easily spent hours drifting among the rows of pristine white markers. There is also a large mansion at the front gate, which I assume hold the records of the dead.

Mound City National Cemetery Preservation Commission, Inc.
PO Box 45
Mound City, IL 62963

Directions to the cemetery
From Cairo exit of I-57, go north on old US 51 to Rt. 37. Cemetery is at the intersection.
From Mounds exit 8, go east to Route 37, then south through Mound City to the cemetery.