Sharon and Smokey's Trek Through the Upper Part of Union County

Well, Smokey was going to make a trip to Garden of the Gods, however, I did not have enough time to take him there. :( I do think though that Smokey was still pleased with where all he was able to visit. The main place that I took Smokey to was Bald Knob Cross in Alto Pass, Illinois.


Bald Knob Cross
Bald Knob Cross is located in Alto Pass, Illinois, 62905. It was finished in 1963, it is 111 feet tall, had over 900 porcelain plates, and was lit up so that it could be seen from 7500 square feet. The cross has been under construction since 2009, the panels were taken off, and is expected to be completed by the end of this fall. The picture (left) is what the cross looks like so far, however it is still under construction and the public is not allowed to walk all the way up to the cross yet.


After Smokey visited Bald Knob Cross, he went with me to vote, in Alto Pass' city hall.













Smokey also stopped at Flamm Orchards for a little while. Flamm's is one of the largest producers of peaches and apples in southern Illinois.











Smokey also stopped in Cobden. He visited a memorial that is dedicated to the Cobden Connection. There are only five towns in the world named Cobden. They were all named after the explorer Richard Cobden. There is a Cobden in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Minnesota, and Illinois.














Lastly, Smokey visited Cobden High School, the high school I graduated from. Located in Cobden, Illinois, Cobden High School's mascot is the Appleknocker. Some of you may being saying, "What in the world is an Appleknocker?" Well, Cobden is known for it's many orchards. An appleknocker is the person who would knock the bad apples out of the trees. Cobden High School is home to a great softball team that has one the state championships the last 3 years in a row, which is a great accomplishment since the school is so small. It is also home to the Amazing Appleknockers of 1964. The Amazing Appleknockers were the boys basketball team that made it to the state championship. This was an amazing feat since at the time Cobden's population was only 900 people. However, they only won second place, but they were still the talk of the state and highly respected.


Overall, I had a great time taking Smokey around, and I think he did as well!