Greetings, peasants!

Fun fact: Vandalia used to be the capital of Illinois and currently houses the oldest Illinois state capitol building.

It is also home to the KASKASKIA DRAGON- U.S. 40 and Rock Island Ave., Vandalia, IL.

A local bartender (and she built the liquor store across the street from the dragon, so she should know!) told me that the local hardware store’s employees got bored over a slow winter of 1995, so they built a metal dragon. That is literally the story. The dragon  spends 95% of the year at this intersection across from the liquor store and hardware store, but it sometimes joins in the local parades. Because he is so tall and will take out power lines sometimes when transported, he has a hinge halfway down his front so they can duck his head down.

What else am I forgetting… oh yeah! He can breathe fire!

Let me repeat that: HE CAN BREATHE FIRE!

I’m serious. You can buy a token from either the liquor store or the hardware store for $1 and make him breathe fire (with the help of propane gas, of course).

On your historical tour of Illinois, stop by the oldest state capitol, then cruise down the street for some medieval fun!

Until next time, dahlings…