Touring Winnebago County Forest Preserves, Rockford, Illinois

Monday, July 29, 2013

Winnebago County has several nice forest preserves that are great places to kick back, relax, or enjoy a family picnic, or some scenic hiking trails.  Some of the forest preserves have camping facilities with electric hook ups and dump stations.  We've enjoyed camping at Sugar River and Honnenegah Forest Preserve, both just a few miles from our home when we lived in this area. There are three more forest preserves within just a couple of miles of our campground (Blackhawk Valley Campground).   We have been driving by these three forest preserves almost daily for the last four weeks, and each time we would look at each other and say, "We just gotta stop and check out these forest preserves."

Well, today we finally did just that.  Kitty, Kallie, and I made the short drive down Blackhawk Road to Kishwaukee River Forest Preserve.  It was established in 1927 and has a paved trail that connects to Blackhawk Springs and Espenschied Memorial Forest Preserve

This is a shelter house call Fort Vincennes.

I could not find any history on the internet regarding this shelter.  But, the stone work certainly looks like a structure that may have been built by the CCC 's back in the 1930's.  Since the park was established in 1927, it's possible the CCC built this shelter.

This is a view of the Kishwaukee River that flows a short distance from the shelter.

Our next stop was Blackhawk Springs Forest Preserve.  This park was established in 1978, and has a paved walking path that conncects to Espenschied and Kishwaukee Forest Preserves.  We choose to take the path leading back to Kishwaukee Forest Preserve because it was shorter than the other route, and it ran along the Kishwaukee River.

As we walked along the path, we came to this bridge with a small creek running under it that empties into the Kishwaukee River.

Peeking through the foliage, I snapped this picture of the Kishwaukee River.

The path was an easy walk and mostly shaded which provide a bit of cooling relief from the hot July sun.  But, despite a coating of bug spray, we almost got carried away by the giant mosquitoes. One of them landed in front of Kallie and stood there looking at her eye to eye! Ha!

Our last stop today was at Espenshied Memorial Forest Preserve established in 1979.  Since our blood supply was depleted from the previous walk, we just stopped here long enough to take a couple of photos and headed back to our campground.

Kallie wants to go for a swim!

Blooze Brothers Perform in Rockford, Illinois

Thursday, July 25, 2013

Our neighbor Sue came walking by and asked if we were going to the concert tonight.  "The Blooze Brothers are performing at Sinnissippi Park tonight and it's FREE."  I have to admit the word free got our attention!

During the summer months, the city of Rockford provides The Sounds of Summer at the music shell in Sinnissippi Park.  Tonight, The Blooze Brothers, a tribute band to the Blues Brothers, is on stage from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.  We weren't sure what to expect, but it sounded interesting.  So, we hopped into the car and headed to the park.  Well, maybe it's more accurate to say we plopped into the car and tried to find our way to the park!

Sinnissippi Park is located along the Rock River on highway 251.  Highway 251 runs north and south through Rockford and is only a short distance from our campground.  However, we encountered a detour along the way coupled with a wrong turn on my part, and we were suddenly in the wrong part of town as it's starting to get dark.  Not a good thing!

But, we got our bearings and arrived at the park and waited in line to park the car.  Before we could get parked and walk to the music shell, sirens started blowing.  No! It wasn't the police, it was the opening act!

This high energy 12 piece band will put a smile on your face and make you want to stomp your feet, clap your hands, and maybe even get up and dance!  I couldn't believe all the people that were here.  People of all ages and everyone was having a great time as the Blooze Brothers put on an upbeat performance that included music from the 40's to the top ten, swing, Motown, and Rock. Plus they threw in some of the crazy stuff the Blues Brothers were famous for.

I didn't take my camera, so these pictures were taken with my cell phone.  As it got darker, the picture quality suffered so I didn't upload the rest of the pictures.

We plan to attend more of these shows while we are here.  But, next time, we'll get there early enough to get a seat instead of sitting on the concrete steps.  This show gets a high rating on our value meter, not just because it was free, but also entertaining and fun!

Cruising The Rock in Rockford, Illinois

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

We decided to take a cruise on the Rock River and since the tickets were less than ten dollars for both of us, how could we go wrong?  Right?...well...sorta.  Our expectations for seeing beautiful scenery weren't very high since the 45 minute cruise was mostly within the city of Rockford despite the cruise advertisement that mentioned "beautiful homes and history gracing the banks of the Rock River."  Since we've lived around here for a few years, we had a pretty good idea of what to expect to see on this cruise.  But, as you will see, there is some areas along the river that have really been improved and are very nice.

But, first, some quick history of Rockford.  Rockford is one of the largest cities in Illinois outside of Chicago. There are over 340,000 people in the metropolitan area.  It was first settled in 1834-35 from folks that traveled here from Galena, Illinois.  During this time, Galena was a major port along the Mississippi, and Rockford was the halfway point between Galena and Chicago.  Hence, the settlement was often referred to as Midway.  But, because it had an excellent ford across the Rock River, it soon became known as Rockford.  Rockford later became a large industrial town with many different types of skilled labor jobs and dozens of large companies manufacturing a variety of products.

 Then, in 1958, Interstate 90 was constructed a few miles east of the downtown area.  This forever changed the commercial dynamics of Rockford as business and retail stores began to relocated to the east near the Interstate.  In addition, the economic demand for lower cost labor in the early 1980's soon resulted in many companies closing up shop here and moving elsewhere.  This left many buildings empty in the downtown area.  Many large two and three story building have stood vacant for several years and are in a state of decay.  That's why our expectations for this cruise weren't extremely high.  Rockford has suffered a similar fate as Detroit, and if I had a dollar for every old empty decaying building in Rockford, I could retire. Oh...that's right, I am retired!

However, Rockford is working hard to change their image and improve their city and we found the cruise to be entertaining.  It was a pleasant day and we always enjoy being on the water.  So, here's some highlights from the cruise.

The cruise boat was appropriately named "Forest City Queen."  It was clean and quiet and can be easily converted to accommodate lunch and dinner cruises.  It has a low overhead clearance so it can fit under the many bridges that cross the river.

 This is the Nicholas Conservatory & Gardens which is a beautiful addition to the community and river front area.  On Thursdays, the river cruise originates from here.  Since we took the cruise on Wednesday, our cruise originated in Riverview Park near the trolley station.

Another nice addition to the community is the Burpee Museum.

 It's a little cloudy, but a very pleasant day to enjoy the great outdoors.

This sculpture is made from discarded materials & is in the Sinnissippi Park.

Since the ticket price is very reasonable, and the captain was very accommodating, our value meter would rate this cruise as worth while.

Air Force Invades Rockford, Illinois

Saturday, July 20, 2013

We are suddenly in a time warp at the Chicago Rockford International Airport.  We are looking at a collection of WWII air planes that have been brought here by the Commemorative Air Force.  These planes have been restored and are available to tour, or you can purchase a ticket and take a ride in a vintage WWII aircraft. During the next few days, there will be several different planes on display here.  The cost to ride in one of these planes depends upon the plane you choose.  Prices ranges from $65 for a ride in a C-45 transport plane to $1895 to ride in a P-51 Mustang.

I have been flying some of these planes using a flight simulator that I purchased, a few years ago. It attaches to my computer and let's me choose different types to planes to fly including several WWII planes and even some jets.  So, I was really excited to see the P-51 Mustang because that is what I have spent the most time trying to fly on the simulator.  Unfortunately, it was not at the show during the two days I was there.  Darn!

The first plane on display is a B-17 Flying Fortress. This bomber made countless bombing runs over Europe during WWII.  There were 12,732 made and 4735 lost in combat.  Countless more were damaged.  The B-17 on display was delivered to the US Army on May 18, 1945, too late for to see actual combat.  It was built for the Army at a cost of $220,000, and was sold one year later for $750, with a full tank of aviation fuel.  It flies at 160 mph and uses 200 gallons of fuel every hour.  It carries 1700 gallons of fuel.  Many of it's missions took about 8 hours of flying, leaving less than 30 minutes of fuel upon landing.  It has 13 50 caliber machine guns and carries  an 8000 pound bomb load.

Kitty and I are standing in front of a B-17, it was named "Aluminum Overcast."

This is the belly gun.  Because this is such a small space, the gunner could not exceed 5' 5" height and 120 pounds. He would crawl into position only when needed.

 50 caliber guns on top

 Guns Everywhere!  This is the tail gunner position.  There is also a waist gunner on each side of the plane.

This is part of the 8000 pound bomb payload.

Inside the cockpit.

The next bomber is the B-24 Liberator.  Most of its missions were flown over Europe during WWII.  While waiting in line to see the inside of this plane, I overheard a woman telling her friends her dad was a co-pilot on a B-24.  They were making their first test flight and had to make an emergency landing at a non military air field.  

Another man told of his dad's experience as a tail gunner.  Their plane was shot down over Italy, and seven of the ten man crew were killed.  His dad parachuted safely and was rescued by friendly troops.  He purchased a ticket to ride in this B-24 for $350 and they let him ride in the tail gunner seat so he could get a feel for what his father experienced, except nobody was shooting at him!

The tail gunner position.

During the later part of WWII, the B-29 was developed.  It guns are fired by remote control, and was the most technically advanced air craft of its time.  It was designed for missions over Japan and never flew combat missions in Europe. It has longer flying range than the B-24 and and greater bomb payload.  It was the B-29 that dropped the A-bombs on Japan to bring the war to an end.  This plane was acquired by the Commemorative Air Force in the 1970's being rescued from missile target practice.

This is a T-6 Texan Navy SNJ

The Boeing Stearman PT-17 trained more crews than any other aircraft during WWII.

I gotta have one of these!

I could put Kitty and Kallie on the cart and drive them around the campground!

Since Kitty's dad was in the air force during WWII, we found this exhibit to be very interesting.  You may also know someone in your family that was involved in one way or another with one of these aircraft, and that's what makes history come alive, and is so much more interesting than reading about it from a text book!

We' re Cheese Heads in Monroe, Wisconsin

Tuesday, July 16, 2013

I am in Monroe, Wisconsin, standing in the Swiss Colony Store trying to decide if I should buy one of those silly cheese head hats.  You know, the ones that look like a giant chunk of Cheese. After pondering that question for a nano second, I decided to keep moving through this store that sells everything from cheese to clothing to furniture.  The next item I came across was a very nice cowboy hat. I like hats with wide brims so I tried it on.  It felt like it was made especially for my head.  It was a perfect fit and very comfortable.  But, when I saw the $326 price tag, I quickly placed it back on the shelf before something happened to it and I would be forced to buy it!

We made the nearly one hour trip from our campground in Rockford, Illinois, to Monroe, Wisconsin with our camping neighbor, Sue.  It was going to be a  hot day, and looking at cheese seemed to be a cool thing to do.  Packing two coolers into the back of our car, the three of us came prepared to buy plenty of locally made cheese to feast on back at camp.

Our next stop is the Alp & Dell Cheese Store.  Here, they not only sell dozens of various types of cheeses, they also make cheese here.  Their weekday tours start at 10:00 am, and since it was after eleven by the time we arrived here, we missed the tour.  Oh well, we'll  come some other day for the tour.

Now I am not a Cheese-whiz.  But, I can tell you it takes about 10 pounds of milk to make one pound of cheese.  This cheese factory makes about 38,000 pounds of cheese a day.  Do the math, and you will see that's a lot of milk needed to keep one factory going, and these factories are all over this area.  Thus, there are over four hundred dairy farms in this county alone.

Here's me, Kitty, and Sue standing in front of Alp & Dell Cheese Store.

After leaving the cheese store, we made another stop to pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables, then headed to the square in down town Monroe.  Since Sue has been here many times, she is our tour guide and is directing us to Baumgartner's for lunch.

Baumgartner's is like a pub.  It's an interesting place with a lot of character, and the food was very good. We were entertained just looking at all of the signs and interesting things on the walls and ceiling.  One of the signs said, "Children left unattended will be given a shot and a free puppy."  Another one said, "Good food takes time to prepare.  But, your food will be ready in less than a minute."

Baumgartner's is on the square in down town Monroe.

 This painting by the bar depicts the battle of the booze.  Above the painting are dollar bills stuck to the ceiling.

After lunch, we strolled around the square.  There are painted animals every few feet.  Here's a few that we enjoyed.

This painted cow is also showing the battle of the booze like the painting inside Baumgartners.

 This is my favorite.  Check out the sign on the back of this cow!

This one says, "Everything we have we owe to uddors."

"The Cat's Pajamas"

"Owl be on the farm"

We crossed the street to get a look at the court house.

Next to the court house was this civil war monument to commemorate the patriotism and valor of the soldiers and sailors of the civil war 1861- 1865. 

We left Monroe and headed to Beloit where I showed Sue where I worked when we lived in this area.  Since it was so hot and we were so close, we had to stop at the Dairy Haus for some homemade ice cream.  Keeping with our balanced diet, we had a cone in each hand!

On the way back to the campground we talked about all the cheese we bought today.  I made it clear no one was going to cut the cheese in my car!  Ha!  I don't mean to sound cheesy, but it was an utterly great day!

U. S. Grant in Galena, Illinois

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Today, we planned to visit historic Galena, Illinois, the home of the 18th President of the USA and Civil War General Ulysses S. Grant.  Sometimes our road trips are entertaining, sometimes they are educational, and sometimes they are just plain fun.  This trip was a little of all of the above.

We left our campground in Rockford, Illinois and headed our car west on US Highway 20 all the way to Galena.  It's about an hour and forty minutes from our campground.  The sun was shining brightly with a few puffy white clouds and the temperature barely reaches 80 degrees, a perfect day for a road trip.

Galena is located in the northwest corner of Illinois, only 3 miles via the Galena River from the Mississippi River.  As we headed west, we could see a definite change in the landscape.  The hills were getting a little higher and some of the views were amazing.

Just a few miles from Galena, we stopped and took a few shots of the landscape.

 With all of the hills, people that live in this area must be wondering why Illinois is sometimes called "The Prairie State"!

Our first stop in Galena was at the tourist information center where a very knowledgeable and helpful lady gave us all the information we needed regarding the points of interest in Galena.

Downtown is full of interesting shops and restaurants.  Naturally, we headed for one of the fine restaurants first, and enjoyed a tasty lunch at the Embe.  Lunch was great and the bread pudding was one of the best I have ever eaten. Their homemade bread pudding is free on Wednesday and that made it even better!

Here's what part of the downtown area looks like.

 After lunch, we crossed the street and went into the Desoto House Hotel where we saw a video about the history of Galena.  The Desoto House was built in 1855 and has been the cornerstone for the development of this city.  It originally was a five story hotel with over two hundred rooms.  It has been completely rebuilt and has fewer room, a few small stores, and three restaurants.

Our next stop was at this museum.  This building was built in 1858.  It has a hologram of Grant and his wife describing what you will find in this museum.  In addition to some Grant artifacts and civil war items, you can peer down into an authentic 1830's lead mine shaft.

 The next three pictures are some of the items in the museum.

  

This flag was home made in Galena and was given to the civil war troops from Galena.  Because the flag was not made in accordance with the US Government specifications, it was never flown in battle and was later returned to the city of Galena.  

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Ulysses S. Grant was born in Point Pleasant, Ohio, on April 27, 1822.  In 1868, he was elected 18th President of the United States.  He died on July 23, 1885 at Mt. McGregor, NY.

A life size photo of Ulysses S. Grant

 This famous painting depicts the surrender of Robert E. Lee's army to U.S. Grant at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9th, 1865.  There were fourteen people in the room for this historic moment that officially ended the civil war, and three of them were from Galena.  In fact, during the civil war, nine men from Galena rose to the rank of General.  No other city in the USA had more men rise to the rank of General per capita, than Galena.

This is Grant's last home in Galena.  This home was built in 1860 for the town clerk.  In 1865, a group of prominent Republican men purchased this house and gave it to US Grant & family, completely furnished,.

 This is the Belvedere Mansion, the largest home in Galena.  It is 5,000 square feet and has 22 rooms!  We saw several homes in Galena that were much larger than Grant's home.  While he was famous, he did not obtain great wealth.

As we departed Galena, we drove a few miles to the Mississippi River and took this picture.

It was a nice trip and we always enjoy living history.  Now we can cross this off our list and start planning the next road trip.