Saturday, April 20, 2019

Continuing on the trail

As I was driving along Oregon, Illinois, I saw this statue and pulled over to get a closer look.



This statue, named "From The Waters Comes My Bounty," is by Ray Kobald.
"The young fisherman stops briefly as he exits the river with his full catch of the day. His slight smile shows the pride that he has as he carries his hoard. The largest fish he mounts on his head to display for his friends. It carries the worthiness of a helmet or the headdress of nobility. The stringer of smaller fish will help to sustain his crops with fertilizer as the river passes through the smaller channels to moisten the hearty soil. Their bounty for survival truly comes from the waters to provide most of the needs of his family."

Of course, we know Who our Provider is.  Genesis 9:2 says "The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.  Everything that lives and moves will be food for you.  Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything."

I have since found out that Oregon has a sculpture trail!  It includes this one of Black Hawk.  Earlier, I had seen the sculpture of Black Hawk and Abraham Lincoln that I posted a picture of in my previous post.
How could I have missed this?  I should do my research BEFORE I start my trip, but of course, I had no idea I would even go on this road.  I just kind of fly by the seat of my pants and decide the path I will go on as I drive!  Well, Al and I will have to make sure Oregon, Illinois is part of another trip sometime!

This school (now a museum) was across the street from that fish sculpture.  I can just imagine hearing the school bell ring in the mornings, the children of a by-gone era running to school, lunch pails in hand.  And after school, perhaps clapping the chalkboard erasers together for the teacher.  

 "A school was erected in the village of Chana in 1883. This wood frame school served the students of grades 1 - 8 for Chana and the surrounding farm kids. An addition was made to the school in 1893 to accommodate the large enrollment. This gave the Chana school a very unique architecture for schools of that era. The Chana residents voted on the prospect of starting a high school in 1888 however the initiative was voted down and the kids who wished to pursue schooling after 8th grade attended high school in Oregon.

The Chana frame grade school building continued to serve the community until a more modern building was erected in 1953. This building served as the Chana Grade School building until it too was closed in the mid 1960s when all students were bused to Oregon for their education."

It was almost demolished in 1997 (wouldn't that have been a shame?!), but a group formed to restore it.  It was moved to the Oregon Park East location by the Rock River and had a grand opening in 2003.  Chana School was added to the National Register of Historic Places

 Highway 2 ran along the Rock River.

 Nuclear power plant in Byron, Illinois.

I love old barns!

I drove around Rockford and then, a very welcoming sign!
 Here is some interesting information about Black Hawk.
The way North America was infiltrated was a sad time in history.

After Janesville, I veered off the highway onto 26.  I was not planning to go through Madison.  Nope.  Small, off roads for me!

Poor Tom.
"Turn around when possible!"
"Turn around when possible!!"


I was headed for the Horicon Marsh Wildlife area.


No one was at the visitor center by the time I got there except for this caveman and mammoth.
The purple martins had not arrived in Wisconsin yet.

Allen told me that they had shown up at our house!


I would have stayed here longer, but I knew I needed to get to Jill's before dark.

Adult blue morph snow goose and Canada goose


When we drive to Adam and Jill's house on 151, we can see these windmills to the south.  This time I was driving north on a county road through the farms.

I arrived at my destination as the sun was setting.
I was so excited to see my family!

The sunset this evening from Jill's house reminded me of Kansas sunsets!

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