01 July 2014
I awoke at 5:00 am to a bird chorus and clear blue skies. The previous evening's storm had pushed out the high temps and oppressive humidity and we were now in for several days of dryer, cooler weather.
My early wake-up was somewhat accidental. I have been using Betsy's old cell phone for an alarm clock. I did not take into consideration it would not reset for the new time zone. Thus, setting the alarm for 6:00 actually set it at 5am local time. I did not realize this untill several hours after I had gotten up. So, I ended up with a bonus hour!
After the first round of coffee I went for a short stroll with coffee in hand to enjoy the fresh, cool air and quiet. It is very peaceful here. The early morning view of the corn and distant tree line was quite scenic.
My web work now done I started getting my bike stuff together. It was all stored in a plastic crate on the van roof top. I had gone through a lot of rain on the way out here and I would soon find out it the boxes were water tight. They were. Everything was bone dry.
On my way out I bumped into KB and Jilly. As usual they had both started their days early. Jilly gets up at 4:30 for a run of god knows how far. KB was out and about doing various chores. They have a busy property management company and something always need tended to.
With my bike stuff ready and trail map in hand I headed out to Freeport in search of bike fuel.
Freeport is known as the Pretzel City, and its public high school's team is named the Pretzels. The nickname is a reminder of Freeport's ethnic heritage; in the late 1850s, many Germans, both from Pennsylvania and from their European homeland, resettled in Stephenson County. They brought with them their love of pretzel snacks, and a pretzel bakery started up.
Source: WikiPedia
When I got downtown I asked a of couple guys for breakfast recommendations and they pointed me down the street. I stopped at the closest place - the Landmark Family resteraunt. Certainly nothing fancy and of course filled with locals enjoying their coffee and chat sessions.
Click on the photo below for a larger image.
My bike fuel: rib-eye steak, 2 over easy, home fries and whole wheat toast. $8.25.
The steak was a little chewy, but tasty. The eggs were perfectly cooked to my liking and the home fries were the usual greasy mess.
After breakfast I took a short trip around the downtown area in search of some snap worthy buildings. I found a few.
This is the Stephenson County Soldiers Monument which is currently undergoing restoration.
The 70-foot high Civil War Soldiers Monument outside the courthouse was completed in 1869, and has sustained considerable damage over the years.
Some local color peddling by made a good photo opp.
Big churches are always impressive and I try never to miss the opportunity to take a shot or two.
Looks like City Hall is getting a make over as well.
The old Freeport City Hall building at 230 W. Stephenson St. has been named to Landmark Illinois’ Ten Most Endangered Historic Places List for 2012.
The Freeport City Hall building was constructed in 1899 to house city hall, the fire department, and library.
The City Hall building was vacated by the City Council in December 2011, after over 100 years of use. It was found to have a faulty foundation and was in need of other repairs.Source: © 2006-2014 Gatehouse Media
I then started the 10 minute or so drive to the Jane Addams Rail-trail. The access point is the northwest side. Eventually it be extended into the downtown area and connect with the Pecatonica Prairie Path which is a 29.5 mile long biking, hiking and nature trail between Rockford and Freeport.
Here we are at the Jane Addams Rail-trail. I found it well signed and well maintained. And, in spite of the recent heavy rains and high winds the trail surface was firm and all the down trees had been moved out of the trail area.
There is some good area rail road history here.
The trail was like a green tunnel for most of my 30 mile out-and-back ride.
The road crossings provided nice windows from which to view the surrounding countryside.
These signs were at every road crossing. It really takes the guess work out of calculating the mileage.
I stopped to take a snap of this Lowland Bladder Fern (Cystopteris protrusa) and was immediately engulfed in a cloud of mosquitoes. They are always abundant up here but the wetter than usual season had produced hordes of them.
And, this year the area is blessed with hordes of "Buffalo Gnats" which I just found out are the same as those pesky Black Flies. Host KB mentioned the Buffalo Gnat population was the highest it has been since the 1930s.
Lovely...
This might be Richland Creek. There are lots of creeks and rivers up this way. And they all look like this - thick with silt washed from all the corn and soybean fields.
One of the 17 bridges onthe trail. Most were much shorter than this one.
The clouds and the humidity were building back up but the wind was still keeping things cool. Note the old barn with cell tower behind it. A sign of the times.
Here we are in Orangeville not too far from the Wisconsin border. I had hoped to take a stroll through town but my ornery knee was acting up again so I decided against it.
A novel use for an old grain mill. This it near the Orangeville trailhead.
There was still plenty of evidence of the recent storm damage.
See that bright spot waaaaay down there? That's Wisconsin.
And here we are at the border. The Badger Rail trail runs north to Madison.
The Badger State Trail travels 40 miles between Madison and the Wisconsin-Illinois border while traversing farmlands, woods, rolling hills, scenic meadows, remnant prairies, ravines, glacial topography and several small communities. Highlighting the trail is the 1,200-foot long Stewart Tunnel. The tunnel is unique because it is built on a curve, and visitors cannot see the other end when first entering the tunnel.
Source: Illinois DNR
Unlike Illinois, Wisconsin state trails require a fee.
The welcome sign just on the other side of the Illinois state line.
On may way back I passed through more pastoral and scenic country side.
The shade was nice but the skeeters liked it too!
This is the spot where I took the snap of the Cystopteris protrusa. Here the trail cuts through limestone which makes a nice substrate for the fern to grow upon.
There were TONS of Elderberry (Sambucus canadensis) in bloom.
Whenever I see this plant in bloom it takes me back to my childhood and those tasty Elderberry fritters we used to get at day camp.
I spotted this old train stuff and grabbed a quick shot - "Private Property Keep OUT!".
Here is yet another reason to hate chipmunks! They make tunnel entrances all over trail. They find the trail surfade material easy to dig and drain. If you hit one of these full speed it is no laughing matter. It can throw you in a flash. And people have suffered broken bones because of them. If nothing else it is a bone rattling experience if you hit one dead on.
More good signage. Certainly something for other trails authorities to emulate
This poor fella payed the price for being a slow mover. I can only hope the cyclist hit it by accident.
Another old grain mill from a bygone era.
A young Hackberry Celtis occidentalis has found a home.
This old place has some newish looking lawn chairs on the front porch. It would not be a bad place to spend a lazy weekend trailside.
This was my last shot on the trail. I then made my way back through town in search of salad fixin's for dinner.
Conveniently the traffic light was red here so I grabbed a quick snap.
After I got my shopping done I iced my knee and then went out with KB for a tour of their trails.
KB hams it up for the camera. This type of trail was new to me. This corn will get 12' tall. Imaging walking through that! They also use these trails as a dirt bike course.
One of several trail intersections.
Photo by KB Whiting
Look what we found!
They were laying right next to each other. What are the odds...?
KB gave me the smaller one for a keepsake. I will give it a place of honor in my Travel Museum when I get home.
Busy, fun day and more of the same tomorrow!
'Till next time...