On the banks of the Kishwaukee River

It's Friday already, and we've been too busy to write a post. Retirement isn't supposed to be this way, is it? Well, it's the travel and grandparenting duties that have gotten in the way, so to speak. We're in the Blackhawk Valley RV Park just outside of Rockford, Illinois. The Kishwaukee River runs through it. The weather has gotten much better since we left MN. It's not quite summer yet, but at least you can see the promise of green grass, new leaves, blue sky, and fluffy clouds.

Upon entering Blackhawk RV Park, the first thing you will notice is the plethora of wildlife, especially birds, in the area. We had to vacate a pair of Canada Geese from our site before we could pull in and set up. Since then we've seen various waterfowl, cardinals, yellow finches, red-winged blackbirds, (lots of) robins and lbj's as well as, sorry to say it, grackles.

When you enter Illinois from Wisconsin it seems that the terrain changes from a lot of farm land to a lot of built-on land. There is not a lot of open space visible - it just seems to be one continuous city. The CG where we will be spending the next couple of weeks is an oasis in the middle of this mess. It's quiet here, you can hear the birds sing, and there is no evidence that beyond the hills of this valley there are numerous large trucks, trains, and passenger vehicles speeding along as if it were necessary for them to get somewhere else as fast as possible.

We're just beginning to discover some of the attractions of this area. It is an area rich in rivers, museums, gardens (a little early for them, however), and tourist shops. In a week or so, when the weather will surely be more sunny and warmer and our grandkid sitting stint is over, we plan to canoe the Kish, as the locals refer to the Kishwaukee River. The Kish was named for the Potowatomi Indian word meaning "river of the Sycamore". Historically, the Potowatomi carved their canoes from large sycamore trees, trees that still grow here. We'll be looking for those trees as we canoe the Kish.

Stay tuned. More to come.

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Dave and Pat