Backside of Oregon

Finally.........a weekend of sun two days in a row............

very windy..........but sunny......YES!

The 70% chance of rain predicted yesterday

(which forced me to mow lawn Friday night after work)

did not come.

I think a road trip down Rt. 2 might be nice.  

Wonderful winding two lane road along the Rock River has always been a pleasant trip.

Too bad the state is forcing the road to be widened.

That means one thing.......you go into the river to take the land,

or you go into the steep limestone filled with trees on the other side.

Either way, the Rt. 2 we used to know will be no more.

I'm always reminded of my commute in the 90's

 when I drove this highway for nearly 4 years to work.

Road construction on Rt. 2 would force me to take the backside of Oregon, 

or the other side of the river,

probably not the official term, but my farmer talk ........

I would start to climb this large hill and just beyond,

 would be a valley with a little farmette,

and this little treasure nestled in the trees.

Who would have thought this would look so quaint? 

So I parked one day to get a better shot.

Once in the day, this car probably drove on Rt. 2,

probably first dates happened in this car.

Perhaps it is a family heirloom to the people that live here.  

So many questions to ponder.

But I love this old car and how they staged it so nicely in their yard.

 Just beyond this farmette is Lowden State Park, Oregon, IL 

(again, the backside of Oregon). 

 This proud 48' cement statue of Black Hawk The Eternal Indian 

stands 125' above the Rock River, built in the early 1900's. 

 You can't miss his presence each time you drive by.   

 Here is the view from Rt. 2.

  They had a large area where you can park and take pictures 

however, that has been made smaller due to the widening of the road.

Black Hawk ~ thanks for looking over us all these years.