Listing Through Life

I left home around 6:30 this morning in search of adventure. I headed west and soon found myself on Illinois Route 2, heading south from Rockford. This is a stretch of road where there’s enough to see to make it an adventure in itself.

I stopped to see the historical marker. It said:

The Regulators and the Banditti

In the 1830,s and 1840s an organized criminal gang known as the Banditti of the Prairie was active on the midwestern frontier. In 1841 six members were arrested and held for trial in Oregon, Illinois. On March 21, the day before the trial, the new Oregon courthouse was burned. In retaliation, a group led by W.S. Wellington organized the Regulators and ordered several suspected Banditti to emigrate or be whipped. Some left but those remaining forced Wellington to resign as Regulator leader. He was replaced by John Campbell. John Driscoll, a Banditti leader, and his four sons (Pierce, William, David, and Taylor) made a career of horse stealing and murder. When the Regulators gave the Driscolls 20 days to leave Illinois, the Banditti decided to kill Campbell and Phineas Chaney, another Regulator leader. Chaney escaped but on June 27, 1841, Campbell was killed by David and Taylor while John, William, and Pierce waited nearby. John was caught and jailed at Oregon. The Regulators apprehended William and Pierce and forcibly took John from jail. The three were ‘tried’ in Washington Grove on June 29 by a jury of 111 Regulators. Pierce was released but the other two were found guilty. John was shot by 56 men and William by 55. Although Banditti activity continued for several years, it was no longer centered in Ogle County. The Regulator judge and jury (112 men) were tried for the vigilante murder of the Driscolls and were acquitted.

If you’d like to know more, click here. The Illinois Historical Markers site added the information that the marker is missing.

I found it.

Route 2 is one of the prettier roads I know of in Illinois. In addition to the stuff I mentioned above, there are a lot of pretty farms and many other river views.

I’ve been here many times — it’s one of my favorite birding spots. I stopped on the way home from Dog n Suds to do some walking and birding. Several thunderstorms were sliding through the area, so I didn’t stay as long as I wanted.

The site is notable for its kames — rounded hills that mark (if I understand things correctly) where glaciers stopped. It’s a very large conservation area, with several miles of trails including a link to the McHenry County trail that runs from the Kane County border to Wisconsin. Most of the park is prairie, but there are also several marshes, a bog and some woods.

I saw: Bobolink, Red-winged Blackbird, American Robin, Eastern Kingbird, Hairy Woodpecker, Red-bellied Woodpecker, Dickcissel, Tree Swallow, Eastern Meadowlark, American Crow, Sandhill Crane, American Goldfinch, Field Sparrow, Gray Catbird, Brown Trasher, Eastern Bluebird, Eastern Towhee, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-throated Hummingbird, Indigo Bunting, Baltimore Oriole, Mourning Dove, Barn Swallow, Blue-winged Teal. I heard, but did not see, Henslow’s Sparrow, Yellow-billed Cuckoo and, amazingly, Northern Bobwhite. I also got close to a Question Mark.

When I stopped here last summer, it was operated by a friendly guy who told me he wasn’t officially franchised by Dog n Suds. His young niece and nephew were working as carhops. I asked him if he had anything that said “Dog n Suds” on it, and he gave me a paper hat from a box he bought on e-bay.

I think it’s under new ownership this year — it had Dog n Suds mugs and wrappers and T-shirts. My carhop was a college-age girl who was rather surly until I gave her a 25% tip. (That’s her coming out the door with my order.) I ordered a Texas burger, fried mushroom and a large root beer. All was sloppy and greasy and delicious. When I finished eating, I bought a mug and walked around to get these photos. I have no explanation for the drive-thru stob sign.

I was in the mood for adventure this afternoon. I had to wait while a thunderstorm rumbled through, but I was on location by 1:30. Elizabeth Lake is a newly-opened and obviously infrequently-visited site.

It’s billed as an archaeological site because of evidence of Indian camps that has been found there, but none of that was visible except this sign, which seems to be saying that arrowheads were once give-aways at British Petroleum gas stations — what is BP? (Isn’t it funny how the world is trying so hard to distance itself from Christ? But even when they come up with silly things like “BP,” the number 2007 is still how long it’s been since His birth.)

There wasn’t much to the place, just a mile-long loop trail through a field and a shorter loop trail that passed through a small patch of brushy woods. At the far end of the two loops, there was a platform that looked north over Elizabeth Lake. Most of the lake is in Wisconsin, and I assume that includes much of what I was seeing.

I had the place to myself except for a brief visit from a conservation district worker who stopped by to clean the outhouse. To give you an idea of how thorough a job he did, he didn’t even turn off his truck.

And now, because I know you’ve been waiting for it, here’s the list of birds I saw in my 45 minute visit: Red-winged Blackbird, Song Sparrow (tons of them), Tree Swallow, Red-tailed Hawk, American Goldfinch, Common Yellowthroat, Black Tern, Barn Swallow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Cedar Waxwing, Brown-headed Cowbird.