We took a walk on the Peace Trail in Janesville, Wisconsin on our way to Illinois last Friday. Because it gets dark so early, Mom wants to stop somewhere to get some exercise before the sun goes down. We read about the Ice Age Trail System, and ended up parking where the Peace Trail is. The trail goes right along the Rock River which is very nice.
The sign says Peace Trail, but the parking lot is for the Ice Age Trail. As far as we can tell, it is part of the Ice Age Trail System which goes all across Wisconsin.
Being later in the afternoon, the sun has started to go down, but the view of the river and the bridges is very pretty.
Just around the first corner of the trail from the parking lot, we saw this big rock thing. Being curious, we had to check it out to see what it is all about.
We took the trail up to the top and could get a good view of the river and surrounding areas. This rock is quite old, but very interesting.
Since we are curious, we read the plaque in the middle of this rock to find out what this whole thing is about. This is what the plaque says:
Rifle points south to the opposite bank
of the Rock River, approximately 500 feet
East of the Monterey Bridge, where in
November 1836, Joshua and William Holmes, Jr.,
John Inman and George Follmer built the first
log cabin in the first permanent settlement in
Rock County. This rock on which you stand
once known as “big rock”, was an old landmark for
Native Americans and the first settlers from the
east who forded the Rock River at this point.
Rock County was established in 1839 and
was named after this rock.
So, there you have it. Sometimes what is meant to be a simple walk for an hour or so, turns into a history lesson about something we never knew a thing about. It is just over an hour to our hotel for the night, and we are all set to settle in, eat dinner and relax after our small outing on the Peace Trail in Janesville.
My GBGV Life joining Comedy Plus for the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
You always seem to find the coolest places to stop and see on your adventures!
This was not at all what we expected, but a nice surprise is always good.
ooh that was a super historic place you found…. we love it to travel with you and your blog through your beautiful land…..
We were expecting a nice walk along the river and then this big rock appeared. Sometimes we are surprised with what we find.
Always a wonderful moment when ones stumbles across a place in time, a moment in history that is unexpected.
Our country offers so much to travelers if we only look for it … well done, once again.
We are those folks who usually look for it, but occasionally just stumble onto it too 🙂
How exciting to find such an historic site among your travels. Thank you for sharing
It is an odd historical site, but we found it interesting.
We have come to the point that the journey is half the fun of the adventure. If we see an interesting landmark or point of interest, we are likely to spend a little time checking things out. Its good to get out a stretch your legs on a long road trip.
We almost always plan fun stops along the way to our destinations to see things and check them out. It makes travel much more fun.
You have the bestest adventures! On another note, I was howling for the Vikings. Skol! Sparkle
We could hardly watch the last part of the game. First we were so mad we were losing and then we kept getting so close but no win until finally it happened!
I love learning things from your walks and travels!
This was an unexpected find we had never imagined.
Beautiful place and thank you for the history. That was the best part. Wish I was with you. I could have loved on the pups.
Thank you for joining the Awww Mondays Blog Hop.
Have a fabulous Awww Monday and week. Scritches all around and my best to your mom. ♥
We have loads of loves to give out and we give them out all the time to Mom and others we run into.
What a gorgeous-looking place. I love a good hike.
Ryan
We love going for walks and seeing interesting things along the way is a bonus.
OMDs what a beautiful Peace Trail. I love each photo, which of course is enhanced by your presence, and most of all the history.
Hugs Cecilia
We had no idea there would be such history in the place we chose to park and walk at.
What a great discovery!
You never know what you might stumble across in your travels.
What a great find!! Our Uncle lives in Wisconsin and volunteers to work on various parts of the Peace Trail during the Spring and Summer!
xoxo,
Sunny
Wow! That is super cool. We never heard of the Peace Trail until last week.
We like finding history lessons when we travel, too. Always cool to learn something new!
It is fun, especially when it is a surprise and you get to discover what it is all about.
Awesome walk!! We love the pictures!
Thank you.
what a pawsitively beautiful place to walk!
We love walking along/around water as it is usually a pretty place to be with nice trails.
That’s a nice looking place, but you always find super cool things to go see!
We didn’t expect anything out of the ordinary but then we came around the corner and found the rock.
It’s fun to find the unexpected surprise around the corner.
It sure is. Planning walks from online maps is great but they don’t always tell you everything.