14 Hours, 820 Miles…I’m In Beloit, WI.
By: chesshirecat
Category: Beckman Mill, Beloit Water Tower, Bridge, dam, Iron, Iron Works, Nashville, Nashville Tennessee, Plant, Road, Structural Engineering, Technology, train on bridge
Monday morning, I awoke at 4 AM. Between walking my SR. Puppy…feeding him, feeding the cat…and gosh, you know…all the last minute stuff that has to be dealt with…I’m on the road by 5:30 AM.
It’s spitting…or misting this morning…by the time I had gotten to Nashville, I had been in rain for…what was it? Three hours???? I dunno anymore…rain, wet, and miserable….once over the mountains of Nashville…life got considerably better.
Photo by Mangtacio @ Flickr.com
The sun popped out…well it actually gradually climbed out of some misty, cloudy wet blanket…but when it came out…peeking it’s shaggy but eye blinding blond rays out at the wet world…ahhh how nice…thank you for being here…thank you.
Riding up into Kentucky…up past Paducah. I like KY. but you can keep Paducah…I was glad to be out of KY (though I have discovered places to return to with my camera…). I’m in Illinois….and I’m making my way over to US 51. A road that runs straight up the middle of Illinois….it’s a cool road, two lane…runs through a few small towns…absolutely no large towns or cities…US 52 has some great places to stop in…and spend some time. I didn’t have that luxury this time…had to beat feet it up to Beloit IL. for an important date…made it in 14 hours…I arrived beat, tired, wind blown…and feeling really good…I love my life.
Made the appointed rounds on Tuesday morning…then the rest of the day was all mine. I checked in with a few locals…and found there are some really good points of local interest around here…Man I have so many places to hook up with…I don’t know if I will hit them all…but I know I will hit the ones that are important.
My first stop this morning is in old downtown Beloit WI. There is a bridge that crosses over the Rock River…this is a walking bridge…and a family here in this area, decided to help beautify the area with this train…I think this is sooooo cool!
Now getting to this site…I have to walk about 1/4 mile…actually it was a good walk for my photo ops…I found a great place to get these pics of The Iron Works plant across the river…
this is an iron foundry…and they have beautified the outside of the building…so it don’t blight the downtown area…now if any of you have ever seen most iron foundries…you know what I mean by blight…the iron dust coats everything…but not here…look for yourself….it’s a bright spot on the river…and I love what I’m looking at.
Also, as I’m walking toward the walking bridge, I come across these guys fishing for catfish…I’m told the river is full of some monster Cats….I used to like fishing for cats….
Look at the Hydro-Electric building…don’t you think this looks really nice? The reflections are amazing here….
After spending about 2 hours walking around in the part of town, I had the opportunity to notice a stone tower in the distance…I thought to go check it out. So riding up the road on WI 81 a couple of blocks…I come to this…walking up it’s little hill…this is what I find. It’s known as the Beloit Stone Water Tower…it was built in 1885. Most of the structure is no longer standing…the portion that held the water was made of Cypress…and it kept seven miles of pipes full of water and servicing the town. It was decommissioned in 1935.
Leaving the water tower…I head out of town for Beckman Mill. Wonderful, peaceful, beautiful…it’s closest to being heaven…in pictures anyway….
I saw an old time saw mill on the site….
I’m sorry folks…it’s getting late…I have a busy day tomorrow…and I’m heading off for bed…thanks for coming…I’m glad to have you here…
Be well…all who come here…
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365 degrees, photos from each day 
simply beautiful chessie, thank you
I love your eye for beauty. You show the rest of us just how beautiful things are if we just keep looking. Wish I were on that road… not the one where it rained for 3 hours though…miserable part of the trip.
Wow! The pictures are beautiful. I especially love the first and last photos. So beautiful!
There are some really great photos in this, but also you've brought the route to life! I love your Blog Chessie!
Sounds like a most enjoyable trip…so far. Hope the rest of it is at least as good.
Just beautiful.. I love the stone water tower. Thank you so much for sharing your travels with us.
That was fantastic. I love how Ironworks did their building, its beautiful. I really wish more places did that kind of thing. Surely have not seen anything like that in Arizona. What's with the Danger do not go beyond fenced area sign? Why is it so dangerous? Looks pretty neat to me.
Pictures are once again wonderful. I like the view of the Iron Works plant, enjoy the rest of your trip and looking forward to seeing more.Ride safe.
Dam girl…you did it again, love the photos…the mural…Wow!!! Comes to mind and you know by now I’m a sucker for cat fishing…great job. You have inspired me to get out and ride this weekend and show you what MISSISSIPPI has to offer…Big Al
Awesome stuff Chessie. I used to work for the utility in Madison in the 90's and I had to make many trips to our beloit facility. These photos bring back a lot of memories. Thanks so much for sharing. Ride on..peace,Terry
Thank you for sharing 😀 I love the picture you got inside that stone tower…awesome!
Glad I found your blog. Really great photos.Jackie
Wow you bike thye country how amazing! I never really left America but I imagine I would love to travel like to the Galapagos Islands….well you know we all want to visit somewhere new. Congerats on the blog of note!!!
Jackie, thank you…I'm glad to have you here…TT 1958…we both know "you can never go home again"…but, it's not so bad through fresh eyes.Al, Mississippi has some really wonderful riding and picture spots…PLEASE…I would love to see what you find!JOvi, yes, I agree…the Iron Works Plant is something else…not an eyesore at all…I enjoyed walking the river near there.Smooth, the Do not go beyond fence was in refrence to the dam…we were right on top of it as I took that picture…like you, I thought it silly to post the sign looking where it forced you to look…hence…the picture…peaceful looking water isn't it?Jenjie, the stone tower was barred at the entrances could not get in them, so I pushed my camera between the bars and shot blind…I'm glad how well they turned out…I also like the wild flowers against the walls and the blue of the skies above all…thanksJohn, thank you for the well wishes…Affer, truth be told, your one of the main reasons I like doing this…Joanne and Leslie, thank you both for coming and leaving a comment…I enjoy when people stop to leave their thoughts….CHESSIE
Very nice scenery, architecture and nature. Thank you for sharing.
Looks like a fun trip so far! Glad to hear you made it through the rain.. looks like it was worth it!
Chessie-I'm totally digging the style and layout of your blog. I'm on a fossil fuel free road trip around the US right now, too. Really nice to see someone out on a similar adventure. It's an interesting time to be out there, huh? Love your pictures- especially the murals in Beloit. Almost went to college there. How different life may have been.Best and happy trails,Kelley
Great pictures! I have relatives in Beloit, WI and have visited many times as well as relatives who worked for Beloit Corp. Downtown wasn't always this beautiful. I made a trip back recently for a wedding and couldn't believe how it had changed. Great blog and definitely jealous of your travels…glad you are doing what you love.Q
What a way to travel. The pics are great. Thanks for letting me go with you through your photographs.Connie
Jesus woman…..I just love travelin' along with ya. We always get to see the BEST damn places 'n then ya take bad-ass pictures to memorialize it all for us. Unbelievable! Ya know, yer really a pro at this shit….'n I just hope ya never slow down.
Was just missing WI. Glad I stopped in to see you. Now I have to go look up what kind of bird that is.
You have a nice article!! nice pictures, i like all pictures..
Hi Chessie!Great pictures. The Beloit Stone Water Tower looks so serene, a haven of peace and relaxation….wish I could go there.:)Cool blog.
Thanks, super, beautiful blog!…
Great post Chessie! You capture the beauty of even the simplest thing and make it special. I love coming over to enjoy the adventures you share with us! Ride on sista!!
>Interesting – my grandfather is in one of the pics @ the old Iron Works that you so much appreciated. I love driving by and still being able to visit with Grandpa.
i was just looking around on line for some spots to shoot a wedding im doing and you have givin me some great ideas!! thank you.