Tilting at Windmills, Fulton, IL

"Take care, sir," cried Sancho. "Those over there are not giants but windmills. Those things that seem to be their arms are sails which, when they are whirled around by the wind, turn the millstone."
     - Miguel de Cervantes

It's that time of year again 'do lunch' for my cousin Roxanne's birthday.  Pick a day and place I told her, except for Saturday.  I want to visit Fulton, IL where our Dutch grandmother was born.  Roxanne had been there about 26 years ago with her Mom & our Grandmother for a Hollander family reunion, and wanted to go back again.

Saturday July 19, 2014

With our wishy-washy plans for the route, off we went.  First a quick 15 minutes stop to see the Wild Bill Hickok memorial in his home town of Troy Grove, Illinois.  Wild Bill then went on to become fugitive, gun fighter, scout for the Union Army, marksman and gambler.  Troy Grove now is one of those town that you blink and may miss it.

   

   

 

Cousin Roxanne & Wild Bill

On to Fulton!  Deciding to stay off I-80 for more scenic route we saw a few small towns and lots of corn and soybeans.

Fulton, Illinois is on the route of the Mississippi River Road National Scenic Byway.  First a quick walk north up the path by the windmill.

 

 

Around to the Windmill Cultural Center.  Very informative of the countries (The Netherlands, France, Germany, etc.) that have windmills and their uses of grinding wheat, rye, flax, as well as sawmills, paint manufacturing and much more.

So many types of windmills! Besides their many uses and styles, we also learned that the position of stopped arms have been used to announce enemies approaching during wars, good news (births, weddings) and other things.

(6767km = 4204mi 1441.2yd)

 

The main attraction in Fulton is the De Immigrant windmill which was manufactured in the Netherlands, shipped to Fulton, and assembled by Dutch craftsmen.

 

Roxanne in front of De Immigrant for scale of the windmill size.

 

The gears inside the windmill.

The windmill itself is run only on wind power. Windmill turns every day except when the winds are too low ~ today about 15 mph, so the brakes are on (chains).

Then a stroll south on the path south of the windmill along the  

 

 Above blue heron took flight just as I wanted to snap a picture, but the one below posed perfectly.

An egret (heron family)

Bridge to Iowa.

The largest turtle jumped in for a swim - darn wild life being camera shy.