Hello and welcome to RambleTheRock.com! This site is conceived and designed by a resident and lover of the Rock River Valley. Legend holds that the Rock river gets her name from the Sauk and Fox tribe indians who once waded across her rock bottom and could look down to their toes through crystal clear water. Their name for these "rocky waters" was "Sinnissippi".

I, myself, have waded in the Rock and there is, indeed, a solid rock bottom under about 2 to 3 feet of mud. Old timers have told me the river ran clear until the valley was heavily tilled in the 1800's. By the middle of that century, the river was running coffee colored and filling with mud.

I first visited this magnificent part of Illinois when I was 8. Thirty years later I found myself living in the area that meant so much to me as a child. Now, almost 10 years more, I decided to give something back to the area that has given so much to me, this web site.

So what is this site all about? The Rock River runs for fun and that is what we all need to do from time-to-time. This site is all about Links of northwestern Illinois, with the Rock River Valley in the heart of this area, for having fun. When you Ramble the Rock River Valley, you find things to do, places to stay and great people. In short, this site is about tourism and commerce. Illinois' tourism industry was calculated at over 23 billion dollars in the year 2000. People who spend that kind of money on leisure activities want to plan their time wisely and this web site allows them to do so.

Area commercial ventures and tourist attractions may have a single page site made and linked to a page banner ad for $200 per year. No more than 2 ads will be placed on a page. For those who already have a site they wish linked to this portal, the price is $150.

I reserve the right to accept or reject links as well as commercial ventures desiring web pages based on site space, geographic area and personal standards. We will pull links after three valid customer complaints and we do appreciate your feedback, both positive or negative.

Contact us here if you have a link that you think belongs on this site.

Mark Schwendau, Ramble the Rock Webmaster

Web Site Disclaimer

All information and statements on this web site are to be considered accurate to the best of our ability at the time of posting however, your acceptance of this information does involve risks due to uncertanties such as changes in dates and times that are subject to change without notice. My attorney says you should not even think about litigation relative to the use of this site as we make no warranties, expressed or implied, relative to the fitness of use of this web site, or its posted links, for any particular purpose.

In all instances we have permissions to use code, graphics and sounds and we do not have permission to grant others permission to use same so please do not ask us. Most music is from www.scubamom.com and we thank her!