Amazing Junk? Car Buff Fun!

Old farms in our area often have old vehicles dumped into the 'dry runs'. I imagine that it served a two fold purpose. Get rid of the old car and slow down the rush of water to slow erosion. 

I don't see that it was especially effective, however I decided to see what I could find. 

This dry run is part of our original farm before it was split up in the 1980's. I'd have to check my papers, but the previous owners to the 1980's had a large tract of farm land and woods. The ownership on this farm goes all the way back to just after the Civil War. I believe that I read that the farm was part of a grant of some sort.

With that history out of the way, I decided to explore the dry runs that feed into my creek. I do have permission from my western neighbors to explore their land, but I've never explored this section.

To my huge surprise I found the perfect junk yard.

This dry run held 3 vehicles and parts of a stove of some sort and unidentifiable things.

Here is the hood to this car. A Chevrolet!

The interior

I imagine when this vehicle had seen its last days, they pulled out the engine and dragged it to the edge of the dry run and pushed it down. I walked around it and found this tag attached to the body.

I did 'google' these numbers and the one thing I know for sure is that the paint # is for black. I found a lot of images of what this might look like. The following one is probably more closer than some of the ones I found on Antique car sights. Of course I did not find or see a hood ornament like this one. It may be buried under 70 or so years of dirt and debris.

However, I think it was broken off.

There were two more vehicles in this ditch.

I have no clue what this may even be! But I will have to go back and explore some more. It looked as if the roof of the car had been cut off and it had a rubber seal around it.

It was definitely a two door and a search of a body number related to Briggs Mfg. Co. brought up nothing. Well, nothing that I could decipher. There was a discussion of sales for these tags though!

Who knew? My neighbor may have some gold buried in his dry runs!

I'd like to go back on a better day and get some photos of the dashboard.

Anyway, on to mystery car number 3. 

At first I was sure these had to be Model A's. When I got home I put the numbers in a search engine. The first few numbers indicated a Buick of some kind. PJ 113110 the letters BCD just confused the search engine.

It was fun to try though.

Under one of the vehicles there were stove parts. Did they all get chucked in the ditch at the same time or what? I won't ever know.

I left this dry run and started around the ridge to the next one. I found this prize but didn't stop to check it out. Did this farm really have this many vehicles???

This last photo is of a dry run just on the other side of our fence line to the west.

I've photographed this vehicle a lot over the years as it is 30 seconds from my porch. As you can see, it may or may not slow down the water when it runs!

It has a partner vehicle just 20 or so feet from it. Right now it is covered in brush and bulldozed trees. Here is what it looked like a few years ago.

So far I've counted 6 old vehicles in ditches within short walks from my house. 

I think I do need to walk to another spot where in the past I did note model T's or model A's era vehicles on my east neighbor's land. 

What treasures!

I don't have much knowledge about old cars, but this is really quite interesting. Apparently, I just need to explore the dry runs near old farmsteads just below the ridge tops.

I've found more than one Homestead junk yard while hiking the Reserve. Of course one has to know where to look and after exploring our surrounding forest here, I've got a pretty good idea of how to find the cool Junk.

Imagine if these items could tell their stories. Wouldn't that be amazing?

Walks

 It is finally getting cool enough for some winter gear. A hat that covers the ears and a scarf for protecting the chin and face while in the wind.

In the woods and valleys the winds rarely blow as the land is steep and heavily wooded. So even on a cold blustery day a walk in the woods can be rather pleasant.

Hobby has switched over 
to her mild winter gear!

Look!

Moss under the skiff of

snow!

However, my walks have to be planned and short so that I can be back before the other half wakes from his nap. He still needs help switching his oxygen over from the CPAP to the concentrator. Last night was the first time in over a week that he attempted it himself when getting ready for bed.

I keep close by which isn't hard as we are surrounded by a forest.

But I do need my fresh air daily no matter what the weather. 

I went without Charlie on New Year's Day for a really hard and fast hike on my neighbor's land. One I wouldn't normally take any friends on. It is rough, gnarly, and hilly. There are two valleys to negotiate through and a lot of brush with thorns. Did I mention the creek hopping? 

I went to the back valley and followed the stream that empties into Black Bottom. If you grew up in the area you call the stream Black Bottom. If you aren't local, you call it Readscreek.

This part of the valley is landlocked. There are no roads into it, no easy access except on foot which makes it really unique.

The stream develops from several large springs up the valley and used to be rather wide and fast. With all the years of drought, the stream has shrunk to a mere creek, but it is still wild and beautiful.

In the photos below, the stream used to be much wider, covering all of the flat land. After flash floods all the grasses are washed away and one can find cool rocks that are left behind as well as car, tractor parts, and tires.

Years ago this 'dragon' tree fell across the wide stream. Now just the head of the dragon is left with a little creek under it. Where the dragon head is ... was where the stream extended to.

The only place I found any tiny 'waterfalls' over rocks was towards the east end of the valley. Here, the water moved swiftly which it used to do all along this valley.

I turned and climbed the steep deer trail out of the bottom and headed up the old logging trail to the ridge. Half way up the trail there is a rock shelter that forms an ice cave each year from the seepage of water and the runoff of melt water.

This year has been so dry and so has the winter so the seepage is limited and with the warmer than normal temperatures, the ice is not forming rapidly.

Below is what it looks like in a good year. This isn't the best shot I have of it, but I generally hike to this spot throughout winter to watch the ice grow.

and another shot from 
a very good year !

Our walk on the 2nd was much shorter and nearer the house. I had Charlie along and he and I followed deer trails.

We were mostly going for the exercise and the fresh air. We wound up exploring a run off ditch that had some interesting tree formations and roots. These things never cease to amaze me.

When there is a large snow melt or a heavy rain, these dry runs become flooded with rushing water. It washes rocks, soil, and other debris down the narrow run creating a unique area to explore when it is dry.

Otherwise? 

Not much going on here.

What should I search for in January? Odd trees maybe? I need a project!

Exploring...

 

The photos above are some of what is left from the farms that used to exist on the Kickapoo Valley Reserve. In some dry runs you find car parts, tractor parts and things that the previous farmers tossed out on their farms. I have yet to find an old vehicle that still has an engine in it. I imagine recycling wasn't a thing in the 1960's and early 1970's.

149 farms were purchased to make way for a flood control project. What is not mentioned are the farms that were condemned for the project. I've heard from those whose families who were left with almost nothing for their land and homes. They are quite bitter still. The flood control project was halted in 1973.

That said, Kickapoo Valley Reserve has become a popular place for hiking, bicycling [no E-bikes allowed], trout fishing, canoeing, kayaking, and equine riding. 

In a way, it has actually benefitted the region more than the flood control project would have done. It took time, but local businesses are flourishing with the draw of the Reserve and Wildcat Mountain State Park not far away.

My reason for going was twofold. I needed some 'quiet' mental time, I wanted to look for Morels, and I had one more set of steep valleys to explore before the undergrowth got too thick.

I knocked off the Mule Trail Section 15 while I was at it. The Mule Trail joins Mule Camp also known as camp J [Mule Camp to the old timers] to old 131. From old 131 you can head off north, south or west towards Little Canada and the Ice Cave Trail.

I wanted to stay on the east side of the river. 

So I searched along the south side of the valley and enjoyed meandering along a stream that flowed into the Kickapoo.

The land varies. Pines dotted a section of the hillside, no doubt planted for harvest at some point by the original owners of the land.

The stream had a variety of trees in it. It was tangled with fallen trees and very wet.

I eventually came to this place of rocks and boulders. The north side of the valley was full of river birches and fallen boulders. 

Then I started the climb to the top.

...
I feel my boots
trying to leave the ground
I feel my heart
pumping hard.
I want to think
again of dangerous
and 
noble things.
I want to be 

frivolous and frolicsome.
I want to be improbable beautiful

and
afraid of 
nothing,

as though

I had

wings.

~Mary Oliver

I sat here and rested. It was a great place to watch the cliff swallows flying low over the wet lands and the river.

Views from the bluff.

Watching swallows.

I climbed back down and took a shot from the base of the bluff. I was standing in a wetland.

The red arrow points to where I think the 'hole in the rock is'. I guess I may have to get wet to actually walk up to it!

The bottom of the bluff where I was sitting and had lunch.

The rest of the hike was just not very interesting. I mean it was...but not like the feeling of sitting on the bluff eating an apple and having an orange.

I drove home feeling complete once again and vowing to go back to watch the river flow and the swallows fly.

Snow Melt and Rain

All Sunday night it rained hard and by morning everything was icy slushy. Ice on the ridge top and the roads, slushy here in the hollow.

I went out and fed the critters in my old coveralls and a rain jacket. I actually stayed warm and dry. I walked down to the fence line to see how deep the slush/water was and was surprised to hear water running in the 'dry' run.

The dry run is that line of trees in the distance. The dry run ditch takes all the water off from the ridge and fields 100 feet above us and washes down through the depression to the little creek that runs through our property.

I went back to the house and changed into rain pants and grabbed my camera. Hubby was not surprised that I wanted to go out in the rain and sleet.

He shrugged. He knows how I enjoy a good snow melt event.

Yes, the water turns brown as it gathers dirt and manure from our pasture, the neighbor's cattle pasture, and the dirt from the fields on the ridge. This water is probably some from the gravel road up on the ridge also. It all comes downhill through a rocky ravine that is generally dry but only fills with water with snowmelts and heavy run offs.

I followed the water through the neighbor's pasture noting that it still followed the depression in their land. The water eventually makes its way around and over all the fallen branches and obstacles and heads to the creek.

The water keeps searching for the path of least resistance and dumps into the creek where the spring is.

The brown expands outwards as the snow melt and run off increases. The water runs over the slushy ice and eventually melts it too which adds to the volume as the water seeks its way down the valley.

Over the past few years the snow melts have been rather boring and weak. Our normal snowfall and rains have been less than normal. Our creek has become a seasonal creek over the past two years. Parts of it have become dry and others have tiny springs just barely flowing.

I watched fascinated as the snow, leave debris, and water searched its way down the creek.

Below is one of the now dry areas that only flows during a flash flood or run off.

I walked to the other end of this and then climbed alongside the last dry run on our land. I found the spot where the water was working its way down from the ridge. It was going to be an hour or so before it joined the creek bottom.

Still, it was interesting to watch. Well, it was interesting to me.

I waited a while down in the bottom and just watched the little swirls and eddys of bubbles and water.

The rain started coming down heavier again and I figured that hubby would be worried about now. Sadly, I climbed out of the creek and started towards home.

However, I was pleased to see the run off, it made me happy.

Below is a couple of video clips of the water moving through the valley and two different dry runs.
It is 50 seconds long.

I hope we get some more moisture this coming year, so the water can return to normal in our creek. If there ever will be a normal again.

I love my Red Headed Mule

I didn't really think about it much, but Sunshine and I have had a pretty long history  together. She was born in my lap literally and I have posted about this before.

I was disappointed that she was never going to be more than 14 hands or that she was just red. After she was weaned we put her up for sale. There were never any takers for this smart not quite 14 hand mule. I started her under saddle when she was two and then let her be a mule for 2 years before we really started any work.

I did the ground work and the round pen work, hubby did the in saddle work. Together we worked with her trying to make her into a Grand Kid Mule. She was too quick however for a novice rider and so we scrapped that idea. We decided to keep her and then the offers rolled in from places we used to ride her.

Like Badger, she ended up showing us an unusually smart mind. She learned to give to the snaffle we started her in. 

Ever heard of a one rein stop? It is supposed to work.

Not with this gal. I did a couple of wild rides when she was young when something odd happened and she took off in a beeline. Did you know a mule can canter with her nose at your knee?

I swapped over to a Mule Trammel bit and set her up for a run off. She bolted 3 steps and I lifted the reins for the trammel to bump her nose. I've stuck with that set up from then on. We've never ever had another run away.

Surprisingly. This mule had NEVER bucked me off. My soul mate mule, Badger, had bucked me off several times. 

So that bit of info registered this week as Sunshine and I were getting ready to head out to do an old gnarly trail in the woods.

At first there was some Spa Work. [Now you know why I am anxious to have the pasture clipped! Burdock!]

Then I put on her saddle which was a handmade saddle for mules. The seat is contoured for my butt!
[Pardon the dirty trailer, I had hired Molly to wash it for me. Yeah. That didn't happen, but I DO need to get around to washing the lichen and moldy stuff off the shaded side.]

The Bell around her neck keeps us from walking up on any bedded deer in the forest.

The shot below was taken when I got off to check her cinch before heading down a tippy toe hill. Steep is an understatement. She never bats an eye at this but just takes her time and deals with it.

We live in a land of dry runs and ravines. The photo below is from about 10 years ago, just before we crossed this dry run. I generally let her pick her own way as she is so calm and calculating about things like this.

Annnny wayyy....

This mule recalled the old cattle trails we used to ride. When I couldn't find the trail that Charlie and I hike the day before, she just helped me out. I knew if I let her have her 'head', she would locate the way we should go.

I've ridden this mule in this forest for 20 years [well, not much in the last year or so because of one thing or another...and because I'd been diagnosed with severe osteoporosis, I figured I'd have to quit riding. -> Nah..., I love it too much and I have two excellent mounts]

I picked this section of the forest because the undergrowth is a bit less than the other areas that are covered in multiflora rose and other nasties.

Sunshine took some time looking around and we watched a buck in velvet bounce away. 

Don't mind her messy mane. I may clip it again or not, I don't like the mane to be too short when cold weather comes our way.

I was surprised by a Gaggle or Herd of Turkeys that ran through the trees beyond this photo. She sighed as if to let me know...

SHE knew they were already there. DUH.

So, I didn't take a lot of photos while we were riding because I was concentrating on just enjoying the moments with my little red head that no one wanted until we kept her.

She is in her 24th year with me. When I did the mental math, I realized that she has been with me longer than her half brother Badger. And that she is one of the main reasons I feel comfortable riding again.

When we got back out to the ridge road, I dismounted and walked with her back home. I didn't want our time to end.

In fact, I sat in the yard later with her and had a long conversation with her.

She may be a bit small in stature, but she is huge in personality and temperament. She is without a doubt, smarter than I am in so many ways. She has a great homing beacon built in. 

She knows how to keep calm and navigate difficult terrain without any missteps. 

And?

We adore each other.

She has never been to a show, but she has done KVR, Prairie du Chein, Duck Egg, and Wildcat Mountain trails. However since hubby doesn't drive anymore and the truck is dead. We enjoy what we can in the neighbor's wild woods and hay fields.

I rarely have any folks to ride with. But she and Siera seem to be good at taking care of me.

And we seem connected in some way. 

Sunshine takes care of me. 

And how could you not love that?