Monday, November 10, 2008

 

A ride in the past.

I am planning to go on back road drives with Henry in the up coming year or years.
Yesterday while caching with my buddy, we found a back road.

When I was a young boy, there was a farm house up the road, where the barn was across the road from the house. The barn was so close to the road that the road was the barn yard. Didn't matter, because that were some days there was no traffic at all on the road. Even on a busy day just a few cars would go by, and you knew the folks, and they might stop and speak to you.

There was a story about some other folks down the road from us. They were setting under the shade tree at the edge of the road, and had move to the road side of the tree, when a speeding car came by. That is another story, for later.

Anyway it was common for the road to go across your yard. No need for a drive way,
just pull out of the road. My Dad, who is 93 now, grew up where the barn was across the road. I learn at an early age why the chicken cross the road. The chicken was going from the house to the barn yard, or coming back.

Back to yesterday.
We were going to a cache. As we got to the last mile or so, we were on a single track dirt road. It went by a farm house that had the barn across the road.
They had a sign on the edge of the road made from a 4 foot piece of plywood.
It said slow, watch for Kids, Dogs, and chickens. 5 MPH.
The road crossing from the house to the barn was more used than the main road.
There was a short cut trail arcoss the road with a gate on each side of the road.
Both gates were open.

I did honor the sign, and drove 5 mph. I even stopped and look both ways at the crossing to the barn. My fifty would felt at home on that road. It was owned by a farmer when it was new. I wished we had been in it yesterday.

Labels: back roads

posted by Johnnie 11:12 AM

Comments:

Yup it was a cool sign. Just don't forget when driving on hog jowl road, to slow down for christians too

# posted by  Anne : 3:21 PM

Yelp, that's the way it is ... so much history passes us by when we're geocaching. You wonder how much longer places like that can hang on. Andi and I have a photo hanging in our living room that's of a road-side stand that has a sign "frash apples and bald peanuts". Makes you want to stop and say howdy before they disappear altogether.

Jim & Andi
The Waysiders

P.S. It sure was good to see Henry out and about Saturday.

# posted by  The Waysiders : 10:36 PM

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