Recent posts inspired me to display what was right in our very back yard...or should I say- in mine. I live in the South Mountain section, which some of you know is (in certain areas) VERY close to 78. 78 happens to be right behind me house. Through the trees you can see the concrete wall and once you stand up on the small hill in my backyard, you can see the steep decline into the river. This is the river that runs through Taylor park, behind all south mountain houses, under 78 etc. When it isn't raining, the water in the river is fairly low and is definitely a place to waste time. Since we moved here, my family has been going down there trying to clear out the river of it's debris and plethora of golf balls. (I believe they flow down from a golf course near Maplewood. Over the last 7 years we've gathered close to 300. Anyone want some golf balls? Haha) Anyway, you can only walk up this river to where the infamous bunny land is- because that's where there are huge traversing tubes. I've found ashtrays from long ago, and my mother found traditional blue glass medicine bottles from what we think are the early 1900s. Anyway, it is definitely a place for the explorer, it's uneven and cluttered. Me and my friends decided to go down there this week because they always hear my stories and wanted to see what I was talking about. In the first picture, that is what one would see standing on top of my hill looking down. In the last picture, we are climbing up the steep hill using a rope my mom tied to one of the trees. We are also decked out in rubber boots (mine being my dads fishing ones cause those were the only ones left .
It's definitely a cool place to go if you want to see another part of our town other than the chic boutiques, and the South Mountain reservation.
I think you brought me down there one time. We went to where Maria is standing in the second photo. It is a nice area to explore, and it's interesting that your mom found old medicine bottles, I wonder what else can be found in that area. How far does the little river area go? I think you told me once that you can walk to the next town over if you follow the river.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great blog post. It's sad that the river gets so polluted but very awesome of your family to clear some of it up, and the history itself in the river with the medicine bottles is pretty cool, and all the golf is pretty hilarious. Bunny land definitely used to be a frequently traversed area for me and my friends until they started digging it up.
ReplyDeleteThat is funny. That same small man-made river runs through my own backyard. My family and I have also have walked up and down it. When I was younger, my friends and I would go down there to go on an "adventure." It is true however, that this same river runs throughout our neighboring towns like Livingston and Maplewood.
ReplyDeleteI never knew that some houses in our area were that close to 78. It is also very nice of your family to try and clean up the river. Exploring rivers is always fun and back in the day I used to do walk in the creek home from Glenwood everyday. Also if you have any good conditioned ProV1x golf balls let me know thanks.
ReplyDeleteYou never know what your gonna find even hidden in your back yard. There is so much history all over the town and I think it is great that you went right to your backyard to look. Having a river on your property makes it especially easy for things to get lost during storms or other incidents and uncovering theses items makes for really interesting stories. When we did construction on my house we found a collection of glass bottles in the wall from the 1800. You never know whats gonna turn up and going for a little dig makes for a fun activity.
ReplyDeleteI think it's awesome how you can see that from your backyard. Exploring is the best way to find new places, especially those that can be so interesting. It is sad, however, to see that the river is so polluted but I believe people can make a difference in this world, even if it is one person at a time.
ReplyDeleteIt's funny you say this when I was in middle school I used to explore back there because my backyard can extend to there. I thought it was the coolest thing I have ever seen because I could travel by connected twigs and rocks across the river. It was a really awesome place to go I suggest it if you are in the mood for adventure.
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