Palisades Hike Near The Blue Bus

 

Brandon and I hiked the Palisades Trail on Saturday, which is along the Kentucky River, not far from where our blue bus lives.  The online trail guide said this was a heavily trafficked trail, so we were glad for the rainy weather as we knew it would keep sensible folks at home.  We didn't see a single other hiker until the end of the hike and we were back to the parking lot.    

The fall color was just beginning to show, and the trail was nice and wide and clearly marked.  All this hiking we've been doing is making me a trail connoisseur.  This trail had some steep climbs, and because of the rain the rocks were slick, so we were glad we had our hiking sticks.  

Say cheese! 

One of the neatest things about this trail was all the sinkholes.  In places the earth would just gap open, and we could see the exposed rock. 

The upper trail goes very near the top of the rock cliffs near the river.  We could see the forested slopes, the interstate bridge, the old road bridge, and the campground near the base of the cliffs.  

Purple asters were blooming and feeding the bees.  We saw thousands of little paw paw trees growing in the forest under the tall trees.  Someone is working hard to eradicate the bush honeysuckle from this forest, so the understory was open and we could really see the topography, unlike most forests in this part of the world where the honeysuckle clogs the forest so densely you can't see into it very far.  

The lower trail goes right down to the waters edge, so we could enjoy the cliff lines on the opposite bank, which are full of caves and holes.  It would take some serious rock climbing to explore those cliffs.  

The lower trail near the river goes right through a thick stand of stinging nettle.  Cool. 

After hiking over four miles, we were ready to leave the Palisades Trail and visit our bus property for a picnic lunch.  We don't visit as often as we used to, so our gate and footpath to the bus is overgrown.  I like that it isn't likely to attract visitors.  We found the bus just as we left it - shut up tight and no evidence of guest campers.  

The sugar maple trees were starting to glow gold in the sunlight.  We have a lot of bush honeysuckle in our forest.  I like the privacy screen it creates near the road, but it would be nice to cut the bushes around the bus and open up the view a bit.  We talked about tackling that project next fall, but not this year.  

We couldn't go inside the bus because we forgot the key, and we couldn't start a fire in the fire pit because of the rain and wet firewood.  Instead we used our camp stove to heat our lunch, and rested on the bench by the bus and admired our trees and the peaceful sounds of the forest and river.  How cool is it that there's a good hiking trail so close to our bus?!

New Bus Door

This morning the world was coated in a thin layer of ice, and under the crispy ice shell the ground was saturated, making each step slurpy with mud.  Despite the cold I felt warm inside my down jacket as I trudged through the mud to deliver hay to the goats and donkeys.  I had to break the ice on the latch to the greenhouse door so I could tend the baby chicks in the brooder.  The bed of lettuce survived the freeze, and the chicks were content under their heat lamp.  Wendigo waited patiently in the cold rain, knowing her breakfast was coming soon. 

It's nice to look at the colorful leaves on the trees in the photos I took several weeks ago when we visited the blue bus.  The leaves are off the trees now, and the ice crust on every branch is making it harder for me to deny that winter has arrived.  We were lucky to get two nice weekends in a row free to visit the bus, enjoy the views, host a picnic, and do some much needed maintenance. 

Our closest neighbor to the bus let us know that people had been visiting the bus.  We already knew we had hosted uninvited guests, because we had to clean up the trash they left behind.  Having a door that wouldn't latch must be the same as an open invitation!  We replaced the broken door with a new door, made from a piece of painted plywood, with sheets of metal screwed on to protect it from the weather. 

Our old door had more of a cute cottage look, and the new door has more of a Mad Max aesthetic!

We have decided to revamp the bus interior too.  In years past I've had fun decking it out like a little cottage as our frequent weekend get-away.  These days, we don't even want to get away!  We haven't camped at the bus since we moved to the farm, and the furniture inside is dingy with neglect and moisture.  Not to mention whatever cooties the guest might have left behind.  So, we took out the iron cook stove that was never used, the futon, the chairs, and sink.  We are rethinking how we want to use the bus now that our lives have changed.  It's likely that our bus visits will continue to be short day time trips that focus on being outside among the trees. 

We swept the leaves from the deck and from the top of the bus.  Brandon says the view of the river is best from up top.  I wonder how hard it would be to build a deck on the roof? 

Blue Bus Guest Cleanup

We took a Sunday drive to visit our old blue bus that lives in the forest, high on the cliffs above the river.  Even though it's only a forty-five minute drive from our little farmhouse, I haven't had a weekend bus get-away for over a year.  For years the bus was our wild place of escape from our city jobs and suburban home.  A place to get away from it all.  Now that we live away from it all, all the time, the bus has been neglected.  But not forgotten.  

Just like we always used to do, I packed a picnic basket and filled the coffee thermos while Brandon assembled a box of tools.  While we loaded the trunk of our car with our supplies, we played keep-away with Wendigo, who tempted us with her toys.  Sorry, Wendi, you are too big to enjoy a ride in the car all the way to the bus.  Besides, someone has to stay home and keep on eye on those silly goats.  This was my first trip to the bus without Puck, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something important.  

The entrance gate was so overgrown with vines and bushes that we missed it the first time we drove by.  We were glad to see that it wasn't easy access, since we have had problems with people dumping their trash on our property in the past.  This time, there was only one new garbage pile near the road, but it was topped with a giant mattress and box springs.  Sigh.

The little clearing we made years ago, to park our truck, was thick with green plants.

I walked slowly behind Brandon as he blazed a trail through the vegetation.  It was like walking into a jungle.  Birds and insects were filling the forest with sound, and beams of sunlight filtered through the tall canopy so that we walked through beams of warm light and through patches of cool shade.  Leaves brushed against our legs and we had to duck our head under branches.  A toad hopped along in front of me.  

Right before the curve in the trail, when the bus becomes visible, I always get nervous that we will find a fallen tree on the bus, or to see that vandals have burned it or busted the windows.  There it is!  It was free of fallen trees or scorch marks.  Whew.  

We've had bus guests since we've been there.  They left a bit of mess to clean up, but at least they didn't ruin everything.  We did a quick survey of the bus and the surrounding area, then swept all the leaves from the back deck, set up the table, and had a picnic in the filtered sunlight while we admired our trees.  This property has some of the most beautiful trees.  Especially giant sugar maples.   We could hear the drumming of woodpeckers echoing from the cliffs across the river.    

The front door, which was getting soft anyway, was open and broken.  There were empty water and Gatorade bottles, some canned food, and lots of empty candy wrappers.  Also cigarette butts, a mans sweatshirt, and a few pillows.  Some of our things, like some nice old oil lamps, metal tins, and some old tools were missing.  Brandon said it was nice that our guests had enough energy to carry off our things, but didn't pack out their trash.  I thought it was funny that they took the time to hang those tree shaped air fresheners.  They must not care for the musty forest and diesel oil smell that lingers in the bus.  

We bagged up the garbage, cleaned a few birds nest out of the sink, picked up the shed snake skins from the floor, and removed a wasp nest.  We patched the front door back together, and have some plans for building a new one.  One of the back windows is leaking, and the wood floor underneath is rotting.  I want to replace the wood stove with one that works better.  I can see many more days at the bus in my future.  

Blue Bus Goes Feral in the Sunlight

Brandon and I finally spent a few hours at our blue bus in the woods last week.  I miss the bus.  I know that someday, when we have the farm house put back together, and get some of our favorite farm projects under way, we will come back to lazy days playing at the bus, chopping firewood, swinging in hammocks, cooking on the campfire, and watching wildlife, but right now I'm just glad to know that the bus is waiting for us should we decide to visit it.  

Our trail through the woods to the bus is nearly reverted back to it's wild state, and has small trees and vines growing throughout.  This doesn't bother me though, since I know that most folks don't like blazing new trails through snake and spider habitat, so the blue bus is protected from vandals by it's isolation.  I've always thought the bus looked like it has personality, and now that the leaves are falling to coat the top and hood of the bus, and algae is turning the paint blueish green, I think it's getting a feral glint in it's eyes, like the flying car from the Harry Potter stories, that lives wild in the forbidden forest.  

I took the photo above through the hazy back window while I waited for Brandon to find the door key.  Now that the forest canopy isn't so thick, I love the way the sunlight shines in the windows and makes the couch look very inviting for a nap.  We always joke that this is our favorite thing about the bus - it's the perfect place to take a nap, and Brandon in particular never misses a chance!  It's something about the quite sounds of the forest, I think, and the relaxing feeling that comes when sitting in the bus and watching the leaves sway in the wind and the light dance on the trees, and realizing there's nothing that has to be done, it's all just for fun, so what's the hurry.  Why not take a nap?

The photo above was taken looking up while I stood on the back deck.  The leaves were green and gold and shimmered in the sunlight.  Some of the most beautiful trees are the large sugar maples.  I always tell myself that I'm going to tap the sugar maple trees during the late winter, and make some maple syrup  But, I always take a nap instead.    

Puck is standing next to a fallen dead tree, which I expected to come down someday, and was very worried would come down on top of the bus.  Thank goodness it didn't.  Instead of lamenting broken windows and crumpled metal, I was excited to have firewood delivered right where we can use it.  I hope we are always so lucky.  

Forest Creatures Visit the Blue Bus in the Woods

At long last, Brandon and I made a visit to our blue bus, which lives in the forest on a cliff above the river.  In years past we have taken advantage of the autumn weather and the lovely foliage to spend as many weekends loafing at the bus as we could.  Not this year.  This year we have been so busy with the farm house renovations that the bus has been neglected.  We have not relaxed around the campfire at the bus since the spring!  When we went for a visit last weekend I was worried that we would find hobo's living it in, or junkies cooking up drugs while they enjoyed our new deck.  Fortunately, even hobos and junkies are afraid of snakes, so the bus was just as we left it.  

We took the dog on some exploratory hikes through the forest, following deer trails, and enjoyed the view of the river far below now that the leaves are off the trees.  In the photo above you can see how steep the land is, and how our little deck is perched on the edge of the slope so we can have a nice view of the river and the opposite cliff line.  

The forest is interesting even after all the leaves have fallen.  I had fun trying to capture the spore cloud in a picture as I pinched these little puff ball mushrooms that were growing on a mossy log.  

I say the bus was the same as we left it last spring because no humans had messed with it, but there were some visitors that left their calling cards.  One of which was this giant spider.  The spider was dead, thankfully, but Brandon picked it up and stretched it's legs out so we could see how big it really was.  Big!  I think maybe this is why we enjoy the bus so much in the fall, winter, and early spring.  Hanging out in the forest in the summer means hanging out with the forest creatures when they are the most numerous and mobile, and this big guy might not have been fun to share a seat with.  

And can you see what is on the table, on top of a pile of string we left there?  A snake skin!  I guess this is why we didn't find the mouse damage I expected.  Not only do we have a house snake at our farm house, we also have a bus snake.  How handy.  It's better than locks on the doors, having a snake leave it's skin on the kitchen table.  Hobos beware!

I hated to leave the bus, especially since I know it's likely that we will continue to spend our free time at the farm for the near future.  But, the bus isn't going any where and it's nice to know we have a place where the most pressing chores are sweeping up dead spiders, hiking, relaxing, and enjoying the tranquility of the forest.  

Bus, Hatchets, Hammocks, and a Snake Skin

We took advantage of the beautiful weather this weekend and spent a day relaxing at the bus.  It's so wonderful to escape to a place where there are no pressing chores to distract you from appreciating the day.  We had plans to finish the deck and work on some other bus projects, but when it came time to leave the house we decided to just take a cooler, some novels, and some new hammock rope.  It's important to prioritize!  As you can see in the photo, the deck is mostly finished, but could use a top step, a step rail, and a few more planks.  All in good time. 

We picnicked and had a relaxing meal by the fireside.  All our fire wood was damp so we got a good smoking in the process and went home smelling like smoked ham. 

A friend of ours, who will remain anonymous due to his highly prestigious, non-rabbit eating or chicken murdering, position, was able to join us, and the guys had several rounds of hatchet tossing; the goal being to get the hatchet to stick in a dead tree.  Despite some close calls, no one actually got hit by a ricocheting hatchet so it wasn't as exciting I anticipated. 

Puck got to rub his face in deer droppings and take long naps, so I think he was pleased with his day, too. 

Brandon in a hammock caused some hilarity and inspired creative names for this photo, such as "big red man sack".  A very evocative title, wouldn't you say?   He also nearly inspired a chorus of "I'm a banana", but unfortunately only one of us knew the words so we couldn't do it justice.  Now I know it is possible to feel sorry for a hammock. 

I found this snake skin in the bus a few months ago, but I haven't removed it because I still like to look at it and show it off.   It also encouraged us to do a better job plugging up the hole in the floor where the gear shift used to be.  These folding chairs are in the bus, leaning against the wall.  Apparently the snake thought it was a good place to scrape off his skin, and wiggled his way between the chairs and left the skin behind.  We haven't had any recent problems with mice in the bus.  I would rather have snakes that mice, at least snakes don't chew up the toilet paper! 

HIllbilly Vampire Bus

I didn't grow up watching Thomas the Train, but I definitely see a face in my bus, and when we but these log braces in the front it began to look like a cheerful vampire face, or maybe a gap toothed hillbilly!  

In addition to replacing the door, we tried our best to make the bus sit level.  Fortunately, the bus rests in a relatively level spot on our very non-level land.  Using some strategically placed logs, we braced the bus from underneath in enough locations to get the floor on the inside leveled, and then used blocks and stones to make pillars under the bus to brace it in place.  Over time the logs rotted, but the pillars we made give the bus a firm foundation and keep it from feeling like a carnival house when you walk around in it. 

The bus didn't have passenger seats when we got it, but it did have a drivers seat and a console with a bunch of buttons for the heater.  In the picture above, Brandon has, with great effort, removed the drivers seat and is working on removing metal strips on the floor that delineated the aisle.  We tried to get all pieces of the floor that stuck up removed so our wood floor would be as flat as possible.  

Once we got the part of the heater that was inside the bus removed, which included some tubes with green antifreeze fluid in them that ran along one wall of the bus, near the floor, I did a thorough cleaning of everything on the inside.  I'll never know how long the bus hauled children, but since the bus was made in 1964, there could have been forty year old boogers in there, so I felt much better once everything had a good scrubbing!

Bus Door

 

One of the first alterations we made to the bus was to replace the busted door.  I liked the door opening mechanism that allows the driver to open the door form his seat, but because the door was busted and I wasn't planning on keeping the drivers seat, we ripped off the old metal and glass door and created a new door.  

We took measurements of the opening and went back to Brandon's workshop garage and built a door using two old barn doors we scrounged up somewhere.  It may have been easier to start with new wood, but I like to recycle and I like the character that we achieved by cobbling something together.  It kind of matches the rough exterior of the bus.  

I had a sun catcher stained glass octagon that I bought at Big Lots to use as the window.  Neither of us could remember enough high school geometry to figure out how to cut the angles for the window.  We spent quite a bit of time using a compass and a square trying to figure it out and finally ended up with something that works using the trial and error method.  A "good enough" attitude goes a long way! 

It might not seem like much of an accomplishment to folks with more carpenty skills, but the door was a big step.  I still intend to work on weather and spider proofing some of the gaps around the edges and putting on a working door knob.  I tell my self it's good to have some gaps for ventilation.  And really, spiders have to live somewhere too. 

If this were a true bus conversion, by which I mean that if this was a rolling home with a road worthy engine, some of our alterations wouldn't be sufficient for the rigors of the open road.  But since I've sacrificed function for form, I think the door is pretty cute and is just what I was hoping for.