A Visit to the Old Junkyard

Although most of the old vehicles are in the big, nearly one-acre equipment yard on the ranch, that's not the only place they are. There's an old equipment yard (aka junkyard) that we explored a little bit when our truck was stuck and we had to walk back to get the backhoe. 

Because it's older, the vehicles in it are even more interesting, like this pink and white Buick Special. It has such wonderful lines.

Even with a mangled hood and brush growing up all around it, this old beauty manages to exude classiness.

Do you know what my favorite part of this car is? Go ahead and guess. In fact, you can (just barely) see it in the photo above.

My favorite part is this hood ornament. Isn't it just the coolest? I don't think I've ever seen one more interesting. I'm not quite sure why there's a plane as a hood ornament except to suggest the speediness of the car. Anyway, I'm sold. I would buy this car just for the hood ornament.

(Hint to automakers: start putting cool hood ornaments on cars and your sales will increase. Oh, yeah, and make them more fuel efficient, too.)

Not all the vehicles in the junkyard are so charismatic, like this old truck. Nevertheless, it has an interesting story. After its life as a regular truck ended, it was modified by turning the seat and steering wheel around. I'm not kidding. It became a homemade loader, with the steering in the rear. 

You can see it a little better in this photo. The part on the left used to be the hood and instrument panel, but then it became the backend. The hood used to be the cowl from a Cessna 172 that wrecked on a nearby road.

The story on the plane is better than the story of the truck. The pilot landed on a nearby road that led up the mountain. He tried to take off by going uphill, but the road was too steep. He couldn't gain enough elevation, and when he tried to turn, the wing caught the ground and flipped the plane. The pilot was fine and went on to wreck other planes and helicopters. He's still alive today and actually provides our high speed internet.

This Chevy Nomad has definitely seen better days. It was a good car, though, because even after it lost its usefulness as a station wagon, the lights, tires, and many parts were removed to use in other vehicles. 

Even the inside was gutted to use parts for other vehicles.

Some of the vehicles were hard to find because of all the brush, like this old Pontiac.

This car also has something extra-cool about it. You can see the hood clearly in the photo above, so you know it's not a hood ornament.

It's this Indian fuel cap. It's those extra details that make these cars so fun to explore!