karmakanic
Silver Member
- Joined
- Jun 25, 2002
- Messages
- 232
- Location
- NE Texas
- Tractor
- Kubota L35 TLB, John Deere 550 dozer, Cat D-2 dozer, Allis Chalmers HD-11 dozer
For the past 10 years or so the wife and I have been spending most weekends at our get-away place in the country. It's 88 acres of woods and pasture with a little cabin located in dairy country about an hour and a half east of Dallas. It's pretty country, rolling terrain, adequate rainfall so it stays green most of the year, and covered with large hardwoods if you don't keep it cleared. The soil is deep clay, with a few pockets of sand and shale mixed in for good measure, just perfect for overaged sand box tykes to build ponds and terraces and trails, and what ever. In short, it's just about perfect for a tractor fanatic. Except for one thing. It doesn't have any rocks. That's pretty unusual for Texas, so I kept thinking I'd come across a few in my various digs around the property, but I've been down 30 feet in that clay, and narry a one.
Now, a lot of you guys are probably saying that's a good thing. It seems that when you've got rocks, you've got too many. And when you got too many, if you had your rathers, you'd just as soon not have any. I can understand that. They can be a nuisance when they're laying around everywhere, and they sure play havoc on our beloved tractors when they suddently appear under the mower or 6 inches down where that fence post belongs.
But I like rocks. I think they're neat. When I see an interesting rock I'm transported back in time, back to when that rock was being formed. The veins and fissures running through it, the textures of the surface, the color and shape all form a picture of mother nature at her most powerful. And besides, you can do neat things with them. Terraces, and stairways, and spillways, and rock walls, and,,,well, you get the idea..
So,,,since we have no rocks on our piece of paradise, I went looking for some. Now here in my area of northeast Texas, it's not an easy thing to find rocks. Sure, you can find limestone. Half of Dallas is build on a limestone bluff. But limestone is chalky white, and made of dead sea creatures, enuff said. And there are some pockets of sandstone around, but the good quality sandstone has already been used to build courthouses and what not. The stuff that's left melts at the first rainstorm. If you want decent rocks in this area, you have to go to Oklahoma or Arkansas, or buy them from someone who brings them in. And pay 8 cents a lb. Let's see, 8cents/lb, that's $160.00 a ton, we could be talking real money here if you've got a hankering for a few sizeable projects.
So, we hitched the trailer, and made a visit to friends in Oklahoma. The friends were some of those folks who got too many rocks, and were happy to have the crazy Texans carry off a few. Even loaned me a little Kubota to load them. But a whole weekend of work and driving and we arrive back home with 4 tons or so, hardly worth the trip. A neighbor sees us unloading and while shooting the bull, wants to know why we're going to Oklahoma to get rocks when we can get them a few miles north of here. Huh?? "Yeah, not many people know about it, but there's a narrow ridge of flint rock that snakes it's way across the county, rising here and there to the surface. In fact, ole' George owns some pasture land in that area, and he'd probably be glad if you hauled some off."
Well, ole' George was happy to have us haul off some. But, the only problem, they're mostly buried, so you'll have to dig them up. No problem, the L-35 with backhoe was purchased with just such a serendepitous opportunity in mind. So we spent the next few weekends backhoeing, and loading, and transporting. Much better then hauling from Oklahoma. But hard work for the little Kubota, and frustrating if you spend some time digging after a rock only to find it's too big for the Kubota to load.
Then one day the neighbor stops by all excited. By now, all the neighbors know we're crazy, and they get some kind of perverse pleasure in feeding our addiction. "Dave, he says, you've got to get up to where they're building the new truck stop. They unearthed a mountain of those flint rocks." And he was right. A mountain of rocks, musta been 30 feet tall. Covered half an acre. Some were boulders as big as small trucks.
So, I put on the detective hat, and go looking for somebody in charge. A weeks worth of phone calls, and I'm finally talking to the project manager. "Whatcha gonna do with them rocks?" "Well, I don't know, they was kinda a surprise when they showed up, wasn't supposed to be any rock in that area. Probably scatter some around, and bury the rest." "How about if I haul them off for you?" "Well, that'll work, you furnish the trucks and we'll even load'em for you." So, a few calls to locate a trucking company and the deal is done.
The next week they start bringing them in, and bringing them in, and bringing them in. Sixty five truck loads all total. I figure there's around 600 tons. That's right, 1.2 million pounds of beautiful rocks. They range in size from footballs up to 6-8 ton boulders. At first, the excavator operator doing the loading was dropping the large ones to break them into more manageable size. But I put a stop to that real quick. The truckers weren't too happy about it, especially when one of the large ones bounced out of the bed and smashed a wheel. Blew the tire and bent the rim useless.
But now I'm a happy camper. Got more rocks then I can shake a stick at. So, like my neighbors, you're probably asking, "whatcha gonna do with them rocks?" Well, I'll show you. I'll post a few pics of projects I've done. And maybe we could see some pics of things other people have done with rocks.
Hmmm,,,since I've got so long winded, I'd best post the pics as attachments to some replies.
Dave Perry aka karmakanic
L-35 Kubota, backhoe, gannon box w/hydraulic tilt & pitch, 6' shredder, 6' finish.
1938 Cat D-2 dozer
Allis Chalmers HD-11E dozer
John Deere 550 dozer
Now, a lot of you guys are probably saying that's a good thing. It seems that when you've got rocks, you've got too many. And when you got too many, if you had your rathers, you'd just as soon not have any. I can understand that. They can be a nuisance when they're laying around everywhere, and they sure play havoc on our beloved tractors when they suddently appear under the mower or 6 inches down where that fence post belongs.
But I like rocks. I think they're neat. When I see an interesting rock I'm transported back in time, back to when that rock was being formed. The veins and fissures running through it, the textures of the surface, the color and shape all form a picture of mother nature at her most powerful. And besides, you can do neat things with them. Terraces, and stairways, and spillways, and rock walls, and,,,well, you get the idea..
So,,,since we have no rocks on our piece of paradise, I went looking for some. Now here in my area of northeast Texas, it's not an easy thing to find rocks. Sure, you can find limestone. Half of Dallas is build on a limestone bluff. But limestone is chalky white, and made of dead sea creatures, enuff said. And there are some pockets of sandstone around, but the good quality sandstone has already been used to build courthouses and what not. The stuff that's left melts at the first rainstorm. If you want decent rocks in this area, you have to go to Oklahoma or Arkansas, or buy them from someone who brings them in. And pay 8 cents a lb. Let's see, 8cents/lb, that's $160.00 a ton, we could be talking real money here if you've got a hankering for a few sizeable projects.
So, we hitched the trailer, and made a visit to friends in Oklahoma. The friends were some of those folks who got too many rocks, and were happy to have the crazy Texans carry off a few. Even loaned me a little Kubota to load them. But a whole weekend of work and driving and we arrive back home with 4 tons or so, hardly worth the trip. A neighbor sees us unloading and while shooting the bull, wants to know why we're going to Oklahoma to get rocks when we can get them a few miles north of here. Huh?? "Yeah, not many people know about it, but there's a narrow ridge of flint rock that snakes it's way across the county, rising here and there to the surface. In fact, ole' George owns some pasture land in that area, and he'd probably be glad if you hauled some off."
Well, ole' George was happy to have us haul off some. But, the only problem, they're mostly buried, so you'll have to dig them up. No problem, the L-35 with backhoe was purchased with just such a serendepitous opportunity in mind. So we spent the next few weekends backhoeing, and loading, and transporting. Much better then hauling from Oklahoma. But hard work for the little Kubota, and frustrating if you spend some time digging after a rock only to find it's too big for the Kubota to load.
Then one day the neighbor stops by all excited. By now, all the neighbors know we're crazy, and they get some kind of perverse pleasure in feeding our addiction. "Dave, he says, you've got to get up to where they're building the new truck stop. They unearthed a mountain of those flint rocks." And he was right. A mountain of rocks, musta been 30 feet tall. Covered half an acre. Some were boulders as big as small trucks.
So, I put on the detective hat, and go looking for somebody in charge. A weeks worth of phone calls, and I'm finally talking to the project manager. "Whatcha gonna do with them rocks?" "Well, I don't know, they was kinda a surprise when they showed up, wasn't supposed to be any rock in that area. Probably scatter some around, and bury the rest." "How about if I haul them off for you?" "Well, that'll work, you furnish the trucks and we'll even load'em for you." So, a few calls to locate a trucking company and the deal is done.
The next week they start bringing them in, and bringing them in, and bringing them in. Sixty five truck loads all total. I figure there's around 600 tons. That's right, 1.2 million pounds of beautiful rocks. They range in size from footballs up to 6-8 ton boulders. At first, the excavator operator doing the loading was dropping the large ones to break them into more manageable size. But I put a stop to that real quick. The truckers weren't too happy about it, especially when one of the large ones bounced out of the bed and smashed a wheel. Blew the tire and bent the rim useless.
But now I'm a happy camper. Got more rocks then I can shake a stick at. So, like my neighbors, you're probably asking, "whatcha gonna do with them rocks?" Well, I'll show you. I'll post a few pics of projects I've done. And maybe we could see some pics of things other people have done with rocks.
Hmmm,,,since I've got so long winded, I'd best post the pics as attachments to some replies.
Dave Perry aka karmakanic
L-35 Kubota, backhoe, gannon box w/hydraulic tilt & pitch, 6' shredder, 6' finish.
1938 Cat D-2 dozer
Allis Chalmers HD-11E dozer
John Deere 550 dozer
