A Side Trip Into The Hinterlands

While up at the farm last weekend, I drove to our local Agway and, while there, got directions to a farmer who raises Irish Dexter cattle. I decided to go visit him, introduce myself and say howdy. He lived on a small road which was off of a small road which was.........well, you get the picture. Accustomed to rural areas though I am, I was nonetheless shocked at how many people live so very far off any main roads. I suppose the towns must plow those small dirt roads in the winter. Or maybe people just stock up on food and firewood in the autumn and settle in to wait out the long winters.

Anyway, I was still on a State highway when I passed this old car driving on the shoulder. I drove ahead a bit and jumped out of my car to snap a photo. The driver was friendly and explained that he'd had a tire blow out and was limping home.:

I offered the use of my 12 volt air pump but he said it would not work, that his only hope was to get the vehicle back home. You can see the flat tire in this picture (I didn't notice it until he told me):

Way, way, way back into the hinterlands I passed this pretty little Methodist church. It was clearly well cared for and presumably had a Sunday congregation worshiping there. With such a sparse population, I wonder where the people come from. I suppose there's more inhabitants than I realized. They're just very spread out:

And alongside one of the dirt roads was this wetland, full of cattails and blooming water lilies. A young girl was walking her dog nearby which was very picturesque. I considered taking a photo of her but didn't, lest she think I was some kind of dangerous pervert:

As for visiting the Irish Dexter farmer, he wasn't home so I never got to meet him. But the scenery was inspiring and I now know the way so can try again another time: