Desert Treasure: Red Wreck

Posted on January 20, 2012 by theblondecoyote

Not a good place to miss a turn...

One of my favorite things about living in the desert is the abundance of treasure. As dry as it is here, nothing ever rots or gets overgrown and while people and creatures come and go from this landscape, the things they leave behind last forever.

Yesterday, my neighbor Sara and I took a long walk into new territory and were rewarded with this relic: a bright red classic car overturned in the bottom of an arroyo. How such a classy ride made it this far out here, I have no idea, but it is definitely here to stay.

This arroyo runs next to a very rough road. Must have been quite the plunge!

You'd need a lot more than a post-hole digger to get this car out of here!

If you can't dig it out, might as well shoot at it!

For more relics check out my previous posts on Desert Treasure and the Cerrillos Ruins.

Update: I posted a photo of the Red Wreck on http://www.classiccar.com asking if anybody could identify the make and model of the car and got this response: my guess is a 60 to 63 Chevy Corvair. As for how it got at least ten miles from the closest paved road and then ended up in the bottom of an arroyo, we might never know. But I’ll keep asking around!

About theblondecoyote

Mary Caperton Morton is a freelance science and travel writer with degrees in biology and geology and a master’s in science writing. A regular contributor to EARTH magazine, where her favorite beat is the Travels in Geology column, she has also written for the anthologies Best Women's Travel Writing 2010 and Best Travel Writing 2011. Mary is currently based in western Colorado. When she’s not at the computer she can usually be found outside -- hiking, skiing, climbing mountains and taking photographs. Visit her website at www.marycapertonmorton.com.
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11 Responses to Desert Treasure: Red Wreck

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  3. Toad Hollow Photography says:
    January 24, 2012 at 12:19 pm

    What a great post! It really leaves you wondering how the car got there, and if all the folks got out OK! Top drawer, I really enjoyed this!!

    • theblondecoyote says:
      January 24, 2012 at 12:24 pm

      Thanks! That car is one of my new favorite finds out here. It almost makes up for the loss of my former favorite arroyo classic, a Mercury Charger, that was stolen over the summer by scrap metal thieves. Just yesterday I found two dozen old wooden bowling pins lying under a juniper tree. Weird treasures out here!

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