While hiking on the river, you never know what you might find. We carefully climbed down the steep bank and onto the rivers narrow sandy shore. We looked around and saw many pieces of river glass. We collected as many glass pieces as we could so that they would not get stepped on in the future. Some of the glass pieces that we found had smooth edges from being caught and worn down over time by the river. We will use the river glass in different art pieces for found object bottles, skull sculptures and dream catcher centers.
After combing the riverbanks for a couple of hours, Sam and I decided to split off and explore. Sam chose to walk a path running parallel to the river as I walked further along the river’s edge. When we came back together, we had treasures to share. Sam found a ground hog skull destined to be a skull necklace and large bottles that will soon hold curiosities and other found objects. I found deer bones long forgotten and bleached by the sun, that we left for the rodent population to enjoy. (Left behind bones can be a source of calcium for them.)
With a pack full of river glass and our last bit of daylight we began to head back to our car. On the way we could not resist stopping in one last spot, the bridge. Under the bridge the water rushed over large rocks past us. There is a heavily used foot path on the bridge itself so you never know what you might find fighting the current and sharp rocks beneath. I saw something square in the water, I stuck my hand into the quick, icy, water and carefully tugged on something shiny. It was a small, crushed, metal box. I cupped it in my hand inspecting it. Algae covered and forgotten I thought I could fix it, so I carefully put it in our pack we made it to the car just as the sun was setting.
When we got home, we cleaned up all our river finds. I pulled my prized find out of our pack and cleaned it up. Sam had to solder it back together because the hinges were rusty and broken. After cleaning it up, we believe that it used to be a cigarette case. I made a skull sculpture with it, with a rat skull. A little scene of forgotten treasures.
We hope you have a great adventure today!!
Be safe and stay alert!
Sam and Riley