I walk a lot. One of the places I like to walk is the Econ River Wilderness area. The corner of it is on North Tanner and McCulloch, less than a mile from UCF.
Most of the trailers are through forests or shrubs. About 1.2 miles in, if you continue walking east, you come to the Econlockhatchee river. It’s a small river at this point, and carries what is know as black water. It’s water that has been stained by vegetation. It’s actually more brown than black. This is normal for central Florida. I can remember jumping into rivers just like this when I was a kid.
On the north perimeter of the park are houses. They are separated by fences so hikers won’t trespass. From the looks of it, the houses have been there for quite some time.
There is one house that captivates me. The back yard has a couple of large piles of worn out truck tires. There are five motor homes that don’t look like they will start. There’s an old sailboat that appears to be about 30 feet, but it looks ancient and I wouldn’t attempt to put it in the water. There is a lot of other junk, too, such as old trailers and trucks.
I wonder what the history of this property is. Is is really just a junkyard? Or maybe stuff deposited over the years. I have a friend in Miami who has a yard that is a smaller scale. He is comfortable with the “stuff” that he has accumulated. I think that some people just don’t want to get rid of anything.
But I do enjoy wondering the story behind what I see. Certainly these artifacts represent times gone by.