I spent the entire weekend at my camper located
on over three thousand acres of land. This land is
mostly wooded but by no means pristine.
The majority of the land is old farms and pastures
that had been ravaged by the coal companies years ago.
Thankfully the newer reclamation laws of the eighties
and nineties forced the coal companies to come back and
reclaim the land to somewhere near it's once useful condition
That's where we came in. With a small investment we,
as sportsman, were able to buy a small parcel at a fairly
cheap price. Nobody wanted the land for farming anymore
so we were able to buy a pretty good chunk of it. With the
popularity of four wheelers hitting an all time high and
nobody having a place to ride it seemed natural to develop
some trails and invite people in to ride, at a nominal cost of
course. We had no idea how popular it would become. In
just a couple years we would be getting a thousand to fifteen
hundred riders on a weekend. We would hold two weekend
rally's a year and use the money made to purchase more land
to expand. The last few years sort of leveled off as similar
clubs and places opened but by then we had a sizable chunk
of land all bought and paid for with over thirty three miles of
riding trails established. We managed to build a nice clubhouse
and pavilion, stock some ponds with a variety of fish and plant
quite a few food plots for the wildlife. All fueled by the love
of roaring engines, splashing mud and very dusty and dirty
individuals.
As if the land hadn't seen enough abuse, the last few years
has brought in the Gas & Oil industry It's hard to turn down
the kind of money they offered so low and behold a deal was
struck and we got a well drilled on the property. Then five more
on the same pad.. then transmission lines, then lateral lines.. then
valve stations and it seemed to never end. Don't get me wrong
the money was great. New equipment buildings, new tractors,
new mowers, a new playground for the kids, electric put in the
campgrounds, all nice improvements to be sure. And before long
the property will return to it's once quiet peaceful environment...
But in the meantime .... I don't think you can swing a dead cat
without hitting a pipeline crew right now. Crews from three
different companies are crisscrossing the land in a maze of pipes
that one can only wonder if they themselves know where they are
going. Good news is they work fast so before long they will all
be covered , reseeded and provide natural trails for wildlife to
travel on. Until the next onslaught occurs....
Each one is x-rayed and GPS located
I would have not minded as much if they hadn't
ruined the view from my camper !
If it's any consolation the deer don't seem to mind
These three visit me daily, morning and evening.
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