Naked in the Sun Part 1 (Preston Sawmill)

"Driving Naked" is the phrase used when driving your Jeep around with the top and doors removed. This was the first sunny day we had seen since purchasing the Green Monster, so of course we had to take full advantage of it.

Sun can be a rare thing around here. When the sun comes out, everyone who has a convertible car hits the road with the top down. We are no different. Perhaps we tend to wander a bit farther and go places most wouldn't think of taking their cars, but when the sun comes out, if we can help it, we aren't staying home.

We grabbed our jackets because it was still a bit chilly, harnessed Emma in the back seat and headed out for a drive that would cover a few hundred miles and covered the better part of two days.

More story and pictures after the jump

Our first stop along the way was the abandoned Preston Sawmill. The mill is sort of turned into a park where you can wander around and look at things. Some of the equipment is still there and surprisingly not badly vandalized.

While wandering around this mill, visions of Atlas Shrugged come to mind. It appears as if work simply stopped one day.

The saws are still in place and beginning to be overgrown with blackberry vines. Exploring this building even more, you can find a few piles of lumber scattered about.

One of the more surprising features to be found on the sawmill property are a pair of very large band saw blades. Maybe because of the size, these haven't been taken or destroyed. Both were probably twenty feet from end to end. Again, just left laying on the ground.

There really are only three buildings to explore. One looks like a storage area for the maintenance people and perhaps a break room. The other was the trim saw building, and the last looks like this may be where lumber was dried.

This was Emma's second adventure with us. Even though we've only had her for a month at this point, she is getting used to going out and exploring. By this point in the day, it was getting warm out. So she took a break in the shade before we headed out on the road again.






Up Next: Naked in the Sun Part 2 (An Open Gate)

Be sure to check out the photo gallery of this trip linked to below. There are a lot more pictures there of the day.


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