Bottoming out

I was born and raised in a land between two major rivers and spent much of my early years kicking around the back roads along the rivers – first on bicycles, then on motorcycles, and also in cars, trucks or SUV’s. These are called bottomlands, or river bottoms, or just bottoms. They are very flat, like Kansas if not more so. I hated the flatness back then and had grand dreams of mountains. We’d drive to the Shawnee National Forest over in Illinois to experience some small hills, which seemed majestic back then as they were all we knew. Family trips to the Smokies or Colorado were awe inducing.

I never thought much of the bottoms from a natural beauty perspective. They were as boring as boring could be. But I loved riding around in them, particularly driving as fast as possible over rutted farm roads on motorcycles or splashing through the mud in Jeeps or 4 wheel drive trucks.

I’ve kind of been reliving my childhood for the past few years. I’m only a mile or so from where the city ends and the bottoms begin and I ride my bicycle down there often. When I have a motorcycle, which I do now, I go much farther afield and explore all up and down both sides of both rivers.

During childhood I had no interest in the swamps. They were places to avoid. Now I find them fascinating and explore them as much as possible. The best times are in fall and winter if there is a long dry spell or if there is a freeze and a snow. But I also like going out in the hottest, most humid days of summer decked out in mosquito net and heavy clothes. It is miserable, but the light is incredible and you see things most other people will never see. That's enough for me.