To the Current River and back, Missouri - Part ll

On the way back from the river, we made a few stops that made the trip extra unique and fun. Along the river we stopped to see the sites, and had a look down Devil's Well, a sink hole that dropped into a cave.

We also made a stop at the Schwartz scrapyard in Salem, MO. At first we saw it was closed and though disappointed we snapped a few shots through the fence. BUT then Mr. Schwartz himself rides up in a golf cart looking amazing with his original 50's black framed glasses, fedora hat, and gold capped tooth. He very excitedly invited us into his scrap yard promising two things, that it would be the most organized scrap yard we'd ever see, and that we would see things we've never seen before. Both promises were kept! Though Mr. Schwartz dropped out of grade school never to return, he invented his own machines to compact cars, chop wood, and corrugate metal. He was extremely proud of collection of junked classic cars including Model T's, vintage buses, sports cars, and everything in between.

Then, we stopped in Vienna, MO at John Viessman's Americana Antiques. A collection of several small houses/ structures tightly packed on a lot, filled to the brim with stuff. The "Rummage" sign was an understatement, as you literally had to climb and dig your way through dust covered items to uncover the treasures. Nate got a little uneasy as we got to one of the back lot structures that resembled an abandoned hoarder house, filled with everything under the sun. Dolls, pipes, books (oh the books!), pictures, kitchenware, clothes, buttons, records, and more were strewn about in a careless way, and I think the drawers full of dental teeth samples put him over the edge. However we did have a nice chat with John about his obvious skilled sign painting and life long goal of organizing the endless piles of things he has collected over the years. It didn't seem that John liked parting much with his things, bargaining was a struggle, but we left with a few things to add to our own collections. My favorite is this blue soda crate.