Montana Rustic Rip Rap

I saw a lot of unusual things this past week in Montana but this sight along the Missouri River at sunset (the timing of said sunset, also being unusual at 10 p.m.) won the prize.

Riprap, as rip rap, rip-rap, shot rock, rock armor or rubble, is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, stream beds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour and water or ice erosion. It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or limestone, and occasionally concrete rubble from building and paving demolition. It can be used on any waterway or water containment where there is potential for water erosion.

The local friends we were with laughingly and lovingly referred to this method of combatting erosion along the banks of their golf course as Montana Rustic Rip Rap.

Abandoned buildings and objects have always fascinated me so I knew I had to get closer. I suppose it’s the untold stories that fascinate me.

An early morning walk the next day did not disappoint.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

As I walked away from this unusual discovery I couldn’t help but look back and wonder. I’ll never know who owned those cars, once brand new with all the anticipation of the places these cars would take their owners, or how they came to be the ones used for this particular stretch of rip rap on this river, but that aspect of the mystery is the best part.