A Drive Down The Dirt Roads

There are quite a few of them around where I live: dirt roads – no gravel, just dirt. Most of the roads around here are gravel or paved. My favorite are the dirt ones though.

They are rarely traveled, except by farmers accessing their fields, and so when I explore them, I usually have them all to myself.

This area has a well planned road system – plenty of roads running north/south and east/west, all laid out in a neat checkerboard pattern.  But some of the roads have no one living on them, and so the county no longer gravels them.

This means that unless you have a 4 wheel drive truck, or a tractor, you won’t be driving them except in dry weather.

Driving them is an adventure. I might get stuck or lost. There might be a lot of potholes (wheeeee). There might be an old barn or farmstead.

Are there any “roads not taken” where you live?  Take a drive on the wild side and go check them out.

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Suzanne

Cattle, corn, wheat, beans, mud, snow, ice, and drought. Plenty of fresh air and quiet. Our life is sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous, but never boring.

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27 Responses

  1. My husband and I love “doing dirt.” The roads less traveled are more interesting!

  2. Sally Bishop says:

    When we lived in Arizona we would pick a canyon on the map and drive it, often times on very primitive roads. It is where the adventure lies.

  3. Melanie says:

    I got tickled at how narrow the roads are. Nearly all the dirt roads here are very wide, certainly wide enough for 2 cars to easily pass without coming to a stop. As we get closer to eastern Kansas when we go visit my folks, the dirt roads get much more narrow–I see yours are no different! We don’t go out driving and meandering nearly as much as I wishe we could!! I keep my fingers crossed for a slower time in life to be able to do so!!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Melanie,
      The dirt roads here and where I lived in Missouri both are one way like that. I guess the feeling is that “hey, it’s not traveled much, no need for 2 lanes.” It can be kinda scary when you reach the top of a hill and hope no one is on the other side.

  4. Doe of Mi. says:

    Fun and adventure, I used to love doing that. Haven’t had
    the chance to do in a very long time. Hadn’t even thought
    of it ’til I see your post. Again thanks for the memories.

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Doe,
      Well, if you haven’t hit the dirt roads it a long time, it’s time you did so. Fall is the perfect time for it too. Go for it.

  5. Love your post and love dirt roads. Thanks for sharing!

  6. {oc cottage} says:

    I just love seeing all that land and wide open space!

    m ^..^

  7. Peggy says:

    I can hardly stand it! I would love to be out there going for a ride. Windows rolled down just looking around. We used to do that when I was younger back in MO. I really it. Super photos!

  8. Janet Noe says:

    Your pictures are so wonderful. It actually makes my heart ache. One can smell the warm sunflowers and feel the leaves as they scratch your arms walking past. Ahh the roads, the roads. My grandchildren love Kitty, and wish there were books written about her with REAL pictures. Enough said. Thanks so much for what you do.

    • Suzanne says:

      Janet,
      Thank you so much for your kind words. I will ask Kitty if she is interested in doing a book. She may not have time in her busy schedule. 🙂

  9. Janet says:

    I don’t have those kinds of roads where I live (that I know of), but it looks like a lot of fun =) I sometimes love simple pleasures…

  10. Hmmm? I don’t know if there are any roads not traveled around here. We do live in the country and I have been on some back roads..well that’s we call them. My husband knows the roads better than I. I will ask him. He has taken me on some good roads before. The weather was cranky today, otherwise it may have been a good Sunday drive kinda day. Maybe next weekend…and I’ll take some pics.

  11. Stephanie says:

    Nice shots! Love how you creatively photographed the road. Have another adventurous day!

  12. I live in the city but my husband and I do enjoy taking rides and back roads. Always the better view.

  13. The Back Roads…are always so interesting!

  14. Sylvie says:

    That dirt road looks like the one we took to Grandpa’s Pasture, or also known as, The Big Pasture. Nobody was ever on it and I learned to drive on that road when I was about 9. Country kids start driving as soon as they can see over the steering wheel. Lovely pictures….again.

  15. Betty says:

    Thanks for the posts. I found it by accident and am hooked. Now I have something to do at work. I absolutely love all the pictures and the step by step recipes. Keep it up.

  16. Nance says:

    Southern Iowa and northern Missouri — both have more and more dirt roads as foks move off the farm and go to the city for employment. My husand and I take dirt roads on our country drives. We enjoy the beauty of the countryside, the challenge of the ruts and hills and curves . . . and mourn the passing of the small family farms. Used to be a house or four, every mile. Now it might be 3 or 4 miles between farm homes. I do enjoy your photos!

    • Suzanne says:

      Hi Nance,
      I grew up in Northern Missouri, and enjoyed the dirt roads there too. And I agree, where there used to be a lot of houses and communities, today it is almost all gone in places. Sad to see small farmers being pushed out in favor of large corporate farms.

  17. Kanna says:

    I live in Overland Park, Kansas and I’m a photographer looking for natural landscapes.

    This is a really long shot responding to a blog post from 2010, in the off chance you do see this, could you give me the location of these dirt roads? They look absolutely beautiful.

  18. Chris says:

    Love the pictures! I just stumbled upon this page by accident, and I am glad that I did. I know this is a long shot, and hopefully someone reads this, but I have a question. My wife and I like to go for drives out in the “middle of nowhere”, and play in the dirt/mud. We don’t mind the gravel roads, but we enjoy the dirt roads much more. We live in Randolph county in Missouri, and I was wondering if you knew (or anyone knows) where to find some good dirt roads to go driving around on. I love taking pictures of old run down houses and stuff like that on these journeys, so any help would be appreciated!!

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