According to Wikipedia, Caliche is described as:
Caliche (ka-lee’-chee, or sometimes klee’-chee) is a sedimentary rock, a hardened natural cement of calcium carbonate binding other materials such as gravel, sand, clay, and silt. It is found in aridisol and mollisol soil orders. Caliche occurs worldwide, generally in arid or semiarid regions, including in central and western Australia, in the Kalahari Desert, in the High Plains of the western USA, in the Sonoran Desert, and in Eastern Saudi Arabia Al-Hasa. Caliche is also known as hardpan, calcrete, kankar (in India), or duricrust. The term caliche is Spanish and is originally from the Latin calx, meaning lime. Caliche is generally light-colored, but can range from white to light pink to reddish-brown, depending on the impurities present. It generally occurs on or near the surface, but can be found in deeper subsoil deposits, as well. Layers vary from a few inches to feet thick, and multiple layers can exist in a single location.
This lesson was just brought to you courtesy of our experiences here on this unusual road bed material. As you’ll remember when we first got here at MEW Ranch we traveled down 9 miles of road that was made up of this stuff. A lot of other roads on the ranch are made of this and some are made of just dirt. We learned from Mr. Bill that this is valuable material that is used by highway construction companies as a solid road bed before pouring on whatever the top coat is. Now that we know what it’s called and how to spell it I thought I’d share!
When we first got here I took pictures of the residue on our bicycles and the truck windows to show ya’ll.
Day before yesterday we went on an ATV ride and came across a giant pit in the ground that at first looked like a dried up pond but upon closer looking at it we realized it was a hole that Caliche had been dug from. Here’s some pictures of the pit, the sun setting behind the pit, and us of course.
On one of our trips to town we came across this skeleton and head. Getting out and taking the pictures was very creepy and I never could figure out what it was.
Well that’s today’s “Day in the Desert” update!
I’ve been fighting what I originally thought was a cold our first few days here. It’s gotten progressively worse regardless of what I took or did. Yesterday was the worst with respiratory issues, body aches, feeling worn out, bad cough and my voice got hoarser and hoarser and the only thing I can come up with is that I may be allergic to the live chickens or maybe some plant or pollen particular to Texas that was never covered in my allergy shots in Louisiana. I called my allergist this morning to get someone to look at my allergy test results from years ago to see if chicken feather or live chickens were on the list. I’m going to ask for a list of what I’m allergic to to be sent to me so that I’ll have it for wherever we travel. The allergist’s office is closed on Friday but I left a message hoping for an answer on Monday.
Roy went into town last night, bought me a bottle of Claritin and Benadryl and I started on it as soon as he got home. To help figure out if this is what’s wrong with me Roy took care of the chickens this morning and I stayed in sleeping later. I’m not leaving the RV today and am taking my medicine. I feel much better this afternoon but more time will be needed to see if I stay feeling this way. If I am allergic to the chickens Roy will have to do our chicken duty each day and I can water the plants so it’s not a deal breaker problem with us working here. I, for sure, can’t stay inside the next 4 weeks, 24 hours a day, so I might be sporting a cool looking painters mask when I make outdoor visits!
My brilliantly talented hubby, Roy created the web ad below for the national company Workamper News. The ad went live on RVillage today! Workamper News is the website that connect RVers with jobs. Our job in Minnesota and this one in Texas as well as our RVillage job were all through Workamper News so we felt very privileged that Roy was asked to do this one. And it turned out great so they were quite happy!
Here’s hoping ya’ll have a great weekend – get outside and enjoy where you are!
Ya’ll come back now, ya’ hear!
BECAUSE HE LIVES 