Red clay - where to find

[barefooter]

Well, all tell, that clay is most perfect substance - agree!!!
But clean deep bottomless clay is so rare!!! Some canyon rivers? Drying lakes?
I found mostly at quarrys. And other thing - I want to find sticky deep clay, where is not much water, not as slime or sludge... As luting or grease...
I know 2-3 places around here, but it hard for visit - quarry guards not sleep xDDDD, in other case second place look like start for dry and cover with grass - short way to turn into regular ground - we loosing one of likest place ((((

[mud_dreamer]

Yes, I too would like to have a deep sink in thick reddish clay. I have a spotted a potential location within 3 hrs of me. It is about a 1/4 mile off of a public bicycle/ATV trail. Hopefully I will get a chance to at least scout it out this year.

When I was a young boy, I went with the neighbor kids to an abandoned brickyard on Chicago's south side. There was a huge mud pit/quarry and it had the red clay used to make the well-known Chicago Bricks. We had to carefully wedge through a fence. At least a dozen kids were already there swimming. It was like Peter Pan's Neverland with groups of kids doing all sorts of things. There was an island with large cottonwood trees looming in all directions. I recall several rope swings. Kids were sliding down the steep sides of the clay island and blasting into the water.

I could not resist walking out onto a mud flat there. I remember sinking to my knees and being very stuck. I know that playing in that sticky clay turned me on because after that I started going out at night to muddy construction sites.

That abandoned quarry eventually became a landfill. I am sure that there are many locations nearby which still have that red clay. I don't live there anymore but I do visit people close to there. Could be hazardous materials there now. It is all industrial and some people may have dumped awful things there.

Quarry guards ... sounds like the Gulag barefooter. Where are you in this world my friend? Also, I just looked up "luting" ...
liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint. New word for me. I think that here in the US we would call it simply cement (vs. concrete) , or possibly Portland Cement. There is clay in that and it is probably mined locally so, find a cement plant and you may find a clay mine. Now if there is a railroad nearby, maybe the clay is shipped there vs mined there.

Sorry to write a book here.

[Duncan Edwards]

North Alabama is all about red clay. Can't tell you a specific spot but it's probably a great region to start looking in if that's what you want.

[mud_dreamer]

Thanks for the tip Duncan. I'll keep Alabama on my radar. It's a little far but I have family that is planning to move to Florida. I could get a little side-track on the way down.

[barefooter]

Quarry guards ... sounds like the Gulag barefooter. Where are you in this world my friend? Also, I just looked up "luting" ...
liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint. New word for me. I think that here in the US we would call it simply cement (vs. concrete) , or possibly Portland Cement. There is clay in that and it is probably mined locally so, find a cement plant and you may find a clay mine. Now if there is a railroad nearby, maybe the clay is shipped there vs mined there.

Sorry to write a book here.

Ha-ha-ha!!! First - nice story!!! "Book here" - is very interesting, not need to sorry, i like something, like this xDDD
Second - you are almost right xDDDD Gulag
I'm from Russia
"Guards" - sure, was need to use "security", but when I hurry, I can do typo often... xDDD
"luting" - yea, strange word, I found it in Google vocabulary... Just was need to explain, but standard words are very same and used very often...
"cement"-"concrete" - Oh, ok, understand, I know it ))))

[quicksand3D]

Red Clay - which, anyone who's been stuck in the mud in Alabama knows - from My Cousin Vinny

[QuicksandMania]

Catawba County, North Carolina

[Boggy Man]

Also, I just looked up "luting" ...
liquid clay or cement used to seal a joint. New word for me. I think that here in the US we would call it simply cement (vs. concrete) , or possibly Portland Cement. There is clay in that and it is probably mined locally so, find a cement plant and you may find a clay mine. Now if there is a railroad nearby, maybe the clay is shipped there vs mined there.

I would be leery of places they mine for cement. That material would be highly alkaline and could cause blistering burns to your skin! And if it got into your eyes...

[Nessie]

Clay is the best. Red clay is wonderful (well, any color works for me).

I don't have any location that I can give directions to. I either did not drive and so, I don't remember (no point in taking notes when it's not even in your own state!), or the location's management tossed us out (yes, that happened at my first claypit ever).

You can see if you can get on a film crew if you're okay with man-made clay pits, but otherwise, I would suggest doing some research on where clay is and use Google Maps.

There has to be something, somewhere, that is on land that's okay to use. The proliferation of cameras alone these days would give me serious pause to ever try it again.

I'm in peat-land, myself, that's just how the mud is around here -- but 'twas deep, so I was happy.

Nessie