“Deep autumn. The last autumn caravan “ran out of the stones” only on September 8th. On the Chusovaya River, barge haulers call mountains “stones.” Below the stones, Chusovaya rolls along the low banks. Rocks and coniferous forests quickly give way to the most peaceful rural picture: a motley tablecloth of arable lands, water meadows and rare copses spreads along the banks. Occasionally a remote village will appear, occasionally a distant rural church will glimpse... and again a remote expanse for tens and hundreds of miles...”