What Treasures Might Surface?

Seems like big swap meet events like Princeton (Minn.) and Haydays occasionally bring out of the woodwork an old treasure, or a historically-significant snowmobile.

It's unlikely such an occurrence will unfold this year, at least for Arctic Cat fans, since the Arctic Cat 50th celebration would have been the place to display such a machine. In fact, there were dozens of such machines at the 50th, which was one reason the event was so historic.

I mention the out-of-the-woodwork possibility because I believe there are still many more machines tucked away in barns, shops and garages. And I believe that time will eventually shake loose their roots, enabling them to surface.

What machines?

Perhaps one of the single-ski prototypes shown here?

I grabbed these photos in the mid-1990s, when these early 1980s prototypes were holding down the weeds out back of Arctic Cat in Thief River Falls. They stayed put for a couple years, then were gone.

But where did they go?

A story I heard repeated multiple times at the 50th by several different collectors, was that the TRF area is still a goldmine of rare and one-off sleds, clothing and stuff from the past 50 years.

Garage sales occasionally produce highly-collectible items selling at low prices.

Murmurs of treasure troves parked among back-forty graveyards are undoubtedly true.

There are of course "pickers" who are keeping keen eyes/ears trained on such opportunities. And sometimes the just-appeared treasures go back underground as quickly as they surfaced.

It's all part of the intrigue that surrounds the hobby. I love this stuff, and I wonder what cool items we might see in the coming months?

Any ideas?