So we prioritized.
We didn't do too bad.
First, to the museum.
And through Helper - so named because it had a huge roundhouse and was able to help trains over the mountain that were traveling between Grand Junction, and Salt Lake City.
We headed up Spring Canyon, looking for ghost towns.
We found a couple.
Peerless was first.
I really like places like this. I don't really know why... other than it's romantic to imagine the stories and the lives of those that have been long gone. Imagining you can hear the echo of voices, see children running and chasing, seeing women hollering out their front door for their babes, wiping their hands on their aprons.
These towns were not as old as most - they were coal mining towns, and sprang up at the beginning of the 1900's.
Still, walking among the ruins is pretty cool.
The second town we came to surprised me.
There was this round tower.... we thought it was a water tower, and it totally gave me the creeps.
"I know it's weird," I told Eric, "but I feel afraid of it. Spooked."
I didn't even want to look at it. And I didn't take a picture of it.
There were several things still standing in this town.
I collected a bit of a piece of pottery. A brick from one of the houses that was lying on the ground. And a piece of what I believe must have come from a mining car.
Eric and I imagined that this was a bank, but upon researching, I found out it was the store.
A few minutes ago, as I was looking to make sure I had the names of my towns correct, I looked up the second town. Standardville. It turns out that the creepy round thing was actually a coal bin, for storage. In 1930 there was an explosion in the mine, and twenty miners and three rescuers were killed.
I wonder if that's where my discomfort came from?
The Mine
It was time for us to start heading back home, so that Eric could get to work this afternoon on time.
Back over the mountain, then.
And then once more to all the way home.
Aaaah, home.
We love home.
Oh, I love road trips. I miss them, actually. I need one soon. Love the stories and your photos!
ReplyDeleteThere is nothing like going away for awhile to make you realize how much you love home, huh? I'm like that too. :)
ReplyDeleteAs for the weird coal storage building: it could be the explosion, or it could be activities that have happened there since. Some places have such bad vibes.
Glad you had a good time, and that the weather was so nice for it.
There aren't any real ghost towns near us, so the concept is a kind of weird one to me! (the UK is a pretty teeny place in comparison!)
ReplyDeleteWe do have a couple of ghost islands of the Scottish coast, where crofters once lived but gave up their hard lives for an easier one on the mainland.
What a cool post! I love your descriptions...I could feel myself there with you. We don't have any ghost towns here. I have always thought about going out west to see one. My husband is from California...I keep thinking about taking an across the country trip. Would be so cool.
ReplyDelete-Phyllis
and happy mother's day to one of the coolest moms out there!
ReplyDeletesounds like so much fun. I love road trips!
ReplyDeleteWow, just looked through your past few posts. Two words,
ReplyDeletefuckin awesome.
You know I love road trips, but this one was awesome! Glad you are are happily back at home. As you would say, woof!
Looks like a great road trip.
ReplyDeleteIt makes me miss back home, the desert so bad.
Your road trip looks so fun! I love the Allosaurus!!! What a wonderful time...glad you had such a good time together.
ReplyDeleteOh and yes, yes you did sense a bit of excitement from me regarding our evening with David Berkeley! Was it that obvious?