Jay Maisel, a great conveyor of photographic widsom, once expressed his fascination with capturing moments that defied easy discernment. This sentiment resonated with me as I stumbled upon a frozen puddle on a plastic outdoor chair, as we exited a sandwich shop. I was fortunate to have my iPhone handy, allowing me capture this interesting visual abstraction.

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Tags:   abandoned florida fl south southeast home house wood wooden depot history historic old memory forgotten rural rurex decay wander explore madison county farm

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Pullman Train Car - Victor, CO 2007

Tags:   Ghost Towns geezer pullman car train railroad ruins victor colorado mining mine gold mountain rocky 2007

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The Crystal Mill, or the Old Mill is an 1892 wooden powerhouse located on an outcrop above the Crystal River in Crystal, Colorado, Crystal was a big town in late 18th. Then, it became a ghost town in early 19th. Since the road to there is not well maintained, this place can only be accessed via 4x4.

Knowing it would be snow at night, my friend and I decided to do backpack camping there. We packed our stuff and hit on the road around 2 pm in afternoon. After a half mile uphill hiking, we came to an intersection. I wasn't sure which direction to go so I asked a guy who drove a pickup truck. I guess that person didn't hear me clearly, he pointed us to a wrong direction. After one mile hiking uphill, we felt it was wrong because we didn't see any other hikers or vehicles. So, we came down to the intersection and tried the different direction.

On that road we met some other hikers and local tour vehicles. We knew we were on the right path so we kept going. Since we took a wrong road at the beginning and we wasted more than 1 hour and a lot of energy. By 5 pm we were still on the road without knowing how far away we were from our destination. Suddenly, I heart a sound of motor and a tour vehicle stopped beside me. The lady who drove the car told me that they heart our story about taking a wrong way and they were worry about us because it was pretty late. She said she dropped her customer in her place and came back for us. She asked us to get on her car and drove us to Crystal Mill. Since she helped us to get there sooner, we had enough time to look around the place and setup tent.

Next morning, when we got up we were very excited as we had snow and whole place just for two of us. We climbed up and down, went front and back to take Crystal Mill pictures from different angles. After 2 hours of shooting, we packed our stuff and started to walk back. About a half mile of our walk, a person drove a truck came to us. He is a resident in Crystal town and he came to check on us to make sure we were OK during the snow. After a while, another person from Marble side came to us too. He said they were worry about two of us whole night and he came to take us back. Since we want to shoot more snow pictures on the way back, we thanked his kindly offers and walked all the way back to our car.

Now, every time when I looked at my Crystal Mill pictures, I remember those people's warm smiles. Many thanks to the people from Marble and Crystal.

Tags:   Crystal Mill BRILLIANT WOW

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I just loved this old truck standing sentry in the Colorado mountains near the ghost town of Animas Forks. Wild flowers had sprouted up inside the engine compartment and some rustling creature had made a home under the floor board. I have several versions of it here: first, the original photo, second in black and white, then a painterly version and last a charcoal sketch. I can't decide which I like best; which do you prefer?

Tags:   colorado mountains landscape old truck rusty truck animas forks ghost town

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