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It was especially nice to hit the road after a intensive week of daddy duty. There were several locations that I wanted to visit during a winter-like day. I left Denver at 1230 or so on Saturday, headed east on I-70. The weather was cold and windy, temps just above freezing. A large snow storm was on the way, and the low clouds around Denver were a clear sign of what was on the way. Since the storm was primarily a foothills and mountain event, the plains would be windy and cold with low, broken clouds filling the entire sky. I headed east on I-70 then exited at Bennett. The plan was to drive east on US36, then south on Hwy71, ultimately ending up in Limon.
GPS Track
The first location I returned to was an old Quonset hut on off US36, west of Strasburg, that at one time had been used for farming, but has since been left to serve as a dump ground for the locals. There is a fiberglass boat and lots of graffiti, tons of garbage, not to mention an impressive amount of owl shit. The shots feel cold and windy, which is entirely appropriate.
Hut and Boat
From there I moved east on US36, the clouds became wavy due to the upper level winds. Approximately 10 miles west of Last Chance, a large trailer and a couple of pieces of farm equipment decay quietly next to a dusty road. Interesting scene, but hardly unique. The sky is very large around this location, so the weather plays big part with getting good shots. During the previous visit, a distant thunderstorm took up a good portion of the SE sky. On this visit, it was all about the low clouds and texture of the equipment. The shots came out with a sort of rusty sadness, a common vibe out in the middle of nowhere. I shot for 15 minutes, then moved on.
On Hwy71, about 5 miles south of Last Chance, there is a location that is one of my favorites. The house sits on the rim of a small valley, set back from the road only about 50 feet. The entire property seems to have been several acres. A corral, a few old trucks, and some collapsed grain silos dot the landscape on the other side of the basin. The house itself is large and in very bad shape. It seems to have been abandoned relatively recently, perhaps sometime in the last 10 years. Like the Quonset hut from the previous location, the locals use the property as a dump. There are appliances of every type strewn about. Looking through the windows, I could see that the furniture had been abandoned along with the home. It is also possible that couches and chairs that had been dumped on the property were dragged into the house by teenagers with not enough supervision. Either way, there is furniture everywhere, and it has all been turned over.
Red Tractor
As with many abandoned structures, there is a thin film of bird poo on every surface. The feeling of location is more dread than sadness. The place just feels unpleasant. I worked my way around the perimeter of the house, trying to take advantage of the gloomy sky, I wanted to express the feeling of dread in the shots.
The big reason that this location is one of my favorites is because it incorporates my two favorite subjects: abandoned places and rusty cars. Along with the exceedingly creepy house, there are three beautifully rusted cars on the west side of the property. There is an old 30′s era truck with old equipment and rusty wheels on its bed, a 70′s era truck looks like an old dog that has settled for the night, and a 40′s era truck with its rusty door swinging in the breeze. The fifteen minutes I spent shooting these trucks were the best of the day.
I climbed back into the car and headed to Limon, for a quick stop and then back to Denver to enjoy my family and the gathering snow storm.
Shooting Info:
- Nikon D300, RAW format
- Sigma 12mm Nikkor 18-70mm
- All images shot as HDR, five frames over two stops.
- Processed by Photomatix Pro
Shots from the day
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