Ghost Towns

I titled this photograph, "The Stories You Could Tell." This abandoned homestead, high in Park County, Colorado, looks out on a spectacular view of the Rocky Mountains. Nestled against a huge outcropping of boulders, it is easy to imagine the hard life these homesteaders must have lived. Summers are short, and some years the summer passes in a blink. Growing season is only for the hardiest of plants. How did these homesteaders survive? What drove someone to carve a life out of this harsh terrain? Where did they go? There is at least one question for every empty window. But despite being long abandoned, I am drawn to this house's stories. This old cabin still invites me to spread out a picnic blanket, photograph a few summer flowers, look out over the mountains, imagine animals shapes in the clouds above, watch the hawks soar, and dream of a long-ago life.