Last Saturday, I made trip to the Eastern Plains. This year I navigated the county roads between Kiowa and Calhan, basically making a zig-zag route between the two towns. In the distance, about a mile away, I noticed what appeared to be an abandoned ranch house.
Abandoned Ranch House On 85 Road
Many of these houses are constructed from brick with lathe and plaster for the interior walls. Lathe and plaster was the construction technique that was precursor to sheet rock or dry wall that we use today. Walking around the house, I noticed that much of the ceiling had collapsed over the years. Birds were also nesting in the attic.
Inside The Abandoned House
Then there was this really cool artifact — an abandoned piano. Here is a close-up of the remains of the keyboard. I wonder how much music came from that piano.
Abandoned Piano
Compared with the Front Range, the prairie is flat. Outside, across the road, is this amazing view of the prairie. There is just a hint of Pike’s Peak on the horizon. Recently it had rained in this area — the road had few tracks since the rain and the pool across the road had accumulated some water.
Pool On The Prairie
I made my way to the pool, where a hazy sun reflected in the pool. Composing carefully, I position the sun directly behind the tree and cut our the distant horizon.
Reflection In The Pool
It was time to move on. Nearby was a pond close to the road. As I approached, a pair of ducks took flight and headed away at speed. By this time, the clouds had partially cleared to reveal more blue sky. I like this image that shows a typical western scene — the pond in the prairie under a big sky. At this location, apart from ducks, there were Red-Winged Blackbirds and Meadow Larks. Both birds have a distinctive call that is heard on the prairie during the summer.
Pond And Big Sky On The Prairie
Finally, I reached Calhan, and headed east a couple of miles. Here a ridge overlooks the town and the low-lying prairie. I waited at the spot until the sun set. Here I captured a panorama of 5 images made with an iPhone that was stitched together with the Autostitch application on the phone.
Sunset Near Calhan
This was a great sunset to end a fabulous day.
I love these images–I am heading out to CO next week and will have a day to kill exploring for stuff like this. I was thinking of heading to pawnee grasslands-but love old falling apart stuff. Any suggestion for roads to try?
Thanks