New Directions

Hello!

It has been over a year since I posted any updates to this blog. I have not been lazy nor have I given up my passion for adventure and abandoned spaces.

I have been focusing my time on another blog that is focused solely on my Rural Decay photography series. Below is the link if you are interested in following my work.

http://palechickstudios.wordpress.com/

If you are more interested in reading about where I have been and the wonderful adventures I have with other kindred spirits then you may like to check out my Travbuddy Profile.

http://www.travbuddy.com/esterrene

Thanks for your support!

Back to Table Rock Road

The last time I was here I only had 20 minutes to walk through and photograph the first images that caught my attention! I promised myself, like always, that I would return to this little development of rural decay to further explore with my camera..

We had just delivered the tower base to a new wind farm outside of Twin Falls, ID and had plenty of time to drive to Clinton, IL for another base.. With all of this free time available i decided that I would revisit Table Rock Road. The place has been in my thoughts for months now... And even now after having visited it for a second time I still want to return again with different lighting and maybe even take a few red dress pics there as well!! (Thanks to my friend Scott for THAT bit of inspiration! :P)

Last time I drove Simone up to the development and parked just outside the road entrance.. This time I decided it was best to park at the abandoned gas station about 1/2 mile away.. There were signs all over the place stating no trespassing and I really don't know if the company still sends people to check on the area or not.. There isn't any cover to hide Simone and the entire development is easily viewed from the Interstate...

I change into more practical footwear and set off to TRR!!

This time I wanted to focus on details that I had missed before. I also wanted to venture inside a couple of the houses.. I didn't last time due to time restraints..

Once inside the development I make the decision to again NOT go inside... With more time on my hands to really take in the details of my surroundings I can see all the evidence of squatters.

First I look into the ground floor windows of the "big house" at the beginning/end of the road and see several sleeping bags and other personal objects... Later I find unbroken windows with blankets hung up to keep light out, and more objects suggesting that there were a group of people squatting..

Out of respect for their privacy and personal space I decided to remain outside... These people don't know me or my intentions and I don't wish to put them into a situation where they may feel that they have to react defensively. Interestingly the last time I was here I felt like I was being watched by a few of the houses. Perhaps I was.. I never did see anyone while I was there, just their belongings.

Of course once I realize that there were probably several squatters in the area my dad calls me on my cell thus disrupting the peaceful silence and alerting all that may not know of my presence that I was there! Thanks Dad!! Haha he has ALWAYS had the worst timing with his phone calls! THE WORST!

From what I saw through the windows it looked rather cozy inside.

the carpet was still plush looking and some places still had their walls intact.. Several houses looked like they had been gutted and terribly abused.. while others looked like they were spared some of the same cruel treatment.. perhaps because these houses were the houses people choose to dwell inside.

I took my time walking around, poking my head behind houses and fences... The sun was still pretty high and intense which can make for some great photos, but the angle was not good for a few of the shots that I was hoping to get.. Still I think I made out pretty well!

There came a point when I thought for sure I was caught!!! I noticed that there was an official looking blue pickup truck driving down the dead end road that I had parked Simone.

I quickly jumped inside the garage of one house and after a few minutes peeked outside to see where the truck was heading... The truck was gone, but I couldn't be sure if it was really gone or just out of sight... I don't even know if the truck was someone with the gas company that owns the property..

I waited a few more minutes to see if anyone was gonna drive through the development and when it was clear that I was safe from being caught I continued exploring the rest of the road..

The solitude and stillness of Table Rock Road was intense! I found myself at the end just sitting in the middle of the road itself listening to the din of the birds and sharp buzz of a few insects.. The sun was warming and a gentle breeze was calming... I could have spend hours there relaxing and meditating at the spot...

Eventually I got up and walked back to Simone.. Cutting across the field and crawling under the barbwire fence I find myself back to Simone in no time! But before I reached her a sweet couple came up behind me to see if I was stranded! They saw the gas station sign and didn't realize that it was closed, but then saw me and wanted to make sure I was okay before they drove away.. It was kind of them :)

Onward to Cheyenne! :)

See Amber Run...

Its 9/11, I'm in Texas and instead of watching tv with my father in the hotel room I decided to take a long drive in search of more old abandoned houses. Its incredibly warm outside and the backroads are bustling with weekend travelers. My chosen route was a mixture of known and unknown roads between Abilene and Coleman, Texas. I had an idea of where I wanted to go, but figured that it didn't hurt to take a longer route to see what else I could find.

I found a few houses, but not as many as I hope. Though I must admit that I am not all that surprised. The land in this region is mostly fenced off for cattle. From my experiences the farmland further north of here is better for finding abandoned and isolated building structures. It seems the the general usage of the land affects the number of houses I find.. Its a theory..

The first house was okay, I can't say that I am too excited with the images.. The floors were too fragile for me to enter and from the window views it didn't look all that interesting inside.

The second house was the one that I was aiming for when I set out this afternoon. Its located between Santa Anna and Coleman. I have passed it by several times, but never had the time to properly explore it. This time I was determine to check it out. It is located next to a major road, but to access it you have to turn off onto a dirt road which leads you away from the eyes of passerbys. The overgrown greenery also helps block the view from the road. Makes it easier to relax and focus on work.

As soon as I stepped out of my car I had a brief thought about rattle snakes.. Its not a thought that crosses my mind often, though it probably should considering I wander the Texan landscape with sandals more often than I should. I pushed the thought out of my head and continued on. The house was covered with green vines. All that was clearly visible from outside was the roof.

For several moments I stood outside an entrance wondering if I should push through the vegetation into the hidden porch. The porch looked weak, and I wanted to get inside.. I knew that there had to be something wonderful inside waiting for me to digitally capture it!

I push through.

Inside and I am covered with spiderwebs, but hopefully not the spiders.. I saw many of them. Stout little black spiders.. They look like the kind that can jump. I'm not afraid of spiders, in fact I love the little guys, but I still don't want them on me.

This house has a soul.. its hard to explain. I feel like I am in another world. I feel like Alice and the looking glass. everything is still inside. I'm in whats left of the kitchen and notice that an empty hanging pot is suspended in front of a window covered with the green vines. its cool inside where as the outside was thick with heat.

I begin to make my way through the house. its mostly bare with the exception of the typical debris scattered across the wooden floors. On my left is a room that catches my eye. The colors inside are muted except for the bright greenery outside the window and a single sheet of wallpaper loosely hanging from the top of the wall.

it would have been a perfect photo!! I slowly step through the door into the silent room when all of the sudden I hear the Rattle snakes!!

I don't know how many there were. I never actually saw them. I knew they were inside the closet on my right and the only way they had out was at me.. They were so loud and angry. With out any thought I ran out the nearest door and continued running across the yard back to my car. From outside I could still hear them as I ran passed open windows.

My heart was beating so fast! It was thrilling, exciting and scary as shit all at once!! I have heard rattle snakes in the fields before, but never had so close of an encounter with them..

I'm going to go back in the winter when it is cooler outside and maybe borrow my friend's snakeguard pants for extra protection.. I REALLY WANT THAT PICTURE!! It was perfect and I can see it so clearly inside my head! If I don't get capture it I will go insane thinking about it!

From there the rest of my drive was calm in comparison.

I found two new house that I never knew of before. One was not so inviting and the other seemed like the strangest house I have ever seen. I'm not sure on how to explain it.. The wooden floor covered a cement foundation with shallow grooves. I didn't have to worry about falling through the floor into an empty basement.. But I was concern that more rattle snakes were under the floor.

- Side note: it took a few weeks for that sound to not feel so fresh in my memory.... weeks!!

In the center of the house was a strange hallway that connected to arch shaped doors on opposite sides with a floor of cement slabs that matched the exterior porch floor.. It was a wide hallway with living rooms on either side.. I don't think the doors were wide enough for a modern vehicle but maybe for a stage coach of some sort.. but it looked like it should have some sort of function to it..

It was around then that I began hearing what sounded like an angry animal walking around.. after the snake encounter I decided that I wasn't quite up to anymore Amber vs Nature adventures.. The heat was also starting to get to me. I then made some notes about the house and headed back toward Abilene to meet Dad for dinner.

Monument Church

I'm in Western Kansas.

And there exists about 11 miles West of Oakley the unincorporated town of Monument, KS. Monument is a small spec of a town. It was once considered a large town for the area, but like many other prairie towns it is on the decline. Now it is populated mostly with elderly folk who grew up in the area and chose to stay.

About a block or so away from the main highway is an old church that was beautifully lit by the late afternoon sun. Within seconds I found myself standing on a grassy corner in awe of this magnificent find!

I learn from a local woman that the town was originally settled by German and "White" Russian immigrants. I'm not exactly sure what she means by "White Russians". She wasn't all that sure either what it meant. It was a term that had been used to describe her family heritage. The best explanation was a group of Russians that first went to Germany before arriving in the states... All I could think about was the drink..

At first I was kinda nervous about photographing the church with all the little houses and their occupant around watching me. Most people don't really mind me poking my head around, but normally I am out of sight from town and its denizens. With Simone parked on the side of the road, I managed to wave a passing local resident down to ask if she knew anything about the church. Being that I had planned on walking around the property I thought it best to see how someone local would react to my presence. Sorta feel out the place a bit.

The woman, Crystal, was more than friendly. She knew who owned the property and drove home to get the owner's phone number. Since she couldn't get ahold of the owner she then called the owner's Daughter. Crystal then came back to where I was and waited with me until the Daughter called back with how to get ahold of her mother.

20 minutes Later Jolene, The owner, drove up with her grandkids and unlocked the church door for me!

I felt so grateful and fortunate! I really didn't think that someone would drive from the middle of nowhere to the middle of nowhere just to let me inside a decaying church. But here she was more than happy that someone was wanting to know about her little church.

The church was constructed in 1930 and used by local Methodists until maybe 20 years ago, when the congregation then united with a Methodist group in Oakley. Around this time Jolene's father bought the building in hopes of preserving and maybe doing something with it. Sadly nothing was done with the building except being used to store all the random antique items collected by Jolene's father. Sometime in August of 2010 a strong gust of wind blew a large portion of the roof off during a storm. Since then the pigeons have taken over even more of the inside and thus created a mess not worth cleaning up. There was some talk on repairing the roof, but the costs are too much for the people of a small agricultural town to conceive on paying.. eventually they will salvage what they can and let everything fall...

Its a sad story.

Jolene hasn't been able to enter the building for a while. She grew up in this town and went to Sunday school in the church basement. Seeing it in this condition is hard for her, but with me she decided that now was the time to see it again before it gets worse. She talks about the items inside, what they once were used for. Some of the items belonged to her family from when she was a child, other items were picked up at shop sales by her collecting father..

Inside were maybe 50 pigeons. They were all over the place. Most of them flew out through the ceiling gaps. A few remained behind. The place was filthy. Everything was covered with pigeon droppings. But at least the wooden floor was sturdy and I didn't have to worry about falling through into the musty basement with all the shit covered antiques.. :)

After rummaging around inside the Church with Jolene we walked next door to the parish house. i looked through windows as Jolene immediately went for the front door. I was impressed. She was just as ready to see inside as I was. :) The place has been empty since the mid 70's and was once occupied by an old widow. Jolene had no recollection of the widow's husband. She once heard that he worked with the trains. There was no bathroom inside and the outhouse that once existed was used as kindling for a school spirit bonfire last year.

It was a very informative photo excursion! Jolene was more than kind and generous for spending so much time walking and talking with me.

Table Rock Row

While driving East through Wyoming I decided to finally stop and check out this abandoned and EXTREMELY isolated housing community on Table Rock Rd.. The houses were apparently built for employees of a nearby gas plant and they look like they have been abandoned for maybe five years.

Not very long, despite the damage caused by destructive people.. I didn't explore inside any of the houses. Though it would have been easy since all the front and back doors were left open along with the garage doors.. I only had about 20 minutes to see the place and I must admit that I kinda enjoyed the eeriness of the empty street.. It was like walking through a dream long after it ends....

I couldn't help but feel that there were eyes watching my every step.. It was very big brotherish. From a few houses I could hear the busy chirping and fluttering of what sounded like a colony of birds and other houses were simply just silent and almost projecting a feeling of disapproval as I passed by.. Like I said, it was an eerie street!

I plan to return again with more time to explore and hopefully in the near future. I want to take photos of the street with different lighting and actually enter some of those houses.. I had to return to the Interstate and catch up with my father in Rawlins..

Welcome to the World Baby Charlee!

Two days ago my sister gave birth to my third niece, Charlee Yvonne. We need more girls in the world and I can't wait to get to know her!

Ted and the baby raccoons!

Back in Iowa, waiting for a tower base to be ready for loading and I come across a few frisky little raccoons!!

A man from OH named Ted and his family rolled up to the hotel in a pick up truck and trailer. Ted gets out and starts walking around the grassy area with three tiny raccoons! I can't resist so I run to get my camera and walk right up to him. He was super friendly and those little babies were even friendlier! Crawling all over him like he was momma and within a few moments they were crawling all over me!

Ted tells me that they are about 2 months old and the were given to him by a friend who had to catch them after their mother was killed by an automobile. This isn't the first time Ted has taken in baby raccoons or other young wildlife critters. he knows a lot about the little guys and gives me details of what he feeds them and the natural eating habits they would have in the wild.. These little guys in particular love Cinnamon Life cereal and fried eggs.. Not exactly what I had expected to be their diet, I was thinking along the lines of cat food or veggies..

I really enjoyed playing with them and talking with Ted. I was surprise to how much like cats they were. Purring, climbing up the legs and chasing my keys across the grass. They are very sweet and playful little critters..

Skillman Adventure Part 2

After my last visit to the Skillman Hospital Village I decided that I had to return!! Gary, the man whom my friend and I had bumped into, gave us the phone number to the engineer office and said that they would have information regarding the Village's history.. I did eventually call, but not to learn just the history.. I called the contact he gave and bluntly asked if there was any way in which I could gain access into the boarded up buildings. I explained to my contact who I was, what I do artistically and my interest in exploring the premises.

I was told to write an email expressing my desire to preserve the village via photography and to include a few images of my personal work. All of which I did immediately. A couple weeks later I receive an email detailing that I have been granted permission to explore certain buildings and the entire exterior premises in exchange for a handful of the photos I take.. DEAL!!! :P I would gladly exchange my art for a chance to explore!!

I was allowed to bring a couple of people with me. I explained that I may need help with the equipment and in case of an emergency that there would be someone able to get help.. The real reason was that my two friends were just as eager to legally get inside these wonderful archaic buildings destine for demolition.. Yep the township's plan for the buildings is to tear them all down. They had wanted to preserve some of them, but the costs of repair are too much for the low budget of the town and during the economic recession the local citizens don't feel that their taxes should go to historical preservation... One roof repair would have cost $250,000. According to the engineer dept when the village was abandoned in the mid 90's the people just boarded up the windows on the lower floors and left the upper windows open. The exposure to the weather over the past decade has cause a lot of damage to the foundations.. it is a heart breaking story and I am very proud to have had the chance to enter and photograph the remains of these buildings.. Our histories are important and therefore should be preserved for the benefit of future generations!

To prep for the photo experience I ordered a wide angle lens from www.Borrowlenses.com. I wanted to make the purchase but I still didn't have enough money to buy the lens and I wanted to try it out to see if I actually like it.. I also had to purchase extra batteries, portable lighting, ballheads for the tripods and compact flash cards among other tidbits... I usually don't use alot of equipment as I find it cumbersome and distracting... but this was not a typical photo trip.. we will be entering buildings that are boarded up. The light is very limited and I had to adapt how I normally photograph to work effectively here in Skillman. My feelings in the week leading up to the photo excursion was a mixture of excitement, giddiness, pride and a dash of nervousness.. I was slightly nervous that I would take horrible pictures. I was definitely pushing myself further with my skills and trying new things with my camera and hoping that it all worked out!! I would hate to come out of this feeling like a poor excuse for an artist who takes photos..

We started the morning off super early!! I wanted to get there before the sunrise so that I can take advantage of the morning light. The buildings were not going to be unlocked for us for another few hours, but I knew how to get into some of the buildings already from my first unofficial trip to the hospital village. the three of us walked around and explored every little nook and cranny! we found some great stuff!! one building had a sound proof room with an observation window.. that room kinda freaked me out! I took one step in and immediately walked out.. the feeling in there was suffocating.. I felt this deafening silence and pressure in my head that I did not like.. My guy friend, of course, thought it was awesome and I don't think he really wanted to come out! we found psychological papers regarding various human behaviors from the 50's and 60's in a closet, we found rooms that we are guessing we meant for dispersing drugs to patients and rooms for education young children. some buildings were occupational buildings meant to keep the patients working on various skills like plumbing, and sewing. other buildings were meant as dorms for the patients...

Each room was a mystery and we looked for clues to what it was used for. We even found the remains of the old railway meant to bring people in and out to a larger train station. A few times I had an encounter with what I think was a fox... it could have been anything actually! it was reddish in color, short legs and longish body.. I would unknowingly scare them with my approaching presence and they would scare me by suddenly jumping out of the bushes and running the heck away!!! Once I was taken so by surprise that I screamed like a little kid!! so thankful that no one besides my two friends were there to witness that!!

We were allowed to enter the Theatre and Maplewood house along with one hospital building.. we didn't make the hospital building in time before they locked it back up.. and it was the one hospital building that I really wanted to explore.. I didn't know that they would lock the buildings back up at 3:30. I had assume that I would have until 5 pm... I should have asked about the time and therefore adjust our plan accordingly.. we got there just a few minutes too late :(.. but we did explore the Maple Wood house and theatre and had a great time in doing so!!

The theatre reminded me of the general purpose room in middle school. It was a room that served as a gym, theatre and cafeteria! The Skillman Theatre also seem to serve multiple purposes. The interior space was HUGE and open. a stage on one side and a basket ball net above it that could be lowered and raised as needed.. There was also an upper lever balcony with some steps for people to sit on. in the back end of the building were a few rooms. one for storing chairs, bathrooms, a projection room and another that I couldn't figure out... behind the state we found changing rooms and locked doors to other rooms one being the basement and the other being the access to the side stages.. Interestingly while we were upstairs my friend Kara thought she heard someone walking around downstairs... no one was there... while me and her were exploring the stage together we both could hear creaking steps from the balcony.. no one was up there.. hmmm..

The Maplewood house was fantastic!!! It had like 8 or 9 bathrooms, two kitchens, a room with a peeling world map, dark room, beauty parlor room, a library room with fireplace and several other rooms probably meant to be bedrooms.. it was huge!!! hidden stairways, some scary dead animals, and xmas decorations still hanging. The house was definitely a gorgeous building when it was first built and even in its present state it is still impressive to come across..

We stayed until about 5 pm... since the last building was locked on us and I was feeling creatively burnt out we left, but not before exploring the "newer" hospital building, the one that we were not given permission to enter.. We found a hidden way in and began exploring the well lit upper level.. It had a heavier feel inside compared to the other buildings.. Kara was feeling really uncomfortable here and I was fine at first... I found one room that was obviously the children's ward. colorful glitter was all over the floor along with a child's puzzle and some arts and craft projects. in one corner there was a cabinet meant to hold the television and protect it from breaking.. from there we found the stairs and headed down to the first level..

It was pitch black and chilly! you can smell the damp wood and mold and see the destructive evidence of previous visitors.. we agreed to stay together since we only had two lights and didn't want to loose anyone.. there were large rooms and more rooms that appear to have been used for storing prescription medication... finally we found the shower room... I actually don't know what its official name would be.. it had two shower stalls on one side and a HUGE steel bathtub placed menacingly in the center. it didn't look like it would be an enjoyable experience to bathe in this tub.. I had heard hydro therapy was once used with mentally ill patients. I wonder if the same was used with epileptic patients. If so how long did this form of "therapy" go on??? I didn't like the room. it made me feel uneasy and we walked out... a few minutes later, while my friend Jim is trying to find a way into one room, Kara and I both hear a singing and laughing girl...

We wait a few minutes and hear nothing more, but Kara and I are already a bit freaked out! No one else was in that building but us!! The sound came from down the hall and it was PITCH BLACK! you would have to have a light source to be down there and no one would come down there in the dark singing and laughing... There were children outside far across the property. but we could NOT hear them when we were outside the building. so there is no way that we could hear them inside a boarded up brick building... Kara and I immediately left.. we were done! Jim stayed in to explore some more.

Looking back it I can't say that the voice or presence felt dangerous to me.. but I was not prepared for such an obvious sign of the village's ghostly inhabitants. I felt a few times when alone that I wasn't exactly alone and thought I had heard steps (like those heard in the Theatre) but this was a definite "hey I am here with you" kind of shout out and I wasn't ready for more...

But I am still planning to go back for a third time for retakes!!!! :P:P:P:P hahahaaha

Small town, BIG heart!

I am not shy in telling you that I am probably one of the luckiest individuals in the world!!!!! Seriously, everything tends to work out for me.. The important things at least!

We left Oakley, KS bright and early this morning and immediately headed toward Wyoming via Colorado. The day was long, but lovely. We arrived at the jobsite outside medicine bow, WY late in the evening. By that point I was down to a quarter of a tank of gas and still couldn't leave for laramie until dad said it was okay.. at that point I wasn't sure what the plan was. Was he gonna come with me to Laramie, do I stay in Laramie or do I head back to Colorado.... UGH I hate feeling clueless.

Finally dad told me to go, as he decided that he would be staying in his truck at the jobsite. He said there was a gas station in Medicine Bow, but I didn't notice one as I drove through the small historic town with less than 300 residents. The town is known for the Virginian Hotel where the American Author, Owen Wister, wrote 'The Virginian'.

Since Rock River was only 17 miles away I figured that I would just go there for gas.. By the time I did get there my gas light went off and I saw that the gas station was closed and it was only 7:45 pm on a FRIDAY! This can't be happening!! I was close to 40 miles away from Laramie and I know for a fact that there wasn't a gas station between here and there. I really didn't want to be stranded in this small town of 200 people and no services! everything, except the drive through bar, was closed!!!!

I had no choice but to go inside and ask if there was any place to get gas... "Sure" said the barmaid, "Medicine Bow"... HA! but I was then immediately told that the gas station that I missed in Medicine Bow closed in less than 10 minutes.

at that moment I felt defeated!! I would have to call my dad and see if he can find a way to get me so we can solve this.. I really didn't want to do that. He was stressed enough with work and I really hate having to rely on him for so much.

Thankfully a couple of the local bar patrons came out to help me.. Drunk as one could be they stumbled around with first trying to open the gas can and then with syphoning a couple of galleons from their own tank to put into mine.. It was quite the site to watch. The first guy kept getting the gas in his mouth but none would go into the can... after several unsuccessful tries the second guy comes walking back out of the bar with a lit cigarette in hand to try syphoning.. Not wanting a fire to start I offered to take the lit cig. he laughed and said probably a good idea! LOL ya think!!! :P:P:P

Finally I had a couple galleons of gas in my tank, enough to get me 40 miles and to repay them for their kindness I bought them each a couple bottles of beer.. It was the least I could do!

Apparently This happens all the time!

I am a lucky Lucky girl! and if anyone here ever happens to be driving through Rock River, WY on HWY 30, I highly recommend stopping by at the 'Double Shot Bar' on main st. The people are real friendly and you will surely leave with some funny stories!

Cowboy Ray and Spooks!

The drive through Wyoming was beautiful, as always, and we luckily made it to Idaho. If we hadn't we would have been in some serious trouble!!! There was absolutely NO place, not even a wide shoulder, for us to park the truck once we left Interstate 80 in Rock Springs.. It was Idaho or bust... thankfully it was Idaho! ;P

Dad decided that we could stop in Montpelier. Its a small town nestled in the valley. Its clean and pretty and apparently they are often visited by wandering bears.. Sounds like a great place to me!! :P:P

Well I wasn't fortunate enough to see any bears today, but I did have an awesome encounter with Ray the drunken cowboy and his horse, Spooks.

I was in the middle of checking into the hotel. The guy behind the counter was having an issue with the computer, so I decided to go back outside to get my stuff out of Simone, my car, when out of nowhere I hear this low singing in the distance.

I turn and see this man dressed like an old school cowboy and riding his horse along Highway 30 in front of the hotel!! I wave and couldn't help but smile! it was like a character from the wild west era had suddenly stepped into the 21st century! spurs and all!! except this cowboy was singing along with an Ipod!! hahaha :P:P

I was about to walk back into the hotel when he saw me and trotted in my direction.

"Are you extremely busy right now?" he asked. I hesitated at first to answer, only because I have recently been slightly scolded for some of my impulsive actions and for what appears to some as a disregard for personal safety... every now and then I hear the concerned voices of some pleading with me inside my head to walk away.. But seriously, who could walk away from this Western relic on a horse????

"No, I'm not too busy at the moment.
What is it that you need?" I responded, cautiously for those who worry. :P

"I need to go inside that store over there, but I don't see a place to tie up my horse" He slowly says with a rugged North Western slur. "Do ya think ya can watch him as I go in?" he continues.

"OF COURSE!!" i respond, obviously eager to pet the horse. "What is his name?"

"Spooks"

The cowboy slowly gets off. I can hear the clink of his spurs hit the pavement and smell the heaviness of his cologne mixed with alcohol. He hands me a rope that he would have used to tie Spooks up with and tells me not to give him water.. strange request since I obviously don't have any water on me. I didn't ask why, just took the rope and began talking to my new friend Spooks! He was beautiful.

I'm outside the hotel doors for at least ten minutes with a horse, People are taking pictures from their hotel windows and children are pointing at me from the backseats of their parent's cars.

The cowboy returns with a small brown paper bag and tells me with a straight face: "I ride my horse because I drink (something inaudible), you can't get a D.U.I if your riding a horse"

HA!!

From there he continues to tell me that he breaks in horses for a living and rides them in rodeos... he tells me about Spooks, who is 6 years young and full of spirit. He then introduces himself as Ray and tells me that he owes me big and the next time I come through to keep an eye out for him because he is always riding town...

I had a pretty good day with a late sleep in this morning, great weather and spectacular views during the drive, but this really made the day that more special!!