The Last Train

My Dad brought us from our cabin to Virginia City to see what life was back in the day…and no, we didn’t go by trainI have a real obsession with photographic textures as you may know.  This place was chuck full of textureI can’t help but think of John when looking at these pictures…he’s a train man and after seeing this I can see whyJust look at the paint peeling around this window on the train…texture!  I can only imagine the train when it was fully functional…those days may be long gone but in it’s own way I think it’s still beautifulI actually wish I could have taken some pictures of this place at night..I think the shadows would have been interestingThe old iron on these trains had seen better days.  I guess they are raising money to do something with these old trains…I ‘d say they have their work cut out for them.  All aboard?  The local houses looked much like the trainOne of the old barns had some rusted metal attached to the weathered siding…how cool!  Hmm, I had never in my life heard about thisCheap cash?  Isn’t that all we have these daysFaded Glory still flies.  No, I did not walk through these doors and wet my whistle.  We aren’t the lone star state however there was still a lone star here.  I love the look of old rusty hinges on weather buildingsNothing like a groundhog eye view of the railroad tracksThe end of this rail seemed like and exclamation point of sorts.  I found the old structures near the old trains as interesting as the trains themselvesI thought the back door to this train car was really in quite good condition.  Look at this old wagon that carried luggage I would imagineNevada City and Virginia City both are terrific places to visit…this way…Please make yourself comfortable while you wait for the next train.  These red trains were in far better shape then the other ones we sawDoesn’t this make you almost see people coming and going back in the dayI have to say ladies:  I’m already “spoke-en” forThat joke was so bad it about made my nose bleed…ugh.  Some talk about white picket fences…but I like this oneI wonder if these were the last trains out that just never leftThis train reminded me of something that would fit right in on the set of that old Clint Eastwood movie where he painted the whole town redCan you imagine traveling any distance in one of theseThese old hand rails had a style of another age too…I think they’re amazing.  It wouldn’t be right to end this blog without showing you the caboose!  We have some warmer days coming but the leaves are about done in for the year…I’m going to have to get creative.  Next time I will cover a few more pictures from our cabin adventure and a few more from the city center…they even preserved the old items in the stores…stay tuned!

Every Rose Has Its Thorn…

I’m starting this blog where the other left off…a rose of sorts.  I figure that the beauty of nature speaks to me about as much as anything because it needs to be tough to survive.  Looking out on the endless grassy plains and mountaintops in the summer makes it easy to forget that it had to endure a tough winter to provide the scenery now.  Seeing snow not far from this point brought it all home to me…there’s a real struggle to live here but it’s managed to not only barely make it but thrive!  The numerous lakes have picked up names of the abundant life here.  Our cabin is named for one of the unusual creatures in the area…something akin to a Mud Puppy.  Distant peaks rise to a height where you can see nothing on them but rocks and a bitt of snow…I love when clouds kiss the top like this.  We first saw a moose along the road as we approached the cabin but I couldn’t get a picture of it…later on as Dad and I walked a road beyond the cabin I saw it in the distance once again.  This “rose” certainly has its thorn however this bumblebee doesn’t seem to mind one bit.  A cup of coffee and this view greeted us every morning.  I loved reading my Bible and letting the sun warm me from this spot!  Chipmunks abounded here and watching their antics was a very entertaining prospect at any time of the day.  I can never get enough of the pine and the mountains!  One lake that we walked to had some dead trees on a little knoll…there’s something about trees like this that I find artistic.  There was a beaver slapping his tail on the water some distance away on this lake but I couldn’t get a picture of him…still I liked the scenery from where I sat.  I could actually have been tempted to swim in this little lake…it was a wonderful day!  The view on the other side of the lake really was amazing too.  Notice the snow on this distant peak.  The sun breaking through the clouds left patchwork patterns on the plains below.  Every rose has its thorn and every pinecone here had its pitch!  I’m glad that it wasn’t too dry here because I can imagine pitch covered pine trees burning pretty easily.  The new pine was making a great start on its struggle to survive…I think there’s a lesson here.  Anything worth living for is worth fighting for.  Life with all its challenges is worth living.