west texas ghost towns

[bill yeates]

A lot of small towns in West Texas are ghosts or near ghosts.
Barstow is between Pecos and Odessa on I-20. Valentine is on
US90 between Marfa and Van Horn.

Bill Yeates

[jbrem]

Great images and finds. Your colors are amazing. Do you mind if I ask what you shoot with?

[bill yeates]

Canon D60 with a 28-135 f4.5 IS Love it!
Processing is mostly simple PS, levels, saturation, contrast, and
USM

Bill Yeates

[Dobick]

When I saw these I immediately thought of the song "Rollin' By" by Robert Earl Keen Jr.

There are some of his songs that wrap up an entire novel in a two and a half minute song, and the feeling I get from these photos is the same way.

It's a busted old town on the plains of West Texas.
The drugstore's closed down, and the river runs dry.
The semis roll through like stainless steel stallions
Goin' hard, goin' fast, goin' wild
Rollin' hard, rollin' fast, rollin' by.

And the mission still stands at the edge of the plateau.
A stone marks the graves where the old cowboys lie.
Asleep in a time, in a town just a youngster
Goin' hard, goin' fast, goin' wild
Rollin' hard, rollin' fast, rollin' by.

And the drive-in don't play no Friday night pictures.
No big silver screen to light up the sky.
Gone are the days of post-war-time lovers
Goin' hard, goin' fast, goin' wild
Rollin' hard, rollin' fast, rollin' by.

And me -- I stand here at the last fillin' station
Where the wind moans a dirge to the coyote's cry.
I jump in my car; I'm back out on the highway
Goin' hard, goin' fast, goin' wild
Rollin' hard, rollin' fast, rollin' by
Goin' hard, goin' fast, goin' wild
Rollin' hard, rollin' fast, rollin' by.

Awesome shots

[questor]

Bumping this old thread forward a couple of years. Is anyone interested in making a trek out to visit Barstow to shoot the ghost town? It's only a few miles from Pecos and might be an interesting visit based on the images in this old thread.

[Hogleg 44]

Did someone call my name?




Wish I could make it again!

[questor]

Lol, Yeah I'm thinking about making a trip sometime soon to go see a few of the west Texas ghost towns and was seeing if anyone was interested in making the trip.
No dates yet, I want the weather to clear a bit first.

[big-buck]

those are really cool

[Scoody]

Sorry to revive such an old thread but it seems that my new passion (photography) is in perfect harmony with my old passion (motorcycle riding) and a ride to these towns with frequent stops along the way for photos is a great way to spend a weekend.

[lfmerrell]

Toyah, Texas on I-20 about twenty miles west of Pecos. Right on the interstate.

[lfmerrell]

Originally Posted by Scoody

Sorry to revive such an old thread but it seems that my new passion (photography) is in perfect harmony with my old passion (motorcycle riding) and a ride to these towns with frequent stops along the way for photos is a great way to spend a weekend.

I've been following this blog for a while now. He combine motorcycling, exploring and recording such. Neat blog. Thought his experience in organizing his rides would Bo of interest. Rails Trails Bayous and Back Roads

Me being old and rickety I'd love to have a trike for my drive abouts, not in the cards by sane, I think, to be specific a Boss Hoss trike. Wife says our 52 year marriage would be down the drain.

[amadjuster]

Glenrio - just off I-40 on Rt. 66 at the New Mexico line. The cast and crew of Grapes of Wrath stayed there for 3 weeks filming, just after the road was paved. Not much left now. As soon as I process the pictures to the proper size, I'll post.

[venchka]

Originally Posted by lfmerrell

... Wife says our 52 year marriage would be down the drain.

I am faced with the same dilema.
Marriage.
Bike.

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..................

[tomdrink]

Originally Posted by amadjuster

Glenrio - just off I-40 on Rt. 66 at the New Mexico line. The cast and crew of Grapes of Wrath stayed there for 3 weeks filming, just after the road was paved. Not much left now. As soon as I process the pictures to the proper size, I'll post.

I'm looking forward to seeing your images - I almost went to Glenrio in March, but did not hit it at the right time!
TomD

[ctp93]

Take a look at the area of LaJitas. Not that far from Marfa really. Super cool old town there that has an entire main street restored. The old hotel / saloon is restored. Very cool place. I know it was an 11 hour drive from Dallas. ha