Monthly Archives

July 2014

Sunrise in Cisco

by Kaylah Stroup July 31, 2014

Remember in this post when I mentioned that the very first stop on our roadtrip was a ghost town in Utah but my film photos didn’t turn out so hot, and I wasn’t exactly pleased with my digital ones either but maybe the photos really aren’t that bad but are kind of overshadowed by the photos I am really pleased with from the trip? Yeah, that! I went back through all of the photos, edited them, and actually ended up really liking them. So, here are my photos from Cisco, Utah.

According to what I could find in my brief attempt at figuring out what happened to this town, Cisco was settled in the 1880’s and served as water-refilling station for the Denver and Rio Grande Western Railroad. Cisco met it’s demise when diesel and electric locomotives superseded the steam locomotive. The town is only mere minutes off the highway so vandals rapidly accelerated the town’s journey into decrepitude. And perhaps it will mean more to you than it will to me, but Cisco was featured in Thelma and Louise, as well as Vanishing Point. Neither are movies special to me, but I can definitely appreciate the fact that might be why someone would be interested in this place.

I still hard time believing this really happened. Not just our amazing luck of finding a ghost town at sunrise the very first morning on the road, but the whole trip in general. When I think about it for too long I get a little teary eyed. That was honestly one of the best weeks of my life thus far. I don’t know, maybe it’s not really everyone’s thing but if ever ever ever get the chance to spend a week exploring somewhere with someone you love or even by yourself, DO IT.
xoxo

Updating to add that three years later, this is where Jeff proposed!

burnt + abandoned factory

by Kaylah Stroup July 28, 2014

Not too long ago Jeff and I found ourselves inside a new building. Not a new building new building. Quite the opposite actually, this one had been abandoned and even caught on fire at one point. This is just one of the very few we’ve gotten to explore for the first time together. The building was fairly small, at least compared to a lot of the other places I’ve been in. Inside there were three floors. The first was dark, damp, and full of miscellaneous furniture. The second floor was full of chairs, and the third just had desks. The first floor seemed to be the one most affected by the fire. Charred desks were scattered about. The second and third floor had their own problems, namely reeeally really sketchy floors. I’m honestly surprised one us didn’t have at least a foot go through.

Like I mentioned above, the first floor was dark, and damp which is the absolute perfect condition for mushrooms to grow. I’ve spotted mushrooms in abandoned buildings before. It’s always exciting but there were SO many here. In the past I probably would have admired them briefly before deciding it was way too dark to shoot and moved on. Buuut I am learning my camera, and I have someone who is always encouraging me to push myself. With the flashlight from my phone and the perfect camera settings I was able to shoot these photos. I’m obsessed with them. I couldn’t wipe the stupid grin off my face after I saw what I captured. I love that the mushrooms look like they’re about to be abducted by aliens!

xoxo

abandoned truck stop

by Kaylah Stroup July 24, 2014

Recently Jeff and I stumbled upon this incredible abandoned restaurant / gas station / truck stop / former motel. From the road it just looked like it would be a quick stop but we really had no idea how awesome it would actually be. I’m not one hundred percent happy with all of these photos but I do think there are a few winners in the bunch, and the others just help give a better idea of what this place was like.

I’d really like to head back to this place to shoot it again. Like I said, I didn’t expect the building to be as awesome as it was so I was kind of having a difficult time concentrating on photographing it. I just kept wanting to see what was around every corner. Not to mention it was fairly dark inside, and I didn’t have my tripod on me.

xoxo

what I wore : back again

by Kaylah Stroup July 22, 2014

details

dress – Brand New Bookstore Dress c/o Modcloth

belt – City Song Vintage

shoes – Blowfish Shoes

camera bag – Siena c/o Jo Totes

lapel pin – garage sale

ring – Lilacs In The Sun

bracelet – c/o Rings & Tings

Oops! I took another accidental outfit post hiatus. You guys, I’ll get the hang of this again. I swear! It’s so easy to forget to do, or not make time to do once you fall out of the habit. But I really do miss outfit posts, and I hope you miss seeing them.

It’s also easy to forget to take outfit pictures when your wardrobe has changed significantly. I think I talked about it once before, how I grew up having “nice” clothes and “play” clothes and even though I’m an adult now I still can’t seem to merge the two. Since my two main hobbies are urban exploration and biking, I spend most of my time in tank tops and shorts not pretty dresses. I’m normally covered in dirt and somehow always have bike grease on my leg. I miss wearing my “nice” clothes though. Jeff’s sister’s boyfriend hosted a white linen party last week and since I literally don’t own any white (I mean, I have tons of black and white stripes… but that doesn’t count) this is what I wore. It felt really nice to put on something pretty. But hey, maybe sometime soon I’ll shoot an outfit true to what you’d find if you encountered me out on a bike ride, bike grease and all!

Anyway, THIS DRESS! Holy smokes. I’ve been stalking it forever. It finally went on sale and I went for it despite being nervous about the mixed reviews. It fits like a dream! I feel so great in it. Any item of clothing that makes me feel cute and dainty, as well as powerful and sexy at the same time is a win in my book!
xoxo

Where I work…

by Kaylah Stroup July 21, 2014

The space I call my ‘office’ has changed so much over the years. I worked on a coffee table at my parents for a while before they gave up and made me a little tiny room out of a corner in their home. I moved into my own home a while later where I worked out of the dining room while my dad built me an incredible craft room in the basement. Flooding and low light forced me into the spare bedroom of that home, where I stayed for a while. Finally, I changed rooms again in that home one last time before moving out and getting an adorable apartment of my own. I don’t have a spare bedroom in this apartment so I decided to make the best of my space and set up camp in the back corner of my living room since I didn’t really need the space anyway.

I’m really liking this space. I’m sure it will continue to evolve as time goes on but for now it’s perfect. This is one of the first times I’m working from an open area as opposed to being in a room where I’m kind of cut off from the rest of the home, I like this a lot.
xoxo

Source list:
Paranoid pennant, , astronomy poster, , moon calendar, muscular system poster, globe mirrors, stay home pennant, patches, be optimistic patch, girl holding tooth print, desk

Happy Anniversary, Klaus!

by Kaylah Stroup July 20, 2014

One year ago today I met the sweetest little guy ever. This pup is seriously one of the best things to ever happen to me. Even though I don’t think it’s possible to like him any more than I already do, each day I do just that. Can I be dramatic for just a second and say that I don’t even know what I’d do without him? He’s the best company a girl could ask for.

A few of my favorite posts about Klaus:
Newest member of the TDS crew – his very first appearance on the blog.
Just a pupdate – some precious pictures of my puppy in a bow tie.
Klaus + Crum – my two favorite puppies playing together.
Another pupdate – cute pictures, and some silly facts about my boy.
What I wore + a pupdate – a puppy afraid of the beach.
10 things making me smile – Klaus playing in the snow!
A girl and her pup – a post full of pictures of Klaus and I. It’s one of my favorites!

While looking through the posts about Klaus, I found this one with a list of “Klaus facts” which are hilarious to me. To this day he still rolls over to show his belly to anyone who approaches his crate. Sometimes he won’t get up until you give him some belly scratches. He’s still not much of a barker, although in the last few weeks he’s started barking at some strangers on the sidewalk oops but still he’s so quiet in the apartment. He loves being close and will always do his best to squirm his way in between Jeff and I. He LOVES tennis balls more than ever. One of his favorite things to do is bring all of his tennis balls into my bed one by one.

Something that is new to Klaus since that post is that he’s finally starting to get along with the cats. Wait, let me reword that – the cats are finally starting to get along with him. Kind of crazy to me that it’s taken a year but better late than never, right?! Klaus so desperately wants to be friends with them. On more than one occasion I’ve caught Klaus trying to give Professor a ball or bone. The cats have actually gotten to the point where they’ll lay in bed while he’s in there too. Professor is even sometimes tolerant enough to let Klaus groom him. I have to fight the tears when I see that big goofy puppy licking that tiny kitty’s ears.

He’s also taken quite a liking to mud puddles. I still haven’t convinced him that the beach is fun. I’m thinking that will take the help of another dog who actually likes waves. But while he was at my parents my mom sent me this photo. Apparently he likes to play for a while then take a break, and cool off in the mud.

Glad you’re mine, Klaus! Here’s to many more years of petting your belly, and playing the cheese game.
xoxo

abandoned amusement park

by Kaylah Stroup July 17, 2014

Hidden behind some homes in a sleepy little town remains the skeleton of once booming amusement park. The park was open for one hundred years, opening in 1878, and eventually closing in 1978. Since then mother nature has been doing her best to take the park back over. There isn’t much left still standing in the park, and according to a list I found online it seems something else is getting demolished (or burnt down!!?) every few years. I feel pretty lucky to have been able to see what was left at this point even though most of the larger things are now gone forever.

After we left the park I text my mom a photo of the ferris wheel. When I told her where it was she said she recalled going there when as she was younger. I asked if she had any photos to which her response was that she was “14 or 15, and more interested in boys at the park than taking pictures.” I also asked if she rode the ferris wheel, she said she didn’t remember but I could say she did if that made my blog post more interesting. Haha. I suppose there’s a great possibility that she did ride if even if she was too distracted by cute boys to remember. That’s a really neat thought to me, that my mom probably rode that ferris wheel or one of the roller coasters that’s since been demolished. I enjoy this hobby for a multitude of reasons but one of my favorite things is definitely hearing from people who had a personal connection to a place. I’m not quite old enough to have places that I’ve really spent any amount of time in become neglected to the point where they’re just abandoned. But I hope that someday when a building or place I have some connection to is in complete disrepair that someone will take photos to share.
xoxo

May Natural History Museum

by Kaylah Stroup July 16, 2014

One of my favorite stops of our roadtrip last month (how has it been that long already!?!) was actually our very last stop. On the Roadside America app I saw that there was a giant beetle right outside of the town we’d be spending our last night in so obviously I had to go. Then I realized there was also a museum. The one review for the museum that really stuck out in my mind gave me fairly low expectations but hot daaang, the museum was amazing!

The May Natural History Museum is one of the world’s largest private displays of insects. The museum’s founder, John May, spent over 80 years traveling the world collecting specimens. I was expecting something similar to the insect cases any natural history museum has, but wow, his collection blows every other museum I’ve ever been to out of the water. I spent my entire visit with my eyes lit up like it was Christmas, and the biggest, stupidest grin on my face. I saw insects I didn’t even know existed! It was seriously just so awesome.

The museum itself is fairly small in size, takes maybe five minutes to walk through if you’re not interested, but any bug lover could easily spend way over an hour. If you’re anywhere near Colorado Springs, Co, the May Museum is a must! For more information on the museum, including their hours and prices, visit their facebook or website.
xoxo

Don Parks’ Yard of Statues, Signs + other junk

by Kaylah Stroup July 15, 2014

In Phoenix, Arizona we stumbled upon this incredible yard. Similar to Jerry Lotz’s yard in Louisville, KY which I visited back in February, Don Parks has a whoooole lot of junk in his front yard…

Don had a little bit of everything. He’s been collecting statues, signs, and other fun miscellaneous things for over forty years. In 2012 he even purchased the property across the street so he could have more room to collect! There is just SO much to see.

I’m so excited that there is more than one place out there with people that have extravagant collections like this in their front yards. Like I said in the post about Jerry’s junk, even though I could never see myself amassing a collection like this, there’s just something that draws me into collections and their owners. It’s like I just get it, I understand how it feels to be passionate about weird things. If there is Jerry, and now Don, there has to be more! I want to visit them all.
xoxo

All of the photos above were taken with a pentax k1000 and Fujifilm 35mm Superia X-TRA 400.

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