Tag:

Travel

Boothill Graveyard

by Kaylah Stroup July 11, 2018

Boothill Graveyard in Tombstone, Arizona is easily the most tourist filled cemetery I have been to. Even more so than Granary Burying Ground! It also marks the first cemetery I have ever paid admission to check out. $3 gets you entry, a pamphlet detailing all of the known burials, and a short speech about the cemetery from the sweetest little old lady. (Dream job much???)

Tombstone wasn’t originally on our itinerary but when I realized how close we were I figured it’d definitely be worth a detour. With a name like Tombstone, it’s no surprise that I’d be interested in visiting this historic town. Tombstone calls itself ‘the town too tough to die!’ Its a place essentially frozen in time. Down the main strip, lots of original buildings remain some even decorated with bullet holes from gunfights. There are ghost tours, daily gun fight reenactments, mine tours, gift shops, a shooting gallery and most exciting to me, pressed penny machines galore!

All of that was great but I was most enthused by the cemetery! Since the original grave markers were wood very few stood up to the test of time. What can be found now are recreations. Some are humorous, like Lester Moore whose epitaph reads as follows…

‘four slugs
from a 44
no les
no more’

Others give the cause of death such as Six-Shooter Jim who was ‘shot by Burt Alvord’. Then there are lots that are just ‘unknown’. The pamphlet you get when you enter gives you even more information. To be honest, I didn’t look at it once while still in the cemetery because I was so excited to see everything and take photos but I really enjoyed reading it once we got back in the car. The cemetery isn’t that large but there’s lot to see.

boothill graveyard, tombstone, arizona, cemetery Tombstone, AZ

It was hot as heck, and the graveyard was full of living folks (I did an A+ job shooting around people, huh?) but we all really enjoyed ourselves. Definitely worth the price of admission to cross yet another famous US cemetery off my list!
xoxo

More from this trip;
▴ just married!
▴ instant photos from our wedding week
▴ that time I got married in a ghost town
▴ Cadillac Ranch

Cadillac Ranch

by Kaylah Stroup July 3, 2018

Cadillac Ranch, Amarillo Texas, Roadside Attraction

It’s been nearly a month since our last big roadtrip. Ya know, the one where we got married. I thought things would slow down after the wedding but honestly, it’s been crazier than ever. I feel like since then I’ve had one huge wedding hangover. I’m just now getting around to sorting and editing all the photos I took on that trip!

The original plan for this trip was that we’d fly into Las Vegas since it’s not too far of a drive to Flagstaff and normally has really cheap flights from Cleveland. When we first started planning our wedding/the trip flights were just under $100 round trip. We made the stupid mistake of not jumping on that deal. The longer we waited, the more the price went up until we eventually just came to the conclusion it’d be dumb to pay that much to fly to Las Vegas. We did some shopping around and ended up finding some decently priced tickets from Cleveland to Dallas. About a month before the wedding, we finally pulled the trigger. We’d fly into Dallas, Texas and then drive to Flagstaff which is the closest city to the ghost town we chose for the ceremony.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Holy smokes, Kaylah, that’s a long drive!” Yep! 14.5 hours without including time for stops! Buuut that was actually what sold us on the idea of flying there. Neither Jeff or I had ever been to Texas and it only seemed right to add an actual element of road tripping to our adventure! We love exploring new places any chance we get but one of the things that really sold us on choosing this route was that we’d finally get to visit Cadillac Ranch.

If you’re not familiar, Cadillac Ranch is one of the most popular roadside attractions out there! 10 Cadillacs are half-buried nose-first in the ground. Each completely covered in spray paint. It’s been really really reeeally high up on Jeff’s list of things to see for quite some time now and obviously, I love stupid roadside attractions so visiting on our wedding trip was an excellent plan!

We arrived in Dallas on Tuesday afternoon, made a few small stops along the way and arrived at Cadillac Ranch just in time for magic hour. Much to my surprise, there weren’t many people there. (Something I had been stressing about!) It was perfect. The sky was beautiful and Cadillac Ranch was just as great as we had built it up to be.

Obviously going into this I knew that people painted the cars (and that I should come prepared with the goods to leave my mark) but I didn’t realize just how popular it was. The cars are covered in a couple inches of paint! Literally multiple inches of paint! There were a few spots where we saw people left their mark by actually carving their name into the thick build-up of paint. My brother, who drove from Ohio instead of flying, visited a few days before we arrived. He posted photos of each of his daughters painting their name and even wrote the name of our shared wedding album on a car. It was completely covered by the time we arrived!

I’m excited that Jeff and I finally got to visit and even more excited that my parents were there too. I loved hearing my dad talk about when he had visited nearly 40 years earlier. It’s literally just cars buried in the ground. Nothing too special but it was the perfect start to our family roadtrip.
xoxo

If you like cars half-buried in the ground, you should also check out International Car Forest of the Last Church!

Lake Erie Shores & Islands – Unplugged

by Kaylah Stroup June 28, 2018

Special thanks to Lake Erie Shores & Islands for sponsoring this post! Lake Erie Shores & Islands Travel Guide

Massie Cliffside fishing dock

If you follow me on instagram, you probably caught wind of the awesome little trip I just got back from (or at least I hope you did!) I promised a massive blog post recap, and that’s what I’m here to give ya today!

I was recently contacted by Lake Erie Shores & Islands about a little campaign they were doing that focused on two things I love very much – Lake Erie & unplugging. Obviously, I was quick to say ‘yes!!’ Armed with a Polaroid camera and a hefty list of places to visit over a three day weekend, we set off to have one incredible trip. Each day we made a conscious effort to pick up our phones as little as possible.

We packed a lot into three days. It’s honestly pretty amazing how many new places and things there were to experience just an hour away from home. A lot of people don’t realize how big Lake Erie is. It can easily be mistaken for an ocean. Travel just over an hour west of Cleveland and you would think you were on the Atlantic coast. There are several islands and coastal towns along the shore, each with plenty of restaurants and attractions. I think the best way to go over everything and share some of our new found favorite places is just to start from the top…

Put-in-Bay

left to right, top row; watching the waves at Put-in-Bay beach, Lake Erie Island Historical Society Resale Shop. Bottom row; Massie Cliffside Preserve, Exploring Put-in-Bay (even the kind of flooded spots) via golf cart.

Friday

Our little adventure started out with a trip to Put-in-Bay. Put-in-Bay is a small (2.5 by 5 mile) island in Lake Erie. I had never been there, nor did I know much about it but I ended up having a blast.

We took Miller Ferry (my first boat ride!) to the island and immediately picked up a golf cart from E’s Golf Carts. Although you can bring your car over on the ferry, it seems like most people opt to explore the island via golf cart. Holy cow, what a blast that was. Wade brought along his portable speakers and we spent most of the day bopping around and waving at other people in golf carts. We ate the most delicious brie, chicken and arugula pizza from Frosty’s, browsed the resale shop, checked out the island’s two cemeteries, and enjoyed mochas from the Chocolate Cafe & Museum.

Highlight of our visit to Put-in-Bay for me though? Dinner at The Boardwalk. Jeff has literally been talking about their lobster bisque since we met. It was incredible! (Also, my first time having lobster!) I ordered the crab and shrimp eggrolls which were so tasty. I would legitimately go back to the island just to eat there again.

We took the last ferry back to the mainland so we could head to our hotel, Country Inn and Suites in Port Clinton, for a good night’s sleep before the next day’s adventure. I was honestly sad to leave. The island isn’t that big but there’s a lot to do and explore! Everyone we encountered was super friendly, including the parents of a pup named Captain Jack in a pirate costume. (Clearly, that was a highlight of our visit too.) Just good island vibes all around!

put-in-bay, the watering hole safari park, lake erie, lake erie love

left to right, top row; Macey the giraffe at The Watering Hole, bumper boats at The Watering Hole. Bottom row; Massie Cliffside fishing dock, sunset at Huron Harbor Lighthouse.

Saturday

We started the morning at Tin Goose Diner which is an authentic 1950’s diner that was trucked in from Pennsylvania. It’s now part of the Liberty Aviation Museum. Typical diner food (aka my favorite!) and judging by how busy the place was I’d say a lot of other folks think it’s pretty tasty too!

After fueling up, we headed to The Watering Hole Safari and Water Park at Monsoon Lagoon. I’ve actually driven past here a few times but had no idea all the fun that was to be had there. Putt putt, go-karts, a water park, bumper boats, and a petting zoo. We were most excited about the zoo because… well, animals. Duh! It was nothing short of amazing. I’m honestly shocked I didn’t cry happy tears. I bottle fed baby goats, held an armadillo, touched hands with a lemur, fed a giraffe, and CUDDLED A BABY SLOTH!!! It was clear that all the employees really loved the animals, and that the animals felt a connection as well.

After that, we checked out the water park section of the park. Happy to report that it was really fun, even for an adult! We stayed just long enough to cool off and test out each of the water slides. (Five of them – all super fun! One that was even a little fast for me.)

We made it out of the park just before the sky started to fall, and had lunch at The Original Margaritaville. I had their shrimp tacos which were out of this world. I highly recommend getting yourself some of those. It continued to rain on and off for a while, and we were all feeling a little drowsy after swimming (swimming always takes it outta ya, eh?) so we stopped for coffee at Gathering Grounds Coffee. Get yourself a sparkling lavender lemonade. Holy cow!

The city of Huron has a super cute little waterfront area. It’s a great area to walk around. Live music right on the water, a bunch of food options, and a super cheery vibe. Our hotel, Comfort Inn River’s Edge, was so close to all the action you could even hear the music from our room!

Dinner on Saturday was at Bar North Bistro. This was the one time we had reservations, and coincidentally we were still full from all the food earlier in the day. I figured we’d just get appetizers until we looked at the menu. We each got a huge meal… and devoured it. Everyone really enjoyed their food but I think we can all agree ‘devils on horseback’ is where it’s at. (That’s dates stuffed with brie and wrapped in bacon. SO GOOD!)

The evening ended with sunset on the Huron pier. We hiked out to the lighthouse and watched as the sky treated us to beautiful colors. It was busy on the pier. Not crowded in a bad way though, the kind of crowd where you can just tell everyone out there is just enjoying life. It was lovely.

left to right, top row; walking out to Huron Harbor Lighthouse. Bottom row; Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium, building cairns Sherod Park Beach.

Sunday

Sunday morning we woke up and headed 20 minutes east to Vermilion. Vermilion is somewhere Jeff and I have been before a couple of times just to geocache. Every single time we visit one of us ends up mentioning how nice it’d be to move there. It’s just such a sweet little town. Plus it’s home to Granny Joe’s Ice Creamatorium! A cozy breakfast joint and ice cream parlor housed in what used to be a funeral home. A short walk away Lake Erie awaits! We wandered around Main Street Beach and checked out the beautiful lighthouse before hopping into the car to head to Sherod Park Beach.

From the parking lot, Sherod Park Beach doesn’t look like much but once we got down to the beach I quickly realized this could easily become one of my favorite beaches along Lake Erie. Tons of gorgeous rocks cover the shoreline. I’m not a huge rock hound but I do appreciate pretty rocks and usually, end up finding a few to bring home anytime I visit the beach. I was already carrying a few rocks when I happened to glance down and a marble caught my eye! There wasn’t much beach glass there so I definitely wasn’t expecting to find something as awesome as a glass marble, especially sitting right on the top of the rocks like that. All my time spent on the beach and this was my very first marble! I’m definitely interested in heading back for some more beachcombing… like right now.

A short twenty-minute drive away from Sherod Park was our next adventure, Common Ground Canopy Tours & Zipline. The four of us had never ziplined before but we were all over the moon at a chance to give it a shot. I presumed it would just be like one platform to another and then you’re done but it was SO much more. Seven ziplines, thirteen tree platforms, three ariel bridges, two spiral staircases, and a floating staircase! The course takes about 2.5hrs to complete. We had a blast! Our guides were so nice and felt like old friends by the end of our visit. They even take photos throughout the course so you never have to touch your phone but still have photos. I cannot recommend Common Ground Canopy Tours highly enough!

We had all worked up an appetite by the end of our ziplining excursion. Everyone at Common Ground recommended the same restaurant, The Feve in Oberlin. It was AMAZING. Honestly, the whole weekend was packed with delicious food so it’s hard to pick a favorite meal buuuut my breakfast burger was easily the best breakfast burger I’ve ever had.

Lake Erie Love, Vermilion, Ohio lighthouse

Vermilion Lighthouse

Clearly a jam-packed weekend. We ate a ton, saw a ton, and spent tons of quality time together because no one had their phone out. It’s amazing what magic awaits just an hour away from Cleveland and how much of it you’ll experience if you just stop checking your phone every fifteen minutes.

I love our beaches here but visiting all the ones we did over the weekend truly felt like a vacation. I kept thinking “okay, and what time do we need to get to the airport again?” because it felt like we were a lot further away from home than we were. Lake Erie is pretty incredible!
xoxo

that time I got married in a ghost town…

by Kaylah Stroup June 25, 2018

Two Guns Wedding, ghost town wedding

I don’t even know how to start this post. There’s so much to say about our wedding and honestly, so much I just want to keep private. I’m straddling this weird line between sharing something I’m proud of and excited about and keeping it all to myself because it really is so special. Either way, this is going to be a long, photo heavy post and I’m sure as soon as I hit “publish” I’ll think of a thousand other things I wanted to mention but here we go…

Jeff and I live to travel. It’s such a huge part of our relationship. Neither of us care for traditional weddings so it was a no-brainer we’d have a destination wedding. Based on our travel history and the fact we’ve made it an annual tradition to go there, the desert was also a no-brainer. We’ve spent the most time in Arizona, California and New Mexico but aside from Cisco, UT where he proposed there was only one other spot that we loved as fiercely – Two Guns, Arizona. I had always half-jokingly suggested we should get married there but never really thought it could actually happen or put too much thought into what the logistics of that would look like.

Shortly after proposing Jeff mentioned “So, I was thinking Two Guns?” I was too emotional to talk about it but I couldn’t believe he was actually suggesting it. I finally stopped crying for long enough to have a conversation where we decided that yes, Two Guns would be the perfect spot to get married but before we officially made the call we wanted to make sure our families were down to travel. I was worried that it would be asking too much. Much to my surprise, everyone was totally on board. Not a moment of hesitation from either side.

Seven months later a grand total of thirty people, including Jeff, myself and our photographer, made our way out to Arizona. Each group took their own route, came in on different days, and did a variety of different things leading up to the wedding but all eventually met up at one of our favorite places in the world, Two Guns!

Two Guns is a ghost town outside of Flagstaff, Arizona. It has a long, kind of wild history but currently just sits baking in the desert sun. The property contains many ruins, including old cottages, a campground, a service station and even a zoo! Can’t forget to mention the cave either. (Heck yes we got photos in the cave!) Truly a playground for Rt. 66 travelers!

It’s actually for sale! If anyone would like to give it to us as a wedding gift, that’d be rad.

Like a lot of the abandonment in the desert, it’s not really a big deal to visit. There are no fences to hop to access the property, and it’s literally right off a highway exit. We figured we’d just show up, get married and leave after we were done. We had no plans to decorate. It’s seriously perfect as is! Since the ceremony was going to be super short we didn’t even bother with chairs. We did however end up choosing a spot with lots of objects to sit and lean on which worked out very nicely. It was essentially a wedding flash mob.

One of my brothers officiated the ceremony. He got ordained just for us, and spent a good deal of time practicing by marrying my niece’s stuffed animals because he was so nervous (mostly just because he didn’t want to cry!) So sweet.

On June 9th, 2018 at 9 am Jeff and I got married on top of an old crumbling building in the ghost town of Two Guns, Arizona.

It was nothing short of incredible. I spent so much time stressing about everything from the dress to if we should decorate or not but it was legitimately perfect. I can’t think of a single thing I’d change. It was so perfectly ~us~. We’re both just over the moon.

I will not say this is my favorite photo because I could never choose but you guys, I am LIVING for how fierce I look up there. Was I just married or am I ready to go into battle?

All photos in this post are by Madeline Barr. Finding the right photographer was the biggest task in planning this wedding. Jeff and I were both really stressed about it. I cannot express how happy I am that we hired Maddie! She is a blast to be around, made us both feel super comfortable in front of the camera, and gave us the wedding photos of our dreams. I seriously can’t believe these are photos of us! I’m already plotting what excuse we can make to fly out to San Diego and have her photograph us again. She’s amazing, hire her!

more details
dress + topper –BHLDN
pink underskirt – Amazon
shoes – Palladium Boots
flowers – Sutcliffe Floral
pants + vest – Express

Most of these photos were just part of the preview that our wonderful photographer sent over the night of the wedding (what!?) and somehow she’s already finished up the rest of the photos. I’ve pored over them so many times. I’m completely obsessed!!!

At this time I’m not sure if I’ll be sharing many more photos. The day before the ceremony Jeff and I were sitting at a cute little coffee shop and we started talking about how the whole idea of a wedding was super weird. It’s such a personal thing. Even though we had only invited the closest people to us, it still felt like too much. Looking back on it now, I love what we did and I’m happy everyone who was there was there but I can’t even imagine how we would have been able to deal with a bigger or more traditional wedding.

When we went through all the photos Maddie had sent us, I felt that same way again – just like this is SO personal, how could I ever share these with someone else?! I want to hoard them away for just us. Does that make sense? Did anyone else feel like this? I never thought that I would and maybe I’ll end up feeling more comfortable about it all after it’s not so fresh. For now, I’m happy just sharing these.
xoxo

instant photos from our wedding week!

by Kaylah Stroup June 18, 2018

Polaroid Originals color frame

Just a little round up of Polaroid film shot on our wedding road trip! One week on the road. We explored abandoned buildings in the desert, visited roadside attractions, hung out in a couple of caves, spent time checking out the Grand Canyon and uh… GOT MARRIED.

These road trips out west, which have become an annual thing for us, are the one time of the year that I completely go wild shooting instant film. It’s not a cheap hobby so I tend to hoard my film. There’s quite literally more film than food in our fridge most of the time!

Obviously I went into this trip knowing it would be even more special than normal. I took SO MANY POLAROIDS! Photos I know I’m going to treasure forever. The one of Jeff and I at our wedding, looking tough with our friends might be one of my absolute favorite polaroids ever. I already have it framed*. My scanner didn’t do it justice, at all.

I’m a huge fan of this film and it’s actually fairly inexpensive these days. I mean, comparatively. Still a little over $2 per photo but NOTHING beats being able to physically touch a photo, and watch it slowly develop. Despite the fact they’re not even close to the quality you’d get from a digital camera, there’s just something so special about them! I only wish I had taken more of them on this trip!
xoxo

*These frames are perfect for displaying instant film!

Just married!

by Kaylah Stroup June 13, 2018

photo by Madeline Barr

I’m baaaaack. A little sunburnt, super sleepy and most importantly… MARRIED.

I did my best to get the blog all scheduled up before leaving but failed to get anything queued for this week. I’m not even worried about it though. It felt really nice to step away from the computer, and work for a week. One whole week spent with my family, friends and HUSBAND. Exploring the desert, eating all the gas station snacks, and making memories. I have so many photos I want to share – both my own and ones from our incredible photographer, Madeline. (She had a sneak peek ready for us the next morning. I can’t stop looking through them!!!)

When I packed for this trip I forgot to include my gratitude journal which means I woke up this morning I had a lot to write down. I have so many thoughts and stories to start writing about as soon as I catch up on sleep but I just wanted to share a little list of good things, random memories, and happy thoughts from the last week in no particular…

▴ Finally crossing Cadillac Ranch off the bucket list!
▴ The lady at the courthouse put ‘Justin’ on the marriage license instead of ‘Jeff’. She was embarrassed but we thought it was hilarious. It’s especially funny because Jeff loves to give fake names. (Obviously she fixed it.)
▴ Found the best coffee shop in Flagstaff, Single Speed Cafe. Had the best lavender latte of my life the day before we were married.
▴ Went into this knowing where we’d get married but not the exact spot. It was a blast hiking around with everyone to find the perfect spot to exchange vows the day before the wedding. Definitely one of my favorite memories of the trip. There were even puppies involved.
▴ Sunsets in Arizona are seriously top notch.
▴ The Wigwam is heaven on earth + the perfect place to have a mini reception! I just wanna swim forever.
▴ Exploring abandoned buildings with my dad was just as fun as I thought it would be!
▴ You guys, we got married in a ghost town, on top of an old tower complete with a spiraling staircase. Easily the best location EVER.
▴ Three words – complimentary cheese plate.
▴ So many great cemeteries! (Hello, welcome to the only blog where someone will be raving about how fabulous both their wedding and the cemeteries were!)
▴ Second to youngest niece correcting all the other kids – ‘He’s not Jeff anymore! He’s UNCLE Jeff!’
▴ Swimming with my nieces and nephew.
▴ Water slide races, even my dad + brothers got in on the action.
▴ Jeff looked soooo fine on our wedding day, and gosh darn it, I LOVE seeing that ring on his finger.
▴ Another favorite moment – Elycia going into the cave with her youngest, Olive, strapped to her in the carrier. We have zero plans for kids but Elycia is serious #momgoals.
▴ I only cried a little bit during the ceremony! I’m just as shocked as you are. Spent most of the day laughing, and just feeling overjoyed.
▴ Still can’t believe our friends and family came to the desert to watch us get married. I could cry about it now.
▴ Our wedding was legit perfect. PERIOD.

It was the trip of a lifetime!

That’s all for now. I have so much more to share later but we got home at 2 am this morning. Professor was meowing his little kitten head off and since picking Klaus up a little earlier this morning he hasn’t left my side, except to get toys to bring me. I have some cuddling to do!
xoxo

Mill Fork Cemetery

by Kaylah Stroup January 3, 2018

utah, cemetery

Throwing it back to November’s road trip again! (Scroll on down to the bottom of this post for a complete list of posts about this trip in order)

The last full day of our trip was all about making our way, slowly but surely, back into Colorado so that we find a hotel close to the airport for our flight the next morning. We didn’t really have many things mapped out and we’d be covering a lot of ground that we had already gone over a few days earlier. Roadtrips are weird because they’re equal parts rushing, and just sightseeing at our leisure. Like, it’s totally fine to spend all day wandering around somewhere that wasn’t exactly planned but the last thing we want to do is drive around looking for one specific thing. Some Google research told us there was lots to explore but there were also lots of mixed reviews on how accessible said spots were. We decided to just wing it and drive. If we found something worth photographing that’d be great. If we didn’t that just meant we’d get to the hotel sooner to try and sleep off our colds!

While cruising down the highway we spotted an interesting looking sign in just enough time to slam on the brakes and pull in. The sign read Mill Fork Cemetery. I had nooo idea what to expect but I was excited because I had said earlier in the day “I just want to check out like one more cemetery before we go home.” As we crept slowly up the rough driveway I spotted a rickety wooden bridge off to the left. The only thing visible past that was a fence. I could not jump out of the car fast enough. I darted to the bridge, tip toed over it and excitedly opened the gate. Initially I was a bit underwhelmed. There were only a traditional headstones, there rest were small plaques. Inside the big fenced in area was a few other fenced in areas. The more I looked around though, the more I realized what incredible find this was!

Mill Fork Cemetery is super small, FindAGrave lists a mere forty-six memorials, but this place sure packs a punch. Maybe it’s the surrounding landscape? Or the fact that it’s so well maintained? I mean, how many cemeteries have you been to that have a guestbook!? While not the prettiest or easiest to photograph, the small fenced off areas inside the larger fence felt so intimate. The pristine grounds made it clear someone cared very very much about this place. The guestbook, which was housed in a small house shaped box, made you feel welcome. Visiting here didn’t feel like you were invading someone’s personal space. Instead I felt like I had been invited to be apart of something really special.

By the end of our short visit at Mill Fork Cemetery I had already declared that it ranked among my top five favorite cemeteries! If you’re out cruising around Utah, you need to put this spot on your itinerary.

If you’re interested in reading more about Mill Fork Cemetery, I recommend checking out this article from the local newspaper. It seems as though many buried in this incredibly peaceful place died tragically.

Abandoned Mill

by Kaylah Stroup December 20, 2017

Throwing it back to November’s road trip again today! After catching the ghost town of Frisco at sunset, Jeff and I headed back to Provo for the night. We had stayed there the night before and found a great hotel at a super price so it seemed like an easy choice to go back that way for a good night’s sleep. Plus there was an In-N-Out like two miles away from the hotel so duh. This was also the time both of us started to feel sick. We slept in as much as possible, which isn’t very late at all since we’re early birds, and then started off on another day of adventure. It was the last full day of our trip so we decided it would be best to start working out way back toward Colorado but before we could do that there was one thing we had to check out!

Located on the side of a mountain in a tiny town in Utah, this now abandoned refinery only operated for a few short years from 1921 to 1925. These days it’s looking a little rough. The ruins that remain are covered in terrible graffiti. But boy, oh boy! They are a sight to behold. I’m not sure my photos can properly shows just how HUGE this place is. It was a pretty tiring hike considering the massive cold my body was trying to fight but wow, what a spot! I don’t think it’d have quiet the impact it does if it didn’t have such incredible views though. Utah is just gorgeous!

ghost town – Frisco, UT

by Kaylah Stroup December 12, 2017

ghost town, travel blog, offbeat travel blog

Unlike Silver City, we had the ghost town of Frisco on our radar before even leaving Ohio. I was super stoked to visit. The photos I had found online looked rad, and the cemetery sounded right up my alley. Sadly, we arrived a biiiit too late in the day to see everything. While the sun was still in the sky when the navigation announced we had arrived, it was setting fast. Frisco isn’t located right in view of the road, and is kind of hard to see especially that time of the day. If you weren’t looking for it, you very well might cruise right on past.

We turned down an unmarked street… perhaps it’d be better to call it a ‘path’ though. It was dirt, it was rough, and it was a bit much for our tiny rental car. We also weren’t sure we were heading the right way. So, we tossed it in reverse and headed toward a second dirt path which seemed to be in even worse condition but did have a few ruins visible off in the distance. We pulled over as much as possible, not that being in anyone’s way would ever be a problem there, grabbed our camera bags, and ran to the ruins hoping to catch the last of the day’s light.

We stayed until the light had completely left the sky, which wasn’t very long after we arrived. Jeff seemed excited about his photos, so that made me excited, but I wasn’t expecting much from what I had shot.

ghost town, offbeat travel, utah, sunset in the desert Frisco ghost town, the dainty squid, utah, travel blog,

Fast forward to last week when I finally got around to sorting the photos from this stop, I LOVE THEM!! Like love love loooove them.

I know, I know, I talk about how special these trips are all the time. In nearly every roadtrip post I moon over how they’re always the best weeks of my life… and they are! I love being out on the open road with Jeff. There’s no place I’d rather be. We have so much fun, and see so many incredible things. It’s not all peaches and cream though. Sometimes we forget to eat and run out of energy before finishing exploring a location. Sometimes our rental car is a piece of crap. Aaaand sometimes we don’t plan well enough and show up to a location too late to really shoot it to it’s fullest potential. But maybe that’s what makes these places so great. I love our hectic vacationing style. I love cramming a million sights into one trip. It forces you to appreciate what’s in front of you that second. There’s no sense in fretting about what could have been or how great it’d have been if only this or that happened.

Being able to see Frisco with those gorgeous colors in the sky was just a dream! We didn’t have long, and it was incredibly cold but it was perfect. I love that we left feeling like it was this magical place that held so many secrets.