(Mid-September, 2020) If you’ve ever driven the empty spaces of the Great Plains, then you’ve seen them. That lonely farmhouse sitting abandoned in the fields. Boards weathered to grey with no hint of paint. Empty windows. Door standing agape. Roof with missing shingles – or altogether gone.

Perhaps, instead it is a forlorn and leaning barn slouching into ruin; or a solitary windmill with battered and missing vanes; or even a proud old wooden grain elevator standing silent sentinel over rusted railroad tracks. You have just seen a Prairie Ghost – sad relic of past lives and of bygone eras.

In this post we’ll pay our respects to several of these ghosts of the prairies and high plains. Join me now along lonely roads – coming away with melancholic memories …and few photographs.

Traveling the High Plains

Our visit with the Prairie Ghosts begins in travel. After spending a quiet summer in Iowa visiting with family, taking photos, and riding out the COVID-19 pandemic, it was time for us to hit the road. Our goal was to leave the Midwest before the snow flies, return to our winter grounds in southern California, and see a few sights along the way. We decided to travel through southern Colorado and spend October in Bluff, Utah, social distancing with friends there and doing some photography.

Our route took us from Lucas, Iowa, through the plains of Kansas and eastern Colorado. Along the way we had two-night stays at Topeka / Capital City KOA Journey, Topeka, Kansas; Dodge City KOA, Dodge City, Kansas; and La Junta KOA Journey, La Junta, Colorado. It is along this route we began to see many of the Prairie Ghosts.

A Visit with Prairie Ghosts

Given our pace of travel, we had very limited to time to stop and explore each area. I did, however, note several of these grand ghosts within thirty or forty miles of our campgrounds in Dodge City and La Junta – back down the road at Ardel, Kansas, and Hasty, Colorado, respectively. Time to pay these ghosts a visit.

Snapshots from Travels

First, a few snapshots from along the way.

Prairie Ghosts in IR

A few of the grand ghosts in enhanced color infrared:

Prairie Ghosts in IR – B/W

A few of the grand ghosts in enhanced color infrared and converted to black and white:

That’s all for now – stay safe – stay healthy – stay positive.

Map