kodachrome project @denver (fujica ax-5)

During the spring of 2010, I decided to take some of my Kodachrome stash on a trip to Denver, Colorado, since I had never been. Unfortunately, the weather was less than cooperative and overcast during a substantial part of my trip. Despite the cloud cover, I did manage to burn a few rolls of Kodachrome.

I stayed in downtown and found this groovy Rocky Mountain Diner neon sign near my hotel. Staying downtown was worth the loot, plenty of excellent restaurants and fantastic bars were within walking distance (a mile or so) from my hotel. I slept at the Magnolia, which I highly recommend.

After exploring near the hotel, my wandering took me to Lodo, where I discovered a vintage Coca-Cola sign adorning the Wazee Supper Club. Sadly, I did not get a chance to hang out at the Wazee Supper Club on this visit, but I did enjoy its unique ambiance on subsequent trips to Denver.

In my travels through Lodo, I came across Manny's Bridge. The bridge was built by the Pennsylvania Steel Company and completed in 1908. It originally served the Denver and Rio Grand Railroad, but eventually fell into disrepair. The bridge is named after Dr. Emanual Salzman, who was instrumental in rehabilitating the bridge for pedestrian use. Manny's Bridge is an important connection between Lodo and both the Cherry Creek and Platte River Greenways.

In addition to shooting Kodachrome, I traveled to Colorado to sample the multitude of tasty craft beers brewed in the state. Conveniently, Great Divide brews their delicious beers in downtown Denver and also has a swank taproom. Walking to Great Divide for a tour and some brews, I discovered some colorful graffiti.

My first trip to Colorado was a blast, I enjoyed exploring and sampling craft brews even though the weather was not always conducive to photography. I enjoyed it so much that Colorado has become an annual trip for me, albeit without Kodachrome.

adventures with s and d @auraria ghost town (fujica ax-5)

My friend D suggested we explore some ghost towns and sent me a list of several in the southeast. We decided to start with Auraria, Georgia, as it was reasonably close to Atlanta. In 1828, gold was discovered in north Georgia and several miners arrived on the scene. They founded Auraria, which was the first gold rush town in the state. Eventually, the gold ran out and the miners moved west, settling in what is now Denver. A few buildings are still standing in Auraria, Georgia.

On the appointed day, I picked up S and D, as well as M, who rode along for safety, and we drove north on Georgia 400 to Lumpkin County. Upon arriving in Auraria, we parked near Woody's Store, an old wooden building that was open for business into the 1980s.

We all piled out of the car and began taking pictures. S had battery issues with her digital gear, but had fortuitously packed a Nikon FE, so she photographed with that. I found a nicely weathered Coca-Cola sign on the side of Woody's. On the front porch of Woody's, I discovered a groovy old vending machine starting to decay.

Up the street from Woody's, we came upon the remains of the Graham Hotel. I had hoped to explore the interior, but as shown in this photograph of the collapsing Graham Hotel, the building was in an advanced state of decay and entering was out of the question. Across the street from the store and hotel are some unidentified ruins. This foundation and what might have been the roof are all that is left of the building.

Auraria also had an old graveyard. I was unhappy with most of the shots I took in the cemetery, but I did get this photo of a decaying monument. Sadly, no ghosts were encountered in either the town or the graveyard.