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While traveling a road less traveled, I found the town of Ophir, Utah. The photo shown here was attached to the ore wagon shown in my portfolio. It shows a large steam traction engine pulling four ore wagons that were each hauling 15 tons of ore. This was the way ore was hauled from the Cliff mines to the St. John rail loading station from 1903 to 1912 when the railroad arrived in Ophir.

Finally! I have found the perfect place to get away from summer's heat! If you read my last blog post about the tunnel entrance, this is the tunnel. Stepping into it in the summer is like stepping into a refrigerator. My hands were freezing when I stepped out into the warmth of the sun again! Next summer I will know exactly where to go to cool off!

A few days ago I went looking for the "other" end of Wickes (or Boulder) Tunnel. I've tried to find it a few times, but this time I succeeded! It looks much like the end I'm more familiar with, but this end held a surprise for me. As I stopped to take this photo, I felt a very cold draft! It was coming from the tunnel! I've never noticed that on the other side although I've mostly been there in the winter when the tunnel is full of ice and it is like walking into a freezer.

It is still hot here in Montana. I thought this photo of a creek with a bit of snow in it might help you cool off if you, too, are having a hot summer.

Tonight we had some rain and the air smells good! Thinking snow!

To help you cool off from the heat of summer, I've decided to add some winter photos to my websites. This photo was taken in 2007 on my first visit to Comet. I was completely unprepared for what I found there...it was the biggest ghost town I had seen. I was like a kid in a candy store running all over to take as many photos as I could before dark. As you can see, it was snowing quite hard when I took this picture.

I have been back to Comet many times and I still find new photos to take. Sadly, the town is deteriorating due to theft, vandalism, cows, carelessness of those who visit, and age. I have photographed many items that have been stolen in just the past five years. Please remember, if you visit ghost towns, most of them are privately owned. The items you may find there do not belong to you. They belong to the people who own the property. I am always excited to find a ghost town that still has buildings and, even better, personal property. I take my photos and leave everything as I found it for the next person to "discover".

In addition to the link I posted below, this automobile has been posted to my web pages here at Fine Art America in the Ghost Town gallery where you can check out some of my other "finds".