Some old, familiar places

Alright everyone, my cabin trip photos are finally drawing to a close. It had to happen someday. I've been back in New York a while now, and man city life is hard for me. I just never feel like I have any time. for anything. everything feels rushed. I always feel out of breath and like I have at least six things to worry about at once. Just looking at these photos makes me long to be up on the mountain again with peace and quiet. So here is the last of my photos with pretty backdrops- get ready for some serious concrete action ( assuming I even have daylight to work with)



On the way up to the cabin and on the way back down, we always stop through Koosharem- a tiny little town of about 300 people, where my ancestors settled, my grandpa grew up, and my dad spent his summers. There is one store in the whole place- the general store, where we used to stop to fill up on candy and snacks. This huge mural is painted on the side, so we always called it the overalls store.













There are a LOT of Bagleys here, and the Bagley property we always visit dates back to the age of the town itself, I think. There's an old farmhouse, and some even older barns and sheds, one of which used to be Koosharem's one-room schoolhouse in the 1800's(last photo). In earlier years, the old barn used to be filled with bales of hay, and our parents would drop us off and let us play in it while they grocery shopped or visited with family. We loved climbing to the very top bale and touching the roof, digging tunnels through the heaps, and throwing fistfuls of the musty stuff at each other. The smell always reminded me of grandpa's horses.

I really wanted to stop at the barn and photograph my sisters and I in/on the hay like old times, but plans were foiled in every possible way: one sister skipped the trip for homecoming, the other sister who did come refused to get out of the car, and the barn was empty. Luckily, my dad was awesome and willing to help me out with some photos, and his help was invaluable. I'm so lucky he's such a patient guy and willing to listen to my vision. Inside the barn was still a really neat atmosphere, even sans hay.





















There used to be a pair of barn owls that lived in here back when I was way younger, and I would get so excited when we were able to see them in the daytime. They had the cutest faces- almost like a cute cartoon version of a ghost. I wanted one as a pet so bad, until I found out I would have to feed it mice. I'm glad I got to visit this barn again after all these years, but it was kind of bittesrweet without the accompanying memories like the hay and the owls.















I really like that posting this coincides with Halloween time. The place really feels like a ghost to me- only a shadow if even that of what it used to be, and laden with memories for every generation in my family. Some of the broken boards along the barn's walls even resemble teeth, like a giant monster about to swallow up its visitors. So fitting.