Ghost Town of Cisco

[OlDoinyo]

Cisco lies at 1,330 meters' elevation on the semiarid steppe flats between Grand Junction, Colorado and Green River, Utah. It started in the 1880s as a water resupply point for steam locomotives on the D&RGW Railroad and later became a transshipment point for local sheep ranching. At one time, it boasted inns, saloons, and a post office; but it declined rapidly with the dieselization of the railroad. The road that passes the north side was once US Highway 6, a major transcontinental road, but when Interstate 70 was built in the 1970s a few kilometers to the north, the town was bypassed altogether and the present road has been demoted to an obscure, unmarked back road without even pavement markings. As ghost towns go, Cisco is not picturesque like Bodie or Kolmanskop, nor have any protection or conservation efforts been made on its behalf; although photos from two or three decades show many intact structures, the elements, vandalism and dumping have taken their toll, and most of the buildings are now in ruins. It remains a collection of disintegrating board shacks and cinderblock structures surrounded by junked vehicles and refuse, a forsaken-looking place indeed and something of a photographic challenge. Interestingly, Cisco was once used as a filming spot for several motion pictures, including Vanishing Point and Thelma and Louise.

 

As I arrived, Amtrak's California Zephyr rumbled through on its way to Green River and points west, but no trains stop here any more except when the Union Pacific (the present owner of the rail line) comes to park cars on a siding for storage. The station is long gone. It is almost eerily quiet out there; a car passes through perhaps two or three times an hour, and once a curious dog ambled up to investigate me before it decided I was not interesting and wandered off. I saw no other human beings during the hour or so I stopped there on February 20, and it is not clear if anyone still remains, though there is still electricity supplied to the area to power some of the railroad's trackside equipment. There are derelict cars, motor homes, camping trailers, and buses everywhere, as well as rubbish and numerous piles of animal manure. The light when I arrived was that glorious, clear late-afternoon Western light that occurs near sunset, as can be seen in this sample:

 

https://www.flickr.c...nyo/32216068024

 

The ultraviolet images I took render the ground more charcoal-grey and strip the "golden hour" veil away, giving a more somber aspect. Traces of titanium-dioxide paint show that maintenance of some buildings probably continued until about 40 years ago, but likely not much after that. Pictures were taken with the Sony A900, the Steinheil 50mm Cassar-S at f/16, and the Baader U2 filter. Display intent is BGR. A couple of attempts with the Tamron 21 misfired when I failed to get the focus against the stop, which I discovered only later.

 

"A Memory of Shelter:"

 

 

"The House of the Winds:"

 

 

(I liked the scraggly tree. A faint rosy glow is visible from the setting sun.)

 

"Cisco Downtown:"

 

 

"Block Party:"

 

 

"Demise:"

 

 

I think this locale might be worth coming back to with snow on the ground, but snow is not a frequent occurrence here; it was 10C with bright sun when I was there, and storms often skip this area to hit the Rockies farther east.

[Guest]

Excellent, intersting post! Would be even better if the posted images were a little bigger; maybe some close-ups as well. Thanks for sharing.

[OlDoinyo]

I am already close to my posting limit, and bigger files take up more drive space. You may view larger versions of most of these on my Flickr photostream.

 

My UV close-up/macro skill leaves something to be desired, and I had no extension tubes with me on this particular excursion. Blind focusing is not my strong suit.

[Andrea B.]

Clark, I will increase your posting space. (Done.) We start everyone out with a low amount because many members never post much. But if anyone begins to run out of space, it's an easy toggle to give them more.

 

Very interesting, this history of Cisco. This is not a ghost town I had ever heard of.