Raptorguy14

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Journeys Into The Forgotten: Sierra Madre Mountain by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Sierra Madre Mountain

This was the second expedition of 2015 undertaken to find a lost ghost town. Sierra Madre was once the center of a mining district that briefly operated in Weber County. Since most of Weber County is developed, there are virtually no ghost towns there. Except this one. Even the name sounds exciting, Sierra Madre. Treasure of the Sierra Madre anyone? Do we need these stinking badges? The most productive mine was the El Dorado Mine (again, super cool name). Unfortunately, Sierra Madre was located in the high mountains. By the end of December, a thick layer of snow covered the ground. But I didn't care; with just my boots (not even snow shoes)

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Southern Nevada by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Southern Nevada

This trip was once again born out of a stressful work week. I ended up quitting my job less than a month later. My hotel was in Mesquite but I spent the vast majority of my time in Goodsprings. The first place I went to was actually in Las Vegas. See, I was a big fan of Friends, the long-running sitcom about six friends living in Manhattan. The chapel where Ross and Rachel get drunk and married (spoiler alert) is a real wedding chapel in Las Vegas. I went and visited that at about 7 in the morning. Once that was done I headed off to my next destination. The Pioneer Saloon had just barely opened as I walked into the building. My eyes scanned

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Boothe Valley by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Boothe Valley

Once upon a time there were several ranching villages on the Promontory Peninsula. The Promontory Peninsula is a section of the Promontory Mountains that juts into the Great Salt Lake. I'm not sure if it's actually called that but that's what I'm calling it. One of these towns was called Boothe, and the valley it lay in was called Boothe Valley. Mighty convenient. At some point Boothe Valley was abandoned and most people removed their homes and homesteaded elsewhere. A few were left behind and are ripe for the explorin'. Once I had directions to the valley, I saddled up and set off. Snow had definitely fallen by this time of the year and sma

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Eastern Utah by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Eastern Utah

As of this writing, this expedition was essentially exactly one year ago. I can't think of a better way to commemorate the one year anniversary of this expedition than to write my memoir about it. Lots happened on this trip, after all, and this lonely little explorer found love on this journey. Well...sorta. Love that never really turned into love and that only lasted like a few weeks and ended with her turning tail and running... Let's not get sidetracked. The expedition started after a tough work week. Like I said, call centers can suck the life out of you. The first snow had fallen in the higher mountains by this point, so I hoped and pra

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Antelope Island by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Antelope Island

Antelope Island is a pretty interesting place in Utah. It's not technically an island right now because the Great Salt Lake is so dry. One of the largest free ranging herds of American Bison is located on the island, as are antelope (obviously) and several other species of wildlife. The island offers hiking trails, horseback trails, and (of interest to me) several historical spots. The most famous one is the Fielding Garr Ranch, the ranch house being the oldest building still standing in Utah. But there were several other abandoned ranch steads on the island. I focused on exploring a new one on this trip. I have visited Antelope Island many

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Appledale by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Appledale

This one was really, really short. I drove to Appledale, took some pics, explained to some folks that I wasn't lost, and drove home. That's it. That's the extent of the trip. I don't even know why I decided to include this; Appledale has never been completely abandoned. It's not even known as Appledale anymore. Nothing remains of its 19th century past. I guess I could spend the rest of the time talking about its history. Yeah let's do that. Appledale was a town promoted by real estate companies. They claimed that farmers could get a good apple harvest from here, hence its name. Appledale was located just a couple miles away from Corinne, whi

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Transit Expedition by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Transit Expedition

I undertook this entire expedition using nothing but the Utah Transit Authority's bus and TRAX commuter rail routes. It actually only took me the better part of one evening to plan this entire trip. Granted, it did have its set backs. I wasn't able to reach every destination I wanted to, but I was still able to make the trip memorable. Plenty of interesting happenings...well, happened. And they are told within this regaling of my second urban exploration trip of 2015. This trip actually came close to being canceled. The morning I departed for the trip, I noticed that my eye had become incredibly swollen. I'm still not entirely sure what caus

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Gold Hill Expedition by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Gold Hill Expedition

Our first destination on the Gold Hill expedition was Delle. We visited Delle on March 13, just a day before my 21st birthday. We only stopped here briefly because our main destination that day was Wendover, but we stopped long enough to get some good photos. There really isn't much left of the told town, just an old motel and a couple of homes, but there is an active gas station at the site. I honestly think there are more dogs than people in town, though. We saw about three or four dogs in one backyard alone. They barked at us the entire time we were there. Probably because they're not used to outsiders wandering through their town. Delle

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Journeys Into The Forgotten: Sierra Madre Mountain by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Sierra Madre Mountain

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Southern Nevada by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Southern Nevada

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Boothe Valley by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Boothe Valley

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Eastern Utah by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Eastern Utah

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Antelope Island by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Antelope Island

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Appledale by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Appledale

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Transit Expedition by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Transit Expedition

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Gold Hill Expedition by Raptorguy14, literature

Literature

Journeys Into The Forgotten: Gold Hill Expedition

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Thompson Motel sign by Raptorguy14, visual art

Thompson Motel sign

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About Raptorguy14

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Artist // Hobbyist // Photography

United States
Deviant for 12 years
He / Him

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My Bio

When it comes to art, I mostly focus on writing and photography, but I do have a little experience in painting and drawing. I've been taking photographs for about seven years, but I made it into a more serious hobby about five years ago when I bought my first camera. I've been drawing and painting off and on for about seven years, but I've never gotten particularly serious about either. Finally, I've been writing for over a decade, and have become quite adept at it. I've lived in the Western United States all my life, and the farthest east I've ever been is Nebraska. I'm open to taking photo requests, so if you want a photo taken anywhere in the Western United States, feel free to contact me and I'll see what I can do!

Favourite Visual Artist

Anything that has to do with nature or historic structures

Favourite Movies

Jurassic Park trilogy, Back to the Future trilogy

Favourite TV Shows

Danny Phantom, Avatar: The Last Airbender

Favourite Bands / Musical Artists

Def Leppard, Journey, Hank Williams, Chris LeDoux

Favourite Books

Jurassic Park

Favourite Writers

Butch Hartman, Josh Schwartz

Favourite Games

Minecraft

Favourite Gaming Platform

PlayStation 3

Tools of the Trade

My trusty dusty camera, various pencils and brushes

Other Interests

US History, foreign language (German), country life, song writing/guitar playing/singing

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Raptorguy14

Sep 3, 2014

New photo series: Spring Canyon

0 min read

About seventy years ago, Spring Canyon, located just off of US Route 6 near Helper, Utah, was alive with activity. Heavy steam locomotives brought thousands of tons of coal out of the canyon on a daily basis and six mining camps were bustling with activity. The canyon was the picture of modernism; high-tech mining methods were used to extract the coal from the seams in the mountains. The mining towns also had many modern amenities such as asphalt roadways, electricity, and underground plumbing and watering systems. Over 4,000 people called the canyon home. Just ten years after the end of the war, as alternative energy sources were explored,