Fall in Sevier County

(First published Oct 4, 2011)


Went out to Clarion, just West of Centerfield. It may have been a ghost town once. I am not sure. But today it hardly fits... though you could take the right photos and pretend it was once. But I found it, camped out, built the tarp as a big lightning and rain storm provided a welcome upon my return, at long last, to The Great Basin...

The Ghost Towns Have Always Capitvated the Attention

The ghost towns have always captivated the attention of millions of people...

Yet, most who have ever read or wondered about Ghost towns have never had any concerte plans to ever actualy visit one.

And therein lies the true value of so much of the American West.

The wilderness, the open spaces, the mountain ranges, the deserts, the gold, the history and the dreams... The value of these places as intellectual resources have always been neck and neck with their value as material resources. For no matter how much we market ourselves, the great majority of our fellow citizens will be unable, or unwilling, to visit these places in person- and, if they should- only the tiniest minority will have the time and fiance to ever come close to seeing it all. Culturally, however, the idea of The West has perhaps been our country's most valuable export. Every year new films, songs, paintings, books, and even fashions are gobbled up by a public thirsty for an escape, a thrill, an inspiration. And so, in the steady march of time, do our actual histories and our fictionial histories merge and blend in the public consciousness...

I am a Writer and These are the Ghost Towns

Hello there.

My name is Christian, and since 2008 I have been researching and visiting Utah's Ghost Towns. In the summer I live in Green River, UT and I work as a guide on the rivers of the Colorado Plateau for Holiday Expeditions, Centennial Canoe, and Colorado Discover Ability. In the winters I work for skiers, live in a truck, hang out in libraries and colleges, and I work on a book. My ongoing work on Utah's ghost towns is scheduled to be completed by summer 2012. I am in search of a Publisher. This blog has been created to share with you my love for Utah's old forgotten places, as well as to promote my own project.

Some more info, along with various lovely photographs, can be found here.

Check back now and then, as this blog should get a new post every week or two.