I recently spent several days in Eastern Washington. Then spent another ten days in the Eastern Sierras of California.

“The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely, or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature, and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.”

— Anne Frank, Diary

Located just southwest of Quincy WA, Quincy Lakes State Wildlife Area is one of my favorite places for hiking and photography. There are numerous trails throughout the 12 square miles of lakes, waterfalls, mesas, benches, box canyons, and potholes.

“The summit is what drives us, but the climb itself is what matters.”

– Conrad Anker

“If gold has been prized because it is the most inert element, changeless and incorruptible, water is prized for the opposite reason -- its fluidity, mobility, changeability that make it a necessity and a metaphor for life itself. To value gold over water is to value economy over ecology, that which can be locked up over that which connects all things.”

— Rebecca Solnit, Storming the Gates of Paradise

“It is not so much for its beauty that the forest makes a claim upon men’s hearts, as for that subtle something, that quality of air that emanates from old trees, that so wonderfully changes and renews a weary spirit.”

― Robert Louis Stevenson

“The clearest way into the Universe is through a forest wilderness.”

― John Muir

“Those who dwell among the beauties and mysteries of the earth are never alone or weary of life. Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts. There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature -- the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter.”

— Rachel Carson, Silent Spring

"Landscapes of great wonder and beauty lie under our feet and all around us. They are discovered in tunnels in the ground, the heart of flowers, the hollows of trees, fresh-water ponds, seaweed jungles between tides, and even drops of water. Life in these hidden worlds is more startling in reality than anything we can imagine. How could this earth of ours, which is only a speck in the heavens, have so much variety of life, so many curious and exciting creatures?"

— Walt Disney

“Flowers are a proud assertion that a ray of beauty outvalues all the utilities in the world.”

— Ralph Waldo Emerson

“Once upon a time, when women were birds, there was the simple understanding that to sing at dawn and to sing at dusk was to heal the world through joy. The birds still remember what we have forgotten, that the world is meant to be celebrated.”

— Terry Tempest Williams, When Women Were Birds

“But the love of wilderness is more than a hunger for what is always beyond reach; it is also an expression of loyalty to the earth, the earth which bore us and sustains us, the only home we shall ever know, the only paradise we ever need — if only we had the eyes to see. Original sin, the true original sin, is the blind destruction for the sake of greed of this natural paradise which lies all around us — if only we were worthy of it.”

“Nature is indifferent to our love, but never unfaithful.”

— Edward Abbey, Desert Solitaire

“I think over again my adventures.
My fears,
those small ones that seemed so big.
For all the things I had to get,
and to reach.
And yet, there is only one great thing;
the only thing.
To live to see the great day that dawns
and the light that fills the world.”

— old Inuit poem

"There's only one light..."

— Irving Penn

"A city is not gauged by its length and width, but by the broadness of its vision and the height of its dreams."

— Herb Caen

“This world is but a canvas to our imagination.”

— Henry David Thoreau

“The longer I live, the more beautiful life becomes. If you foolishly ignore beauty, you will soon find yourself without it. Your life will be impoverished. But if you invest in beauty, it will remain with you all the days of your life.”

— Frank LLoyd Wright

A recent trip included my spending several hours in Port Gamble, WA on the Olympic Peninsula. Port Gamble is listed on the National Register of Historic Districts.

"Imagination is the liberty of the mind. It is intrepid and eager, and the extreme of its achievement lies in abstraction."

— Wallace Stevens

“Photography is the art of observation.  It's about finding something interesting in an ordinary place…  I've found it has little to do with the things you see and everything to do with the way you see them.”

— Elliot Erwitt

As a kid, I used to spend time on the wheat farm that my Mennonite grandfather Joe Schrag homesteaded near Ritzville, WA in 1904. Back then, before the days of the automobile, farmers lived on their land. Now many farmers live in town and “commute” to their farms. Many of the old homestead houses, barns, and other outbuildings have been abandoned and are gradually disappearing from the landscape.

I’ve been thinking about this project of documenting these abandoned buildings for some years now. A Schrag family reunion in the summer of 2019 inspired me to get started. In 2018 I purchased a DJI drone, and it’s the perfect tool for this. My wife’s comment that these places were “nothing left but the skeletons” gave me the name.

Some of these properties were the homes of relatives of mine.

A few years ago I bought a Phantom 4 drone. After learning some shooting and editing techniques, these are the first for me to post.

These 4K videos are linked from my YouTube account. You may have to adjust the display settings (gear icon at lower right of video display frame) to get the best resolution.