Barns – RDZ Photography

Sonoita, Arizona – August 2022 – Empire Ranch

In the high grasslands of Southern Arizona lies the Empire Ranch. This ranch at it’s largest covered 180 square miles, larger than the city of Philadelphia. While there are still some cattle still on the land, it is mostly a nature preserve.

Located between the Whetstone Mountains and the Santa Rita Mountains, the land lies at 5000′ in elevation, providing enough rain for the grassy fields to support the cattle.

In addition the Cienega Creek runs through the ranch, providing nearly year round water.

It is not normally this green, Southern Arizona has had an active monsoon season, and everything now is very green.

The original homestead is maintained by a non profit group called the Empire Ranch Foundation. Among other things they maintain the house, and additional buildings.

The home, as well as most of the buildings, is built out of adobe and wood. Many have had a skim of stucco added later.

Inside the ranch house, and attached other buildings, there is a collection of items from when the ranch was active including a butter churn, cowboy spurs and other items.

This view shows evidence of the original adobe walls.

With the green grass, and the old outbuildings, it felt as though you were in the midwest, as long as you ignored the 7000′ to 9000′ mountains in the distance.

This structure is known as the saddle drying barn.

One final look at another of the old adobe buildings before we head off to the next adventure….

Urbana, Ohio – October 2020 – Random Views of Champaign County and beyond

Architecture, Art, History, Transportation

Todays road trip through the country takes us to the town of Urbana, county seat of Champaign County. Full disclosure – some of the photos are likely from border counties as I was on country roads without county line markers.

Each little town seemed to have a commercial block of 100 year old buildings, this one with a restored clock tower.

Talk about a barn find for the Ohio countryside – an old Mercedes with late 1980s license plates!

An abandoned school in a crossroads town.

This stylish little building was in the small town of Mechanicsburg.

Normally ‘Quilt Barns’ are much larger than this, but the contrast of the farm implements added to the look of this one.

Not too many farms date from 1814 in Ohio.

Eventually I reached the town of Urbana. As with most county seats it seemed to have the best collection of buildings in the area. Some nicely restored, some not so much, it was worth the stop.

The Hotel Sowles dates from around 1800, it is said to have hosted every Ohio governor from the beginning of the state until 1900. A community effort resulted in this great old building being restored.

This former bank in an Art Deco look is now a law office.

The Perpetual Federal Savings and Loan has been located in Urbana for 140 years. The building is generally designed in a Roman Corinthian style, but with classical touches. A true midwest building it is built out of Minnesota granite and Indiana limestone situated in a small Ohio town.

Personally I think the Yellow Mini sets it off nicely.

This classic Gulf Gas Station from the 1970s is still in use as an auto repair shop.

The local airport is home to a small museum where they are restoring a B-17.

This small theater started life in 1904, However in the 1930s it was destroyed in a fire, and was rebuilt in 1941 – hence the Art Deco look.

It is currently undergoing restoration.

Urbana has a number of great ghost signs.

This vacant, decaying building once housed a company that provided galvanized iron for railroad use.

Just across the street is the former train station, now a coffee shop. This station served the Pennsylvania Railroad for many decades.

Our time in Urbana is over, time to move on.

Newark, Ohio – August 2020 – Random Views of Licking County

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation, Water Features

Today’s tour is Licking County. The unusual name comes from the proliferation of ‘Salt Licks’ that were in the area when it was settled by Europeans. Salt Likes are a natural occurrence that wildlife used to gain critical minerals.

While many of the barn photos on earlier postings were dilapidated, but today’s is in excellent condition.

The small town of Granville is home to Denison University. It is a liberal arts college that attract students from out of state.

Swasey Chapel sits high on a hill above town.

Next door is Swasey Observatory. Apparently Swasey gave you both the virtual view of the heavens as well as the physical.

The Doane Administration building.

Newark is home to a number of large earthworks. The Hopewell Native Americans were prolific mound builders.

The photo below shows the Octagon Mound. In the early 1900s this area was sold to a group who built a golf course around the mounds.

The Ohio Historical Society owns the land now, and is in the process of evicting the golf course to return it to it’s original state.

The nearby Great Circle Earthworks is one of the largest in the world.

Interestingly it is restricted airspace so the drone wouldn’t go into the circle for a photo.

Newark is known as ‘Mound City’.

The area around the courthouse square has a number of historic buildings.

Lancaster, Ohio – August 2020 – Random Views of Fairfield County

Architecture, History, Nature, Transportation

The Random Views of Ohio Counties continues with Fairfield County. This county is the transition from suburban Columbus flatlands to southern Ohio rolling hills.

Rock Mill is a restored grain mill in a park, but with Covid it was closed.

It appears the field in the foreground was soybeans this year, but corn last year – with a few left overs regrowing. They look as though they have been left behind from the rest of the corn in the far field.

Random views of the countryside, most with an abstract approach.

The largest city is Lancaster. As you approach town from the east you pass the vintage Skyview Drive In Movie Theater. With the social distancing the drive in movies are making a comeback, but the Skyview has been there since 1948 (old photo is from their website)

Downtown Lancaster is comprised of almost all 100 year old buildings. This one has not only been well restored with ornate details, it has a couple of great ‘ghost signs’ on the side.

An old shoe factory is starting to come back to life.

The county fairground’s famed round barn.

Normally this time of year the fairgrounds is getting ready for the big event – the county fair. Not this year – just vacant grandstands.

Fairfield County has one of the largest collections of covered bridges in the country. This one is located on the community college grounds.

Marion, Ohio – August 2020 – Random Views of Marion County

Uncategorized

This posting is the start of a series of Ohio County focused random views. Unintentionally many of Marion County’s turned out to be barns and other structures in various states of disrepair.

A right hand drive Rolls Royce.

The late summer provided many contrasting colors with the barns.

The corn is so high it felt like walls along the road.

Marion is a railroad town. The light off in the distance was an oncoming train, but is a couple of miles away.

Marion was home to President Harding.

They have built a new Presidential Library for Harding, showing that no matter how crooked you are you will eventually get a Presidential Library.

Virtual Travel – Iowa

Architecture, Art, Festival, History, Museum, Nature, Sports, Transportation, Water Features

In previously postings I have shown examples of the tremendous population growth many of the states have experienced over the last 50-60 years. Iowa is the opposite of that. In the mid 1950s there were 2.7 million people in the state, up only 500,000 from 1900. In the next 70 years the population has only grown another 500,000 people.

It is the heart of the cornbelt, as exhibited in this graphically impressive 1954 map.

This scene could be from 1900, 1955 or 2020.

1957 – The graphics are still impressive with this view of factory and a highway.

Des Moines 1957

2020 streetview of the same intersection. Despite minimal population growth the city has changed dramatically.

1970 – Herbert Hoover Presidential Library. It was built and dedicated in 1962, not long before Hoover died in 1964.

1974 – Herbert Hoover’s 100th birthday.

Herbert Hoover is the only U.S. President that was born in Iowa. Hoover however is often ranked among the worst presidents in history, although everyone is up one now.

Hoover was born in the town of West Branch, Iowa in this small house. (photo from Wikipedia)

1971 – A collage of scenes around the state. The scene in the lower left is the Pella Tulip Festival.

The Pella Tulip Festival has taken place every year since 1935. Today the town plants 200,000 tulips in celebration.

1972 – Seasons in Iowa.

1973 – Joliet and Marquette. The early explorers in Iowa (and elsewhere).

1975 – State Symbols

1976, 1979 & 1983 – Generic (read – boring) covers

1986 – Another collage including riverboats.

The eastern border of Iowa is the Mississippi River. There are a number of towns and cities along the river that have transitioned from commerce to tourism.

There are also riverboat casinos in Dubuque, Bettendorf and Clinton. (Photo from Travel Iowa).

1988 – Another collage but in the form of a quilt.

Des Moines each year holds ‘Quilt Week’. (Photo from Pintrest)

1991 – The collages continue.

Among the photos this year is the Iowa State Capitol. Built between 1871 and 1886, the building is the only 5 domed capitol in America. (Photo from All American Scaffolding website)

1994 – Snake Alley in Burlington.

Iowa is well known for being mostly flat landscape. Along the Mississippi River however there are some bluffs, including the one in Burlington.

In 1894 they built a street up this bluff with multiple curves, giving it the name of ‘Snake Alley’ It rises 58′ (17.8m) in a distance of 275 feet for a 21% grade.

For perspective here is Canton Avenue in Pittsburgh, claimed to be one of the steepest streets in the world – rising at 37%. To Pittsburghers 21% is considered a level yard.

1995 – Pikes Peak State Park. What, I thought Pikes Peak was in Colorado?

While it does have a panoramic view, I think they are over advertising using that name.

1996 & 1998 – The collage returns, this time with a butterfly each time.

In 2015 there was a push for the Regal Fritillary (this butterfly) to become the official state butterfly, but nothing came of it. These maps pre-date that effort by nearly 10 years!

1999 – 100th Anniversary of the first man carrying glider in Iowa

As the map states in 1898 14 year old Carl Gates flew in this glider, pulled along by a horse. He later went on to attend the Armour Institute of Technology in Chicago, later building small airplanes.

The reverse side of the map has a tribute to transportation in Iowa over the years. From canoes to steamships to trains, Iowa has seen it all pass by.

The Lincoln Highway was one of the first transcontinental roads, passing through Iowa on it’s way from New York to San Francisco. There is a very famous bridge in Iowa that celebrates this road. (Photo from Iowa Girl on the Go blog)

2001 – Collage again, including a covered bridge. Those that read this blog know I rarely offer negative commentary but once on a flight from Atlanta to LAX I attempted to watch Bridges of Madison County. This movie was set, and filmed in Iowa in 1995, and the bridge featured on this map.

To me that movie was so bad I wanted to jump out of the plane somewhere over Iowa, but to each their own.

2002 – Collage (again) with crossings.

In an attempt to find this rail trestle above I came across the High Trestle Trail. This rails to trails opened in 2011, crossing it’s namesake span over the Des Moines River.

I have only been to Iowa twice, and then very briefly, but this looks worth the trip (Photo from Wikipedia)

2003 – Again the Bridges of Madison County bridge!

2004 – Collage including a Railroad Museum.

Among the railroad museums in Iowa is the Union Pacific Railroad Museum. Located in Council Bluffs, it details the history of this railroad. Located in a former library, the museum at times sponsors rides on this great train below to raise funds. (Photo Omaha newspaper)

2005 – Collage including the Black Hawk Bridge spanning the Mississippi between Iowa and Wisconsin.

An unusual cantilever through truss design, it was completed in 1931. There are plans to replace this bridge in the next 10 years or so. Personally I love these old bridges with their Erector Set gone wild look.

2008 – Collage including downhill skiing in Iowa.

The Mount Crescent Ski Resort in Honey Lake, Iowa has a vertical drop of 250′! (Photo from Onthesnow.com)

2009 – Collage including ‘Barn Quilts’. These decorations grace barns throughout the state.

Sac County has enough of these Barn Quilts they have a tour. The tour can be found at

Barnquilts.com – where this photo came from.

2010 – The Bob Kerrey Pedestrian Bridge is a 3000′ long walkway across the Missouri River between downtown Omaha, Nebraska and Council Bluffs, Iowa.

2011& 2013 – Additional visits to the Capitol.

2012 – Small Town Iowa.

2014 – Great River Bridge at Burlington. As with many modern bridges this is cable stayed, however uniquely it is uneven – there are 13 pairs on one side and 14 on the other side.

2015 – One last collage including hot air balloons.

Each year the National Balloon Classic comes to Des Moines. For 9 days over 100 hot air balloons fill the skies over the city and surrounding countryside. (Photo from Radioiowa.com)