Nothing hits the reset button like a road trip with a couple of old, film cameras – even if just for the day. On this day it was my favorite home away from home, North Park, Colorado. North Park is still “old Colorado” and I enjoy that immensely. North Park sits unassumingly, tucked quietly between the heavily traveled Steamboat corridor and Poudre Canyon.

I’ve written about North Park quite a bit before – there’s just something appealing about it that draws me there time and again. The lack of people? Guilty. The grand vistas? Surely. Old, weathered buildings and funky road-side machinery with tons of character. What photographer wouldn’t be?

Miles and miles of nothingness. Quiet. No franchises or big box stores. Just enough convience stores to keep the car going. Very few stop signs. Even fewer stop lights. And plenty of high, wild mountains as far as you can see in every direction. Unpredictable weather producing ever-active skies. Wildlife. Great fly fishing when the light fails to cooperate. A hop, skip and jump from southern Wyoming.

Any time of year… who could want anything more? I’m about as happy as a guy can be when I’m wandering around North Park.

Rustic Inn vintage sign along Colorado Highway 14's Poudre Canyon. Larimer County, Colorado (2015)

Rustic Inn vintage sign along Colorado Highway 14’s Poudre Canyon. Larimer County, Colorado (2015)

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)

Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)

North Park, looking towards the Rawah's, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)

North Park, looking towards the Rawah’s, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)

Streamliner Mobile Home along Colorado Highway 14's Poudre Canyon. Larimer County, Colorado (2015)

Streamliner Mobile Home along Colorado Highway 14’s Poudre Canyon. Larimer County, Colorado (2015)

Old Dodge Gasoline hauler, Walden, Colorado (2015)

Old Dodge Gasoline hauler, Walden, Colorado (2015)

Jackson County Courthouse, Walden, Colorado (2015)

Jackson County Courthouse, Walden, Colorado (2015)

North park home, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)

North park home, Jackson County, Colorado (2015)