Friday, February 1, 2008

Flashback Friday: Algodones in Black and White

No, I didn't forget about this, I just got busy today and put it off. Then I was going to put a certain set of James' pictures up, but in going through some of my own, things started to take a different turn (I promise, I will get to the other pictures at a later time).

I had this great blast from the past this week when I came across a man who served his mission in my "home" ward about 10 years ago (give or take a few years). He was the first, and nearly last, missionary that my dad tolerated to have over for dinner because he was from South Africa and had a great accent and lots of interesting stories to share.

The whole encounter got me thinking about where I grew up. It's a little town called Algodones that is nestled right between Santa Fe and Albuquerque NM. Though the bigger towns around it change so drastically, this little place seems to stay the same. In high school I got to document a lot of the town, especially around my parent's property, on film (ie black and white pictures). All of these pictures are scans of my original hand-developed, darkroom photos from my junior year (1999-2000). I've got some more from my parents' house that I'll share at a later time, but I just wanted to let you all in on New Mexico's best kept secret.

The rest of the building burned right down to the ground years ago, but this little jewel hung on.


Miscellanous Creepy Ruins


The tracks that run by our house
Many a penny (and nickel and dime) were squashed - and still more lost in the attempt - on these tracks. I don't know how many days we spent walking up and down this stretch. On summer nights, when the windows in the house were open, the roar of the trains was deafening. I loved it. But what is that weird place the tracks are headed towards? Keep scrolling.

To this day I have no idea what was ever manufactured or processed in this place, but it just fascinates me. The railroad tracks split off and went into it for loading/unloading purposes, but I don't think it ever functioned in my lifetime.

This place is a huge part of my life. I spent 18 years in the same house in this little blip on the map. I'm so glad I have these pictures that perfectly capture the essence of this place (to me at least). Thanks for indulging me. Next week Flashback Friday will resume it's juvenile, slightly embarrassing persona which we have all grown to love.

5 comments:

Deneal said...

I love your black and white shots. And you are right, what great documentation of childhood memories.

Unknown said...

What a fun walk down memory lane. The black and whites are a perfect touch. And here's a little random tidbit: I was just on my new facebook account (how cool am I?) and I noticed that Adam Ivey and I are now "friends." I was scrolling through his facebook page to see what he's been up to when I noticed that James had written "hey brother" or something to that effect to him. I searched my brain thinking - are James and Adam somehow related? Is Heather a relative of James? Or maybe Desta is a distant Ivey relation. Truly I was mystified. I figured it must be a friend thing. Then, I happened to go to Fern's blog and it hit me. Of course, she's an Ivey now. Her husband is Adam's brother and Fern is James' sister. Wow, I am amazed each day to see the Ivey family influence reaching and growing to envelope the whole of Nevada County. Anyway... sorry about my crazy rant. Maybe I'm just jealous that I have not been able to join the crowd yet. I guess it's up to Jay to get us in. Zoe - any chance you'll be interested in a younger man?

Erin said...

No, wait! I want to see a picture of the house you lived in for 18 years. These are great pictures. I love the creepy plant. I bet you were able to make up tons of scary stories about what might have gone on in there. Stories that would have caused me nightmares for weeks!

Tom Archibald said...

Great photos! Your story brings back many memories of my own countless hours in the darkroom in high school (um, 1981). Ahhh, the smell of dektol!

Uncle Tom

burr said...

Hi Desta, the plant is actually a power plant. I got to tour it on a field trip in 5th or 6th grade.