Ghosts of the Wild West~

On By cindy knokeIn EXTERIOR & INTERIOR DESIGN, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, TRAVEL REVIEWS

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Do unquiet ghosts still linger here?
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Peering through the painted glass?
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Living in their pioneer world.
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What tales would they tell of the wild, wild, west?
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Would you dare check in and stay?
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To hear what they would have to say?
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Or would you just stop by for the day?
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I, of course, would love to stay!
Cheers to you from the wild, wild, west~
Note: The pioneers built these homes and buildings, located in San Diego’s Old Town, from 1825 until the late 1890’s.
“I would like to live a Victorian life surrounded by exquisite clutter” Freddie Mercury

186 thoughts on “Ghosts of the Wild West~”

    1. They Victorians were destined to be destroyed and were cut up and moved decades ago to save them. I remember the process well. The interiors are mostly empty, but due I believe, to be restored.

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  3. Very nice restoration of the town. It’s a wonderful feel of the western past. You would love “Black Creek Pioneer Village”. Even though it’s on the edge of Toronto, it captures pioneer days.

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    1. I love all things pioneer, and Freddie Mercury of course, some how they seem to go together! Now add your gowns, and we are in a living Victorian paradise. We would need to spruce up the hotel a bit though to be worthy, there is an old theatre that would be a better venue for your maspterpieces…..

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  5. Cindy! Am I correct in saying you are a social worker? If so, we have something in common. I practiced counseling as a social worker many years ago. Peace! –Dennis

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    1. Yes I am, and pleased to meet you. There are a surprising number of clinical social workers lurking in blogdom and we meet up sooner or later, so welcome and happy to know another colleague~

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  10. Wonderful photos, Cindy…..these Victorians don’t quite look like our “painted ladies” here in New England….there’s a definite Pioneer American flavor added, though I haven’t yet put my finger on what it is….

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  15. OH wow I love the colors in these photos and this town is so quaint! I love little towns like this! My mom lives in one! Van Buren Arkansas. The movie the North and South was shot there with all the victorian buildings similar to these! Lovely lovely post as always Cindy! You visit the neatest places! (✿◠‿◠)

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    1. My daughter went to grad school in Lawrence Kansas. When I saw the town I couldn’t believe how retro and off the charts charming it was. Full of these gorgeous Old Grand Dame Victorians, meticulously maintained, a town with minimal crime, and the houses selling for a song compared to Caly. I asked my husband who grew up in Iowa City, and went to kindergarden in Lawrence, why we hadn’t retired here? America has small towns that are just remarkably lovely so I can imagine Van Buren and I will google image it now to see……

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      1. Oh yes and there is a train depot you can take an excursion train up to the top of the Ozark mountains. It’s really a beautiful place. I grew up in Fort Smith Arkansas. I love these old Victorian towns.
        Such lovely photos! 🙂

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  17. How I love the shivery images of ghost’s buildings and ghost towns. I must say San Diego’s are colorfully restored to bring imagined tales back to life. Thank you for sharing Cindy, with your glorious photographs.

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  18. Hi Cuz,
    These pics remind me of the “painted ladies” in San Fancisco. That’s what I thought they were at first. I love this old architecture. There’s nothing more grand…, outside or inside. Houses like these have a soul ! 🙂

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    1. I’m not sure what I would like more, to shrink down and be a Borrower and live in a miniature world, or travel back in time. to stay in each place I chose for just one night. I can stay anywhere for one night….;)

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  30. I’m so glad someone decided to preserve the buildings Cindy. They’re architectural gems. I love the stained glass window. I wouldn’t look out of place wandering through them in my frock coat and mutton chops.
    xxx Massive Hugs xxx

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  33. Pinned that lovely Victorian Home to my Victorian & Romantic Homes Board on Pinterest, with this comment: “lovely images – as always – on Cindy Knoke’s “photos of my travels” Board.”

    Thanks for taking time to stop by ADDandSoMuchMore to like my latests. I don’t know how you keep up with the blogs of all your fans – you clearly have a relationship to time I do not (I’m always WAY behind in my visits)
    xx, mgh

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    1. Awwww, thank you and heading over to look at your board now! I love my blogging friends and spend zero time on all other social media (facebook, instagram, twitter etc) so my blog friends are my only online priority.

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      1. I am SO with you on “the socials.” I refuse to tweet, have no familiarity with Instagram, might as well not HAVE a Facebook account, it makes me so crazy I actually dread logging in – and I haven’t made a visit to LinkedIn this year.

        My biggest time-sink is Pinterest hyperfocus – but it sure beats the bazillion magazine images I used to collect. Quick and easy!

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  35. It seems these houses looking better than in their original time. Well maintained! I like Freddie’s thought, he knew what was that about. The house in London where he lived in his last time looks not too bad too.

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    1. The city moved them and redid the facades. Most of them are derelict inside, hence the papered up windows. I do hear there is a move afoot to restore the interiors which would be so wonderful……

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  40. An old cowboy went ridin out one dark and windy day
    Upon a ridge he rested as he went along his way
    When all at once a mighty herd of red-eyed cows he saw
    Plowin through the ragid skies and up a cloudy draw

    Their brands were still on fire and their hooves were made of steel
    Their horns were black and shiny and their hot breath he could feel
    A bolt of fear went through him as they thundered through the sky
    For he saw the riders comin hard and he heard their mournful cries

    Yippie i ohhh ohh ohh
    Yippie i aye ye ye
    Ghost riders in the sky

    😀 Yippie y aye

    Thanks for the view.

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    1. When are you coming west young man?? You need to hear the coyotes howl, and sagebrush roll, eat some prickly pear cactus, and drink some margaritas. An Englishman in the wild west. You would love it at The Holler, as long as you could eventually go home! 😉

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  43. Hey Cindy, didn’t “Ghost Adventures”, the paranormal show, visit the Cosmopolitan Hotel on one occasion? Interesting stuff though and beautiful architecture 🙂

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    1. My goodness, I have no idea. The Whaley House around the corner is said to be haunted. Jim & I are going to stay a night at The Cosmo and I hope I get to chat with a ghost!!

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  46. I liked the photos a lot, Cindy; especially the bright red store shelves lined with goods. And the Freddie Mercury quote struck me as funny, because he was so fast-paced and modern in his music.

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    1. I had to discipline myself to not include more photos of these store interiors, I am fascinated by the old stores, as far as Freddie, I think he was somewhat of a renaissance man, a man of formidable talents.

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    1. All right, I’m in! When you flying over? I’ll pick you up at the airport. We’ll tell em we’re bloggers, we should at least get a discount, although I never have yet, two could be the ticket!

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      1. That is a good idea. I’ve heard on the local radio morning talk show mentioned about a hotel in some country in Europe a free stay if you are a social networker e.g. have so many followers. The rational behind this is they hope you to write good things about the hotel. That might work. Perhaps, we should try 🙂

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  50. Are you a professional photographer, Cindy? I know you’re a retired therapist, but surely you do something with all your wonderful photos? They are amazing!

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    1. No snow, but it is RAINING NOW after horrendous drought. We live in a more western place at The Holler than Old Town which is part of downtown San Diego. People settled The Holler with the Homestead Act where they were given 40 acres and a mule. The homesteaders eventually left because the conditions were too rough out here which is quite unusual. We get some intense heat in the summer, very high winds, freezing temps in the winter, and lots of bugs. No snow though it surrounds us in the nearby foothils when it rains like now.

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      1. It does sound like difficult conditions Cindy. I hope your RAIN lasts long enough to soak in and help the plants. We have just had the hottest and driest November in 100 years. Then 100 kms north at Brisbane it rained last week and it turned into a devastating storm http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-12-02/brisbane-storm-damage-tally-passes-300-million/5934270 We only got a light shower. But more rain is forecast this weekend. Keep warm my friend. BTW do you have a mule???

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      2. Yes our drought has been the same, worst in recorded history,and after extensive drought, if lots of rain comes, you get mudslides and floods. Almost biblical. And well sort of yes, we badly want a donkey. They are “good” with the coyotes ie., they show them whose boss!! 😉

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  53. I love seeing those old folk Victorian homes painted properly. The house here was once a painted lady but when the Neo-colonial style swept across the country after WWI everything was painted white. And white our old house has remained. Thanks for sharing the great pictures.

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  57. This picture does indeed paint a thousand words; if only the building could talk!! I find old buildings to be curious places. Its almost as though you can feel the past seeping through the structure to greet you. I feel they always evoke an air of mystery and enchantment. Thanks for posting.

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    1. “Its almost as though you can feel the past seeping through the structure to greet you.” This is so beautifully expressed and exactly captures my feelings about old homes. Thank you for the awesome imagery~

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    1. It’s a good thing the dogs and cats got along! I can see the cats colluding with the ghosts to get the dogs!!! 😉 There is a Homesteaders graveyard near The Holler, Betty Crocker is also buried there. Love glimpses into the wild west~

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      1. The cat was tough enough that the dogs thought it best to leaver her alone. And then there was the time I woke up in the morning with wet feet and discovered she had dropped a litter of kittens on the end of my bed. 🙂 –Curt

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  62. I’d love to check in and stay! Coincidentally I was told today my workplace, which is a Grade 2 listed building, is haunted! It stemmed from my freaking out last night about a strip light in a corridor suddenly flickering and stuttering, creating all sorts of strange, scary lighting effects before it shut down forever…and apparently 2 people have died there in years gone by….I’m told that things move around on their own when nobody is there to move them and that there are secret tunnels underneath the building that were used in the war years by soldiers moving discreetly from place to place….things definitely go bump in the night! And nobody likes being the one to open up on their own!!

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      1. When I mentioned it to my friend tonight before I left he told me not to talk about dead people lol in case I caused vampires to appear! He was at home at the time… I think he might have been hiding behind his sofa! lol 😉

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  66. I really like older buildings with such color, flavor and character. Cindy, these are beautiful photos and wish I lived closer to these locations, so I could explore. I have drawn hundreds of pen and ink drawings of Victorian and historical buildings. I like when buildings have intricate lacing and details.

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