Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Quincy in the Moonlight

The Quincy #2 shaft-rockhouse and its cable stands under a cloudy moonlight sky.
The Quincy #2 shaft-rockhouse under the full moon

This past weekend was the (almost) full moon. So naturally -- I went out taking photos at night! I've done this before, in the winter, and it's amazing. The moon was pretty, but the fast-moving clouds were awesomely dramatic.

Also: Quincy at night is extremely spooky. The ruins lit by the full moon are ghostly enough, not to mention the sound of dripping water in the shafts covered by bat cages. Oh, and the bats. But above all else, the old #5 boiler house has a piece of loose metal which scrapes against other metal beams in the wind. It's about as creepy as you can get when you're out, alone, without any other lights, on a very windy night. I loved it!

Next stop: Centennial!

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Awesome picture! It makes me uneasy in a spooky kind of way just looking at it.

Your commentary made it even spookier :)

DC said...

Thanks!

Some people think that clear, cloudless skies are best for photography, day or night. Not true -- clouds add awesome detail to the sky.

As for the spookiness, abandoned mining properties are awesomely creepy at night. Not that I recommend going most places after dark -- they're dangerous enough as it is. But I feel like I know Quincy well enough, and under the full moon (and with a spare flashlight) I'm willing to risk it.

More than anything, I expected someone to see my car parked in the (otherwise empty) parking lot and call the police. That would have been interesting...

Anonymous said...

Gorgeous shot!!!

I always wondered about the bats. Do they come out en masse or a just few at a time?

DC said...

Thanks!

I've only ever seen a few bats come out here or there. I hear that it's somewhat bigger in the spring when they're waking up -- right now it's more of a temporary place to rest.

Maybe someone else has more experience with this... *ahem* Attention horde of readers! Anyone know more about bats in mines?