Today was a self-care day. No projects at the house. No going to the office. Not even a stop at the post office. Instead, I slept in until almost 8, caught up on The Book of Boba Fett, and relaxed.

Then I did one of my favorite things, I spent time with Jackie. After a stop at our favorite coffee house. Where Jackie spent time with her boyfriend, Toddy the cat, and I got picked on since we did not show for our normal Wednesday visit. We then headed out to a reservoir south of Chadron.

We like to take the road less traveled. Back roads, gravel roads and in the right condition dirt roads call to us.

One of Jackie’s hobbies is finding and documenting Ghost Towns. She sees the beauty of the old buildings that are somehow hanging on. She will spend time looking for the perfect shot to tell the stories of the buildings. She takes pride in finding old churches and schoolhouses. She will get as close as possible to get the right shot.

I like Ghost Towns too. I cannot help but think of the people who have called the place home. What brought them here? What caused the town to disappear? If there are still some people who live there why do they stay? The architect in me looks at the layout of the building, what was where?

I particularly am called to the churches. With so many churches closing, especially in rural areas, will others soon look like this one? Can they be saved? What caused the collapse? Did it close because the town disappeared or did it close first?

Ghost towns leave me with so many questions. They also make me think what town today will be gone in a couple of years. Small town life offers many benefits to its residents but, many are shrinking. I do know that GOD is in these places. God loves the people of these places and God loves you. So do I!