Over the weekend some friends and I went to the infamous Knapps Castle, the ruins of a fallen mansion that was burned down in 1940. This privately owned landmark is surrounded by the astounding Los Padres National Forest with an amazing view of not only Cachuma Lake but the Santa Ynez Valley. It is the home to many animals and plants alike. The area is open to the public but as of recently it is an active construction site.

On our way up the mountain we had to race the sun to make it before the sunset. The glowing colors looked as the though a fire spread across the sky. Immediately after making it out of the car I bolted to the ruins not wanting to miss a single moment of the sunset. My friends ran after me telling me to slow down but I was to excited. Once I made it I ran down to the rope swings on one of the tree’s and enjoyed the cool breeze. As the sun began to set I set up my camera to capture the moment.

I wanted to get a few more pictures before the sunset so I could capture the amazing colors filling the sky. The forest around us began to come alive with creatures of the night filling the quiet area. I saw raccoons and skunks run through bushes as they awoke.

We climbed atop the ruins as the sun was almost gone, watching the stars pop up one by one like little lights. The sun had open last burst of color before the sky turned a dark blue and we watched the sky fill with stars.

• 

I being me was running on the ruins up and down while my friends kept yelling to be careful. I helped then walk further onto this piece of history telling them it was safe. My friend Jaxon climbed up after I insisted we take some pictures as night filled the skies. The five of us enjoyed the stars and the beautiful ruins, enjoying this wonderful moment together under the skies.

We used our flash lights on our phones to take some fun and funky long exposure pictures on Dylan’s camera. We ran up and down the steps laughing and having a blast in this beautiful place full of life and nature. Once the night began to get to cold we decided finally around 11:30pm to head back down the mountain into the town, smiling at the wonderful time we just expirenced.