Owanka, an easy-to-find ghost town

What makes a South Dakota ghost town great for photographers? In the case of Owanka, southwest of the almost-ghost town of Wasta, it's ease of finding, a decent amount of buildings to shoot and some interesting prairie scenery around it.

To find Owanka, head south from Interstate 90's Exit 90 and you can't miss it in about 5.5 miles when the road dips down into a wide ravine. GPS coordinates are N44° 1'16.17 W102°35'15.03. As I said, this is southwest of Wasta in western South Dakota or almost directly west of Wall.

It's fun to be able to show pretty much the entire town in the vista from the top of the valley. Also, what ghost town would be complete without a good collection of abandoned vehicles? I loved the trio of Ford Falcons rusting in the grass.

There are still people living in Owanka, so be respectful of private property while visiting and tread lightly. Photographers are not the only creatures that like to hang out in ghost towns and abandoned vehicles - snakes, skunks, raccoons and their kind can be found in many of these places.

Thanks to fellow photographer Robin Hao Gonzalez for inspiring my visit to Owanka. She's good at finding fun stuff to shoot.