Snow-capped mountains, fresh air, and adventures, what more could you ask for? Mysterious ghost towns, perhaps. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of abandoned towns dotting the western fringes of Colorado, Rifle Gap State Park included, although this park’s ghost town is a little more recent than most. Austin, a small town of around 300 people, once stood in the valley, deep in the shadows of Mount Monument and Blaine. In 1958, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation decided there was a need for a water reservoir, forced the residents to move, and flooded the valley. On an especially calm day, sharp-eyed visitors can still see traces of roads and foundations where buildings once stood within the lake’s inky depths.