The place was a ghost town. Despite its breath-taking locale, Appaloosa Plains had become a shadow of what it once was. The residents of the "sleepy ranching town" had drifted off, leaving behind shells of homes, crumbling remnants of Victorian architecture and empty streets. The city tried to save its existence by offering a funding assistance program for repairs, but the program collapsed when it was discovered that nearly all the buildings were contaminated with asbestos, had unsafe lead piping, needed all-new roofs or their foundations completely redone. Historical building legislation delayed construction work to such an extent that people opted to sell their homes to the government at a loss so they could move away from the red tape and renovation nightmare that their neighborhood trapped in. Now almost no residents were left and there was no city government to speak of. Appaloosa Plains was nothing more than a mess that needed to be cleaned up. Luckily, cleaning up...
Colette Bonnet observed Appaloosa Plains through the window of the taxi. It was as empty as Emery had described, but also as beautiful. The terrain had similarities to Champs Les Sims, with hills descending into lowlands along a river. However, Appaloosa was more stepped, with lush darker green grass near the river and more yellow grass on the middle and upper plateaus. The middle plateau had a tighter road network with streetlights, suggesting that a town once stood there. The only building left was a large Victorian house that was painted light blue with white trim. The taxi drove past it at a distance. A tall wood fence enclosed a small area near the road to the upper plateau. The Community Garden, Colette assumed. The upper plateau was the smallest area of town. As the taxi climbed the second hill, Colette saw Emery's parents' home. She recognized it from photos Emery had sent her. It had a small building on the left and larger main house on the right, both one storey...