a day on gravel with a golf

I have managed to find another person interested in what I do! Yeah!
I decided to take this guy out on a bit of a test trip. See what he does when we throw him into a couple abandoned buildings. After going through the rules and the "take only photo's leave only footprints" thing we hit the road. Not in my car but in his as we decided that he wanted pictures of his car in front of some abandoned buildings & churches.
What does he drive? A Volkswagen Golf. Not just any golf, a lowered golf with thin wide tires not meant for exploring. That did not matter, we took it out on the gravel roads anyways and overall did alright with it. As for this guy we took out with us, he did alright to. Followed all the rules, wasn't afraid of much & was fun to have around. I would not take his car exploring again but I will definitely bring him along and hope that he continues to explore with us in the future.
Its hard to find people that enjoy exploring abandoned buildings & interesting sites around the province. Especially hard because most people don't enjoy it at the level i do. None the less we had a good trip overall hit all the background a couple churches, farmyards & houses.

As usual I will give you some tidbits from the trip:
1. You guessed it #1 is do not explore in a lowered Volkswagen Golf
2. Not all provincial standard gates lead to something interesting
3. Roads in the middle of fields may just lead to another road and eventually to a highway
4. People tend to leave all the creepy dolls & stuffed animals behind
5. I learnt that there is such thing as "beer", yes its called beer, no brand
6. I found out that you can use those lemon shaped lemon juice containers as a pull for a light. who knew?
7. If the door was locked on your first trip, try the door on a return trip it may be open
8. people enjoy leaving all sorts of television sets behind

Here are some pictures from the trip:

Exploring with the golf, seen here in front of a Ukrainian Church

Abandoned bedroom still with curtains

Part of an old kitchen

Old high heels & stuff from Eaton's

The golf seen here with a beautiful old homestead (collapsed on the inside)

An old dining area

generic beer anyone?

Find the kitchen + pull back the floor + find a ring + pull it up = basement
this is our "newb" seen here doing what he does best, find the basements

Old television sets!

An old homestead complete with farm equipment at the entrance

Saskatchewan license plate from 1972

an old furnace

The Bridge & The Battlefords

I recently took a trip to North Battleford! That's right I have never been there, so I thought I should check out the area. I also found out that my ancestors from the Ukraine came over and homesteaded in the area. The bit of history made the trip a bit more interesting. On the way there I stopped at the Bordon Bridge which proved to be especially fun that day due to high wind gusts. After that I explored North Battleford and then hit the countryside. I found many homesteads, some old churches & a school. On the way home even saw a moose!!! Of course with my camera I was unable to get a good picture as it was getting dark.

A few things I learned on this trip:
1. Not all interesting trees covering an old road lead to something interesting
2. Always always try the door handle, because it may be open
3. If the stairs are sagging you are fine, if the foundation is crumbling dont risk it
4. People leave the strangest things behind
5. You can find a hotel almost anywhere, even in a ghost town

Here are some pictures from the trip. All should be self explanatory. Enjoy!

vehicle

I get alot of questions about what kind of vehicle i take on these trips. Remember I escapade across fields, live on gravel roads and drive through any kind of weather. No I do not drive a truck or an SUV, i drive this....

A 1980's Honda Accord!
And yes, it comes without power locks & windows
Complete with pop up headlights from the 80's
This vehicle has withstood everything i have thrown at it

only in a small town

While on my way home from one of our trips we stopped at a couple small towns looking for interesting things. The following things are something you would only see in a small town.

1. Stop sign taped up with electrical tape, yes electrical tape. I noticed this from the side of the highway, a beautiful new stop sign not even bolted in. Beautiful eh?


2. An abandoned house with brand new shingles. Yes new shingles. This ghost town resident has decided to bring one of the old abandoned houses back to life. Brand new shingles and he's fixing up the rest as well. Out of all the abandoned houses in the town, i am not sure this is the one i would have picked. Oh well.

3. Dog security on an old church. Yes an old church which is no longer used sits on a street looking unmaintained. But now there is a security sign, and not just any sign, Doberman Pinscher Security.
Oh, for the record the one house beside the church has the same sign, same person protecting both apparently.

trip to the jaw of moose

I went to Moose Jaw for the weekend! I know, not the most exciting place in the world but because I have a lack of money and the need to get away it was a great place to go. Off I went, and not on an exploring trip either, but of course I did it anyways. I explored there and back and a bit while I was in the city. Not to many photo's but I was still able to find a few that I feel came out quite well. Here are a few things I learned on this trip:

1. always check for your camera before you drive out of the driveway
2. some people are luckier than others
3. always stay in a hotel with a waterside
4. every event starts on & after may long weekend
5. lounge in trees & not on the ground, that way the ants will not get you
6. tick season starts early
7. there is always a way into an abandoned house even if it doesn't look like it at first
8. Dawg shoes are not durable & should not be worn while walking on grass
9. bring spare batteries with you @ all times
10. do not take a secondary highway on a Sunday, they are busy with farm equipment

Enjoy!

Kitty among foundations of a once abandoned home

abandoned house with tree growing out the side

you would never know this house was abandoned walking in

making coffee in the morning for my partner in crime

pic-a-pop by the crate

7-up by the bottle

abandoned house - looks like the owner never left