It had stared me in the face before dozens of times. I had just never really looked back. Not with the right kind of eyes, anyways. Before they just slid over things like this without taking any real notice. Now, on a chance car ride, it jumped out of the scenery at me like it was on fire. I had been by this place literally dozens of times, how did I never take note before?
You know you're truly engaged in an activity when it starts taking up more of your real life. Not just your time, but your thoughts. When it becomes the place your mind wanders to. When it becomes the standard by which other things are weighed. The more I reflected on the number of times I had ignored this place, and how it leaped out at me this time, it became apparent that UE was occupying more of my mental hardware than I realized.
Word was passed. Recon was undertaken, physically and digitally. Kits were assembled and checked. A date was picked, bodies assembled, routes planned. It was all coming together. Even the weather cooperated, providing cover in the form of a storm. Although the site itself was quite abandoned, it bordered a very high traffic area. Stealth was definitely a priority.
A slow, careful approach proved rewarding. Waist-high grass obscured many overgrown obstacles. Eventually our slow, red-lit pace brought us to our first point of interest. At one point, this was a large, luxurious home. Now time and vandals left her open. Bare. And utterly inviting to my curiosity.
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We started with the basement. This gave us a chance to examine the supports and evaluate structural integrity. All-in-all, she seemed relatively seaworthy.
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6. A sizable hot water tank.
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With the bottom floor explored, and the stability of the upper one assured, we pressed forward to the upstairs. Here we found more signs of former class, most notably in the form of the fireplace & the size of the kitchen. Now it appears someone attempted to combine the two with a small grill.
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From here we moved from the house to the rest of the buildings on the property. The same slow, cautious pace needed to be employed. These clearly predated the adjacent house, and it showed in their structural condition. Soft steps and sharp eyes were mandatory.
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After completing our circuit, we decided we should make ourselves scarce. We exited with no difficulty, choosing the same route we had taken on the way in. Once back in the car, I found myself further reflecting on the significance of this site. It became clear to me that this place was probably just the first of many treasures I had been blindly ignoring, staring passed with empty sockets. But with that fix behind us, the dominant theme of conversation was clear: where to next?
(Once again, all photography is courtesy of TipOfTheBase)