A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Urban exploration in St. Louis, Missouri
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curiouscoon710
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A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by curiouscoon710 »

Hello all!

Long time lurker here. Finally finding time in my schedule to actually visit some of the places I have became interested in over the past couple years. The weather is shaping up and I'm hoping everyone else is planning some trips soon! Although I have nitpicked through ~ 70% of this forum and feel somewhat knowledgeable on select locations, I feel it would be foolish of me to not run my plans past you all prior. So here we go...

POI #1----CEMENTLAND

I remember reading about NOT walking up the giant hill to the entrance. A building in the center with an alarm that I should steer clear of. And railroad trespassing fines. Any recommendations on safest place to park and to enter? Am I wrong to assume sunrise on a weekend as being the safest time to go?

POI #2----WELDON SPRINGS

Mechanical City was one of the most interesting places I recall stumbling upon in my days of lurking here. It was disappointing to read about how a large portion of its' remains no longer stand. Has anyone found, or know of, anything that remains of Mech?

POI #3----CRESTWD CT/JAMESTOWN

Apparently Crestwood Court is being redeveloped. Is it occupied enough now to be scratched off my list? I remember Jamestown Mall being brought up not too long ago in the same thread. I have a thing for abandoned malls so if anyone has knowledge on other places that would be appreciated.


Lastly, would anyone be down to tag along with me? I was hoping to meet some people who plan on getting out frequently this season. We need a group that meets on occasion!
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SubLunar
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Re: A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by SubLunar »

Greetings!

Cementland seems to be hit or miss as of late. I've heard of people getting in there no problem, I've also heard of people getting busted. Parking close to an objective is never a good idea, so check out the area on google maps beforehand and pick out a couple spots you think might be low key enough to not draw attention. Things like parking and entry points are never good to discuss publicly.

Mechanical City is totally gone. I last explored it when they had already cleared out the vegetation. Next thing I know, I saw people had been there and taken photos of the empty land on which the structures once stood.

I had intended to check out the malls mentioned but never got around to it. Pretty sure they have security, which makes recon difficult. I can't be of much help on those.

I've been itching to get out more lately myself. As far as seasons go, I'm a year round equal opportunity trespasser.

Meeting up with peeps on occasion is something we do need to get going here in STL. I was planning on really making some progress on that front this year but I've been so damn busy. We really need a good location that can host this sort of thing. Something in particular I'm desperate to find is an abandoned mine that's relatively isolated where we could have reasonable camp fires and maybe even actually camp out there for weekend shenanigans. STL has lost its best laid back spots over the years to such an extent that there aren't really any great places we could safely meet up and have a little BBQ or something. Used to have places like Carondolet Coke that were perfect for this sort of thing. So if someone finds a suitable location, it's on. I've got a few spots that need to be investigated in person, but it'd be nice to get more heads together.
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curiouscoon710
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Re: A New Explorer

Post by curiouscoon710 »

Thanks for the response Sub. I think I am going to scout out Cementland tomorrow morning and see what the current security situation is.An abandoned mine would be awesome! I would totally help scout out any potential locations if you ever get around to it. I only mentioned getting a group together or something similar to spark some more activity on the site. I wish there were new threads for me to obsess over daily!
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Nicotti
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Re: A New Explorer

Post by Nicotti »

There's abandoned silica mines all over the place around here, the problem is finding nearby parking and a route to get to them that won't be noticed.

Like there's these, but it probably would be really noticeable to the neighbors.
More online investigation than onsite exploration these days.

“My dear fellow, who will let you?”
“That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
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Chris
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Re: A New Explorer

Post by Chris »

Nicotti wrote:There's abandoned silica mines all over the place around here, the problem is finding nearby parking and a route to get to them that won't be noticed.

Like there's these, but it probably would be really noticeable to the neighbors.
There's a lot of explorations that seem best done by the "drop off" method.
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curiouscoon710
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Re: A New Explorer

Post by curiouscoon710 »

Chris wrote:
Nicotti wrote:There's abandoned silica mines all over the place around here, the problem is finding nearby parking and a route to get to them that won't be noticed.

Like there's these, but it probably would be really noticeable to the neighbors.
There's a lot of explorations that seem best done by the "drop off" method.
^^^what Chris said! I just took advantage of my 3 hour break between classes and scouted Cementland for the first time. The entire time I was thinking, "Why not just ask a friend to drop me off?". I am going to start looking into these silica mines while my calc professor wonders why I am the only student with a laptop out.

:P
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SubLunar
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RE: A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by SubLunar »

Yeah but then you gotta coordinate with the friend for a pickup.

I usually, to the dismay of my comrades, will opt to park far away and hike.. for miles.
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Re: RE: A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by BagHead727 »

SubLunar wrote:hike.. for miles.
true story...
aka "That Guy"
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Re: RE: A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by mindwaave »

BagHead727 wrote:
SubLunar wrote:hike.. for miles.
true story...
Those damn Canadians, waltzing in so visibly.
Preservation over plunder.
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SubLunar
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RE: A New Explorer's Maiden Expedition

Post by SubLunar »

Yeah and that's how you not only get yourself busted but how you get other people inside with you busted. We're lucky they didn't get spotted going in. Careless people suck. For reference: our Indianapolis Coke experience.
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