New to the area

Urban exploration in Springfield, Missouri
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Maggs
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New to the area

Post by Maggs »

Just started school here about a month ago. I was wondering if anyone could let me know of good locations to check out. I've been browsing the forum, but I was wondering if there are some local favorites.
Thanks!
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

It depends on what you are looking for, tunnels, abandoned places, or caves.

For tunnels, the obvious best one in the city is the Jordan Creek Tunnels. If you can't find out every detail about these from the site, then you are blind.

For very old abandoned places, Albino Farm, Winoka Lodge, and Phenix are easy to get to. There are a lot more than that, but those are probably the closest to what I'd call "local favorites."

For caves, the caves I've been to in Springfield are all extremely small with the exception of Sequiota Park's cave, but that one has been closed in a well watched area for a while now. Skylight Cave in Ash Grove is probably going to be the most impressive if you are willing to get wet. If you want something dry and simple, Bear's Den south of Branson is a decent length and nearly impossible to get lost or hurt in. If you are willing to get covered in mud, then you should look up Assumption Abbey and see if they'll let you in their cave.

If you want more details about any of these places, message me, but these are posted about extensively on the site.
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saintshithead
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Re: New to the area

Post by saintshithead »

I just started here too. What can people tell me about the Crystal Caves?? A few months ago they were vandalized which means there's a way to get in somehow.. Has anyone been there?
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lolabelle
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Re: New to the area

Post by lolabelle »

like Crystal Cave up off Hwy H?
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saintshithead
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RE: New to the area

Post by saintshithead »

Yeah. I was just out driving around (bc i just moved here) and i was just reading http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/l ... /25085309/ like the night before about how someone destroyed and stole rock a few of the rock inside of the cave
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

http://www.barrycomuseum.org/pages/Crys ... verns.html

I would call the number at the bottom of this page. I've never been in there myself, but I see the building all the time on the way to Roaring River. You can't miss it. Next time I'm going to stop by.
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

Jammer needs to check out this page for his reference. It looks like it is an area he hasn't talked about much:
http://www.barrycomuseum.org/pages/crys ... s%20br.pdf

I see Crystal Cave is about where Lolabelle was talking about north of town.
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lolabelle
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Re: New to the area

Post by lolabelle »

oh so not Crystal Cave off H and Shelby Road, but Crystal Caverns out near Cassville. if you're out driving around north of Spfd, you're not seeing the caves in the article. Cassville is southwest of Spfd, where the article is referencing.
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

And if you are willing to drive that far south, I highly recommend looking into the Old Spanish Caves. There's a lot of trespassing issues, but there isn't just one cave. There are like 80, and some of them are a decent size. I have a friend that mapped that county's cave for the USGS, and he says it's one of the highest concentration of caves he knows about.
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

Assuming you guys are at Missouri State University, there are also some great tunnels under Carrington and Temple, but these aren't always the easiest to access.

My all time favorite was the Juanita K. Hammons tunnels and grid. It's pretty easy to get into those, but be careful, because the tunnels in the wall have high enough drop offs to kill you, and they are impossible to see with the lights off. So many people go in and out of there through the loading docks that you are unlikely to get noticed unless they are setting up a show, and if you get caught, just say you are looking for some random name. They get new workers all the time, so they'll likely think you belong.You could also easily get a job there and legitimately work the tunnels and grid. The grid is 95 feet up, and they are always needing people to sling 35 pound weights to counterbalance the pulley systems.
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Re: New to the area

Post by jammer_smith »

Fucking vandals man. I don't get it, I don't even remotely get it. I have never once in my life entered some beautiful place, be it a cave or an old building or some other natural wonder, where everything is still and strange and wonderful in a way and felt the sudden need to fuck it up. I do not even remotely understand that impulse, what the hell possesses people to do that?

Drives me nuts.
"To argue with a man who has renounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead."-Thomas Paine
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RedRook
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RE: New to the area

Post by RedRook »

I don't get it either, but I was raised on the "leave no trace" rules. I think some people see this stuff, and they just think souvenir, which is stupid to me. I can just go back if I want to see it again. These vandals stole so much, and they went through so much trouble to get in, I think they assumed they could make big money on this stuff. In reality, most of it is worthless now it's been damaged in the removal process.
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Re: New to the area

Post by jammer_smith »

Like, taking something as a trophy, that I get, I don't do that, but I at least understand that. What I dont get is just strait up vandalism, breaking windows, spray painting everything, carving into the walls, smashing formations, just strait up destroying a space, it's like people encounter something unbroken, undestroyed, and they feel like they must destroy it, ruin it, make it imperfect somehow.
"To argue with a man who has renounced reason is like administering medicine to the dead."-Thomas Paine
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SubLunar
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RE: New to the area

Post by SubLunar »

Because they're narcisistic assholes. They want to leave their mark on the place because they think so highly of themselves that their mark somehow makes the place better. Graffiti "artists" actually think of themselves as artsy do-gooders making "beauty out of what was ugly". How cliche. The difference between them and us is we have the capacity to appreciate the beauty already there, be it old architecture or speleothem. No real difference between them and kids who spraypaint dicks on walls of caves. They think they're cool because they did something edgy and illegal and sprayed paint on/smashed some old stuff. It's all about self-image and ain't nobody gonna tell them what to do! They sprayed paint on a defenseless wall which was put up by some long dead architect or multi-thousand/million year natural process! Such rebels!
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Nicotti
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Re: New to the area

Post by Nicotti »

jammer_smith wrote:Like, taking something as a trophy, that I get, I don't do that, but I at least understand that.
Invariably I always want to take stuff so that it doesn't get f'd up later, but I don't, then I come back later and see the thing f'd up and I get livid.
More online investigation than onsite exploration these days.

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“That’s not the point. The point is, who will stop me?”
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