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Showing posts with label nuclear. Show all posts
Showing posts with label nuclear. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

The Nuclear Power Plant is owned by a large and powerful organization that would prefer everyone just forget it exists-and that they spent 2 billion dollars to build an abandoned concrete jungle that they never used.

This location happens to be well guarded and well secured by tall barbed wire fences. Last time I was here it was practically a ghost town but this time we encountered some of the most intense exploring I've done in a while. We parked the car as far away, but still on the property, as possible and took our time burying it under branches and shrubbery to conceal it. We then hiked through the woods in a circuitous route so as to utilize the cover as much as possible. But as we got closer we were more and more exposed without cover to hide us. Trucks were circling. I don't recall how many times we had to duck as a truck drove by. We would sit at every clearing to determine the nearest cluster of trees that would provide us the most cover. Then one by one we ran, crouched, to each spot where we laid in the grass to stay out of sight until we regrouped and planned the next route. Everyone I know who has been here has been ticketed. But as long as there's a way inside, there will be weirdos like us who methodically find it. The unlucky or careless ones will get snatched up and made an example of. This keeps the guards busy and content that they are successfully performing their jobs. Those of us who get lucky and make it inside and back out will know the rewards that come with a successful adventure. I look at it like a sporting event; It's our team versus the security guards and they have home field advantage. After the contest, mental high fives and "good game"s for the dudes trying to keep us out. No hard feelings since they're just doing their jobs and we're just doing ours. This time we enjoyed luck and the benefits of taking every possible precaution. If we still managed to get busted after all that work well then at least we tried; only then can we say we did our best and our best just wasn't good enough. Today, however, it was the home team's turn to take a loss. After this major win, the visitors have now advanced to game 6 of on their flawless winning streak as they rampage across the US. We'll see if they can keep up this momemntum going into game 7 when they take on Memphis.

This is part 6 of 7 from a recent road trip.

See our previous trip here.

UPDATE: Check out my short video of this place here.

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Construction on the Nuclear Power Plant began in the mid 1970's but was cancelled by the mid 1980s. Thus, the plant was never operational. Total cost to build this, only to abandon it before it was completed, was approximately 2 Billion dollars.

When we arrived, we were supposed to meet up with a group of acquaintances from the internet and finally place names with faces and drink beers over shared stories. But all we found, so far, was fresh tire tracks in the gravel. We parked the car out of sight and grabbed our things. We carefully navigated the terrain, looking over our shoulder as we crossed the roads. We passed a few fenced off areas along the way, but we were keeping our eyes on the cooling tower which could be seen for miles. No sign of our friends.

When we got to the tower, we were struck by its presence. Not the kind of thing you see up close every day and the photos really don't do it justice. This thing is huge. The way the wind blew through it and the crazy endless echoes inside the tower gave it other-worldly properties. Who knew where we were anyway, or what time of day it was? Hundreds of miles from home, we found ourselves inside of a cooling tower.. Some people have climbed this thing all the way to the top and I figured I'd get a feel for it. I only made it up to the first platform and I could feel the wind shaking it. I couldn't imagine how bad it would be towards the top. I did not climb any further.

It quickly began to get dark and it was raining off and on. We hadn't been to the underground, nor the roof yet so we headed for the underground first. We found that there's something like 3 levels below ground. When we got off the stairs at the bottom, the darkness was overwhelming and the space so massive that my flashlight couldn't even reach the end of the long hallway. We looked around and we listened. Inside the industrial cavern, strange sounds echoed from all around. The rain came down in torrents through cracks, near and distant, and anything that would blow in the wind was moving above us. Sometimes things fell or banged together loudly. The place was alive even in the furthest dark corners of the underground.

Since there was no way we were ever going to be able to explore the full extent of this place, let alone the basements with the remaining time we had left, we set off for the roof after only seeing a fraction of the lower levels. It was difficult to find and by the time we made it up there, the sun was setting and the clouds filled the sky. This cast a blueish haze over everything. The roof was narrow and treacherous, especially in the rain and with darkness quickly approaching. One misstep in either direction was death. It was surreal, to say the least, looking out on the landscape from the top of an abandoned Nuclear Power Plant in the rain, at dusk, in a town far from home. I wouldn't believe the imagery my eyes were absorbing was real except I was there and we were a small part of it for a few brief moments. "What am I doing here?", I think to myself. This question crosses my mind a lot while exploring and the feeling is intensified when you're in a strange town in a stranger place and you're completely exhausted. We've made it this far, the sun is setting and there's nothing left to do but head home. So for the moment, we relax. Sometimes you need to just enjoy your time and soak it all in. Because the adventure is over just about as quickly as it began.

UPDATE: Check out my short video of this place here.

See our latest trip here.

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar

Nuclear Power Plant © 2014 sublunar
Abandoned Nuclear Power Plant by sublunar