After looking up some abandoned places on the net, and myself wanting to quench my spelunking thirst, the courageous roomates of Beaubien street decided to visit the old Red Run storm drains. We didnt know exactly where the entrance was, but google earth solved that in a jiffy.

We left the house at midnight and drove over to the location. We parked a block away and then jumped the fence and went in.

Here is the place in the daytime: (credit to www.forgottenmichigan.com)



But we went in in the darkness, armed with 2 flashlights. Hopefully there was no police or squatters inside. This is Shawn and myself in the main room, which was filled with dozens of pillars---Moria style.



There were several tunnels that branched off out of this room, so we chose one and went down it. The water was only a couple inches deep and not flowing too fast so it was all good.



After a few turns we came across a long tunnel that we couldnt see an ending for. It was pretty freaky. In here our voices seemed to be silenced by the thickness in the air. We could hear some slight reverberation, which only added to the spookiness.



No ending in site. We decided to go back to the main room cause we did get a late start. Upon a further look around we could see that the end of the room was nothing but tunnels, one of which was sealed off by a huge metal door. This thing was about 12 feet tall and insanely thick. Nazi symbols and others covered it and it was an imposing site. Sadly there was no pics of it.

Here is one shot of one of the endless tunnels:




Then it was just getting plain spooky and our flashlights were going dim. Time to head home.

We will be returning with better gear, flashlights and glowsticks. And Im going to bring my camera this time, and try some time exposure to get some good lighting.

Good times...

~BRiney

Good ol Urban Hacking at its best

Yeah, just like Tomb Raider...

...without tombs, no Lara Croft, or guns.


-b0b
(...thinks something is missing.)

Forgotten Michigan has some neat stuff in the gallery.  Fort Shelby Hotel and the Michigan Theater look particularly interesting.

-b0b
(...nods nods.)

I might have to come up and spend the night some time so we can check out some stuff.  Those tunnels look particularly cool.

-b0b
(...w00t!)

Yeah, and Double Cheeseburgers are worth +20hp, +20sp in NannyMUD.

-b0b
(.../irrelevant.)

Tonight my friends Carl and Mark and I went back to the tunnels. It was quite an adventure, and we ended up exploring a lot more. And getting in was a lot more complicated this time, but I'll explain that later.

This gate was off to the side of the Pillars of Moria and was very sinister looking.



But Carl was not afraid.



It just went on for a while, but we were in no mood to go climbing some big grate.



The tunnels were long and very evil looking.



We came up to the Nazi door, and I decided to check it out.

This door is huge, and was quite a climb to the top. It solid metal and has some kind of hydraulic system to raise and lower itself to allow water through.



But the tunnel just stretched on into the distance, no Nazi Gorillas with AK-47's in there.



We decided to journey down the long endless round tunnel for a while. Carl was sidetracked from his mission by a frog who decided to say hello.



We kept going and going and going down this tunnel, and the air got really thick. It felt like I was breathing in dust or something. Pretty nasty. Also, there was a huge echo in here, and Carl and I re-enacted a particular Ghostbusters 2 scene.

Hello!!   oo ooo ooo

Hey!!!   ey ey eyyyy

Yo!   

...............   WWIIIINNNSTTOONNNN!!!

Yea it was pretty creepy. We decided to leave cause the tunnel didn't look like it was ending soon and Mark's 1 million candlewatt flashlight was dying.

We were just walking along enjoying the echo when Carl slipped and "Sploosh!" got the nasty water all over. This started a chain reaction that sent water sloshing over to Mark's side and he slid in too. It was great fun!



We took a breather in a rather homey tunnel.



Now I should explain some interesting events that took place when trying to get into the place. Mark's boots are wide-toed and they proved very difficult when trying to jump a fence. There was some comical events of him stuck on the fence trying to climb it while I "helped" as much as I could. Then Mark or someone said car, and I instinctively dove to the ground, leaving Mark high and dry. Carl was having a good time watching from the safety of a dirt pile. He said later it was the funniest thing watching me hit the deck while Mark struggled valiantly to leap the fence. Good times. I suck. 

Anyway I guess in the fight to clear the fence Mark speared his wrist on the top of the fence. This also contributed to us leaving because this is the wound on our way out of the place:




Lovely.

Tune in Tommorrow when the Geek Crew investigates Purgatory!!

Wee...

~BRiney

Was that the ark of the covenant I saw back there?!

-b0b
(...or not.)