The 70’s Party Mansion: Finding a needle in a haystack.
NSFW Photos in the gallery due to Illicit graffiti that was found inside the home
There are some explorations that encapsulate who you are and the reasons why. This is one of my favorite adventures in my exploring career. So many elements came together so quickly - I'm surprised at how well everything worked out.
The property itself had been presented a handful of times on social media by random people “stumbling” onto the property. I thought to myself, how have these people stumbled across such a large property in the middle of nowhere.
As fate would have it, sitting behind a computer for hours , sifting through comments paid off - Big Time. Using only a single geographical clue i started to dissect a specific area on google maps i thought the mansion was located. Hours upon hours and nothing came up. I was giving up when i spotted a forest that looked too perfect to be a natural part of the eco system; scrolling west i giant elongated property came into view. BINGO. No longer lost.
The excitement was unbearable and as most of my early explorations came to be; i had tremendous support to attack exploring these sites on a whim; all the while i was planning a larger exploration of an abandoned research base. Could i tackle both? is it possible to do everything on a list and not become overwhelmed? I put this theory to the test.
So in the winter of 2020 i reached out to another photographer who wanted to see what all the fuss was about, capturing abandoned decay on camera. Who else? But my Mother. In her early years she was a hobbyist photographer with an amazing eye on composing photos. She recently had bought into a DSLR camera and wanted to stretch “her legs” - i was worried, but ecstatic. Would this all be too much for her? Its cold, we were exploring our way with no restricted boundaries, could she keep up? She passed with flying colors.
My mother is one of the warmest and kind hearted souls you will ever meet, with an incredible sense of adventure - this meek woman really surprised the hell out of me. Calm, collected and quiet but excited at what she was participating in - she was in every sense of the description a true urbexer without having much experience. There are some who flourish and some who struggle, her gut instincts were honed to a point quickly and we had an absolute blast sifting the through the wreckage together.
The home’s decor was grand and seemed to be from the late sixties into the seventies. Would have been an absolute masterpiece of a time capsule in its prime. Sadly vandals had their way with the property - the level of destruction had escalated since the last post i found online. Ive heard dozens of stories about the property: Long forgotten bank foreclosure, an old Japanese tree farmer’s plot of land, to a romping 70’s party mansion full of life and vigor. They seem to all lend a hand around the mystique of the site , as it would possibly get a second life down the road.
Another fellow explorer from BC: Jdingus explored the now stripped out shell a couple of years back. Someone was trying to reinvigorate new life into the massive property. Its status is currently unknown.
We accomplished a major feat, found a beast of a site, and headed south on the open road again. My mom and i had no idea what was in store for us - but it was one of epic proportion that changed my outlook on explorations forever.
