the new law

Just my luck this is the year that Saskatchewan decides to introduce a trespassing law. Every other province in Canada had a law about trespassing except Saskatchewan. It is about time they introduced one. On the other hand not having one made everything in our favor. Of course even with this law a “no trespassing” sign will not stop me. Law or no law I will continue to explore abandoned places big & small.

skunks & katanas

What not to do when you meet a skunk:

Poke it with a Katana to see if it is alive.

Lucky for me this skunk was dead despite the fact it looked like it was breathing. I was safe this time but may not be in the future if i try to attempt this stunt again.

the watcher

Last year on the way home from a very productive exploring trip we found a beautiful 3-story home standing in the field. Totally gutted but still very beautiful. We parked the car and walked out to it only to discover we were not alone. Not alone and being watched closely.

Beautiful 3 story home...

Angry occupant.

I later found out that this little guy couldn't fly. But if i got to close he could have still attacked me. Owls are vicious and they seem to be all over Saskatchewan and living in many of the abandoned farm houses. So next time you are out and about in Saskatchewan looking at old farmhouses you may not be alone.

blog notes

I would just like to make a few notes about my blog as a form of an update so people know what will be happening with the blog in the next while.

comments
I know that people do not like to leave comments. I would really enjoy it if people started leaving the occasional comment or some feedback, questions or suggestions. I had problems for a while and people were unable to leave comments at all. Now all is fixed and well and people can leave comments if they want.

updates
As the snow melts and the days get warmer i will be out exploring more. This means that instead of my usual 2-3 blogs a week it will be less. I will update about my trips and findings with pictures. I will try to get at least one blog done a week unless of course i go on a week trip. I hope to post more location type blogs. This means i will post blogs showing locations i have been to and explaining some of the history. Although i do not plan to do this much as i plan to do most of that on my website which is in the works!!

Thank you all for reading my blog and taking an interest.

locked doors

Here is a helpful tip: If you get into a house make sure the door behind you is jammed, especially if it is windy outside. If you get stuck in the house because the door locks from the outside & all other doors are nailed shut do the following:

Find the nearest window, pull it open & jump.

detailed religion

Many people ask me why I am such a big fan of Ukrainian churches or churches in general. Well for starters I love architecture. All types of architecture but my favorite is older buildings. People in the past took the time to put details into there buildings & homes. Churches were no expection to this rule. When people built churches they put details into them & took time to build them strong. There may be many abandoned churches due to the lack of religious people today but they are built strong & that is why they are still around. I have been in many abandoned churches & it continues to amaze me how good they look many many years later. Not to mention the attention to detail. Ukrainian churches are my favorite. They all have domes & the same interior but they are all so different. The number & size of domes are all different, inside the domes are all hand-painted differently, some were lite by candles other electricity, some had pews others choir stalls, some small others large and so on. They took so much time and its the small details that count. Here are some of my most recent churches that caught my attention.

See the large star under the top dome & the small stars under the ledge of the dome below the top?

In a small town, very few residents this old church stands proud & the interior in excellent condition

In a ghost town, built in the early 1940's this church is in good condition, its red color still vibrant yet faded

girls trip review

I forgot about a review of the trip!! Lots of abandoned houses, churches & wildlife. We found some neat old Ukrainian churches, some very neat old farmhouses (one looks like it could be right out a horror film & another with blue shingles) , lots of peoples belongings left behind & we saw a ton of deer (one which crossed the road in front of us). And the mustang, well we found that in a town abandoned, my friend thinks it is a major waste to leave it there and wants to restore it. Anyways, here are some pictures from the trip:

weird stuff

On my past trip I encountered some pretty weird stuff. I am not talking weird paranormal stuff I am talking about weird architecture & of course random things. I have decided to share the top 3 weirdest thing I encountered on the trip:

1. My friend and I hiked through deep snow & thick brush to reach an old stone house. We explored the main level & went upstairs. Off the main hallway there was a small door, not sure where it went i looked inside and realized it wasn't just a storage space. It went inside the walls around a whole bedroom and came out another bedroom. It was indeed a tunnel that you could crawl through. An escape from one room to another. Quite the architectural feature in a house, I have seen something similar in a house a past friend used to live in but it was very short, nothing like this one.

The entrance is the top picture, the bottom is the exit coming out the next room.

2. The door. I cant even begin to explain this driving down a gravel road in the middle of nowhere is this brand new house and beside it, a hill. Not just an ordinary hill though, a hill with a door in it. What would someone use this for?

3. This is not an architectural mystery but a question of someones sanity. Driving down a main highway we found this house full of wooden figurines surrounded by lights. Not just one, two or twenty but 40+. Yes all over the house, one the house, around the house and all around the yard. All in a row along the highway. Ah yes, this person better have a good excuse for doing this. Makes me want to take a torch and burn them all in a row. Did I mention 80% of them are christmas?