Working for a large local property management company has its share of problems and benefits.
Accessing interesting and historical locations armed with door codes and keys to rooftops and sub-basements feels like urban exploration, but in reality it’s just another day on the job.
When I created this blog over ten years ago, I had the drive and passion to write about my urban exploration adventures with a friend I called Biff. He and I explored dozens of locations around the twin cities and I thought it would be fun to share our experiences with the urbex community.
We first visited locations that ACTION SQUAD had posted on the web decades prior to our knowledge of the hobby of urban exploration. We would read the “missions” section and prioritize our research based on proximity, likely hood of gaining access and personal interest.
Half the time, Biff and I would inadvertently stumble upon an entrance due to sheer luck combined with an hour or so of research and reconnaissance work. We were only stymied finding locations several times and usually found a different location nearby.
Although I have been out of the community of urban exploration for over a decade, reading the comments from this generation of explorers makes me consider removing this blog from the public domain permanently.
These people are angry that I posted my past adventures on the web and claim that I give away vital information to infiltrating closed areas and I have done a great disservice to the community.
I have never given any information about how to access these sites, given gps coordinates, or responded to people begging for help finding locations. I enjoyed finding entrances to areas through research and recon and expected others to follow suit. If one was to read www.actionsquad.com, it would be clear that FAR more information is given on how, when and where to access multiple sites around the twin cities.
My fascination with urban exploring started with a friendship based on a mutual interest in biking, beer and mischief that prompted me to create this blog thinking that others would enjoy reading. I am aware that the photos are grainy and of poor quality. I am aware that people think that this blog is nothing more than rambling nonsense interrupted by shit photography. Surprisingly, there is an average of 400+ people that visit my blog each month. Hopefully, most of whom find this content inspiring, insightful, entertaining and useful in their own pursuit in urban exploration.
Biff and I seldomly see each other these days. When we do, we often reminisce about the days when urban exploring was all we could think about. We would base our days around research, recon and planning our next adventure together. Biff and I are now in our 40s, and life and time has led us in separate directions. I look back on the days of urban exploration with Biff as the best time in my life. I was passionate about something for the first time in my life and felt fortunate that I had a friend that I could genuinely enjoy spending time with who shared an interest in something so unconventional.
This is the first post in over a decade, and most likely the last . My interest in urban exploring has long since faded, replaced by the mundane repetitiveness of daily life. I wrote several hundred pages of a book based on my time exploring with Biff that I once intended on publishing. My motivation to continue this book has dwindled over the years, and will likely never see the light of day.
I encourage those who read this blog to set out and explore their surroundings with someone they find interesting, resourceful and fun to be around. Do some research, go for a bike ride along the river, keep an open mind and be safe. People get lost underground, succumb to carbon monoxide poisoning, drown in drains, contract illnesses, fall off of tall buildings and encounter law officials while exploring .
I am haunted by the memories of my time underground and in abandon buildings. Occasionally, I will be overwhelmed by nostalgia when I smell the pungent sent of the underground world or when passing by a dilapidated building set for demolition . I wouldn’t trade my time as an urban explorer for anything, and the knowledge gained about the history and inner workings of Minneapolis and St. Paul, is priceless to me and formative to my appreciation for the once forgotten past.
