About Me

Well I guess I should take a few minutes to attempt to explain myself.  One of the most common comments I get is regarding updates to my main site SaskUrbEx.  My main issues is just how time consuming it is for me to update the site.  So this blog will allow me to update my visitors much more frequently.  My goal is to put at least 3 updates a month on here.  This will not replace my main site; I will continue to update it.  This blog is meant to complement the main site.

 

About me – I will be the first to admit I have a strange fascination with the past, focussing primarily on Saskatchewan’s history.  As a child I was always amazed by abandoned relics of our past.  I used to stare at abandoned buildings and wondered what it was like inside and what it was like when the building was still in use.  I still retain that amazement when I look at an old building or complex to this day.  The first building I ever explored was an infirmary at an old mission over 10 years ago.  I didn’t have a camera, and had yet to hear the term urban explorer, and I believe I was a little drunk as well.  That building is long gone now, but it continued to feed my urge to see more.

 

Weyburn Mental Hospital

 

In 2002 I stumbled across the Urban Exploration Alberta site and I was completely amazed by it.  I was shocked to see that other people share this fascination.  I for once thought maybe I’m not crazy – of course there are many other pieces of evidence that shows that I am a little off and that I march to beat of a different drum.  In 2003 I started to get into photography and found that prairie scenery was my favourite subject.  Over the next couple years I was more and more intrigued by several historical locations.  By 2005 I was exploring a fair bit; however I didn’t have anyone who I could explore with and I was limited because I wasn’t willing to do solo exploration of some of our larger locations.

 

I bought my first DSLR camera in 2007 which got me out photographing again after some major changes in my life that put me on hiatus for a year or two.  In 2008 I first met Arilem and for the first time I found someone who actually shared my love for and intrigue with exploring and documenting our forgotten history.  2008 was an epic year for out little group that consisted of myself, Arilem, and Arilem’s boyfriend at the time (Phoenix Enigma).  We explored the Weyburn Mental Hospital a couple times that year as well as a few other hospitals, sanatoriums, military installations, schools, ghost towns, and countless farmhouses and churches.  In fact we explored so much that we had a hard time finding more locations we could check out.

 

Steam Tunnels at Location X

 

Today I continue to go out photographing and exploring as much as possible.  Arilem and I try to get out a couple times a month; however the winter makes it tough.  We have such short days that what little time we have is typically in the dark so we don’t take as many shots as we would in daylight.  We have a couple trips planned in the coming weeks as we are both itching to get out and see more of the province.  Please enjoy the blog – please sent feedback as I love hearing about it, and check back for more regular updates.