in little towns it sometimes works. they usually ask what im doing and i say doing a documentation of rural decay. they usually just say good luck on finding it.

Posted by tippa i suggest stopping at gas stations or in little local town bars. they definately know whats up and really dont ask too many questions. or just drive around.

Actually, I've only had one interaction with a gas station attendant in a little town and I thought that the guy was going to pull a knife and try to kill me. He was *extremely* unfriendly and of no help at all. This was in the middle of buttf*** nowhere too so it wasn't anything even close to being a city gas bar.

hence the reason of sometimes. you run into the occasional crazies. but going into bars and talking about abandoned stuff has helped me out too. well that is if you are of age. getting knives pulled on you sucks. guns are worse... ive been shot at numerous times. scary shit.

Posted by tippa hence the reason of sometimes. you run into the occasional crazies. but going into bars and talking about abandoned stuff has helped me out too. well that is if you are of age. getting knives pulled on you sucks. guns are worse... ive been shot at numerous times. scary shit.

I can't say I'm a fan of shooting but I understand why some people'd get pissed off at you. I live in a rural house and people are constantly trespassing on my property. It doesn't look abandoned in any way (I should know, yes?) and there's a fence around the property. Not only have people just shown up in our backyard but they take ATVs and snowmobiles back there too. Not just passing through either....doing doughnuts and busting up my garden and throwing empty beer cans around. Last time I saw them I was >this< close to getting the antique rifle from the basement and coming out to "greet" them.

I don't think people are too bothered if you're there just to look around but in my experience most people who do trespass are complete assholes. Step lightly and carry a smile.

that is kind of dick i could see "greeting" them in that sense. but we were just walking by. the dude tweaked and that is when our walking turned into running.

Posted by tippa that is kind of dick i could see "greeting" them in that sense. but we were just walking by. the dude tweaked and that is when our walking turned into running.

Eh...that's different. That's when you gotta carry a piece yourself

i dont like guns. never have. its really not my thing.

Posted by tippa i dont like guns. never have. its really not my thing.

Big old blade then? Maybe some sort of McGyver-type projectile weapon? Yeah, I'm not fond of guns myself and was a bit unnerved to find the rifle in the basement. It's a .22 and it probably wouldn't kill anyone but still...

Luckily there's no ammo for it and it probably couldn't fire anyways (bolt is really sticky). I think the previous owner bought it at an antique store...it looks like a WWI left over. However, it may one day come in handy if only to intimidate drunken ATV-riding yahoos.

very tru just make sure they dont have guns cause then you will have yourself an old fashion shoot out.

Posted by tippa very tru just make sure they dont have guns cause then you will have yourself an old fashion shoot out.

Yeah, I guess that's true. Another option is just to spread invisible razor wire all around the property. Of course, I might have to deal with decapitated corpses. Dang, why can't they just leave us alone.

courpses dont ride atv's they just chill.

Posted by tippa courpses dont ride atv's they just chill.

Yeah, but I'd still have to clean up the bodies and blood and all that. Oh man, this conversation is turning ugly. Anyways, yeah, I understand why some country folk are unfriendly (though I don't know what got up the gas bar attendant's ass).

Posted by jB Yeah, but I'd still have to clean up the bodies and blood and all that. Oh man, this conversation is turning ugly. Anyways, yeah, I understand why some country folk are unfriendly (though I don't know what got up the gas bar attendant's ass).

Being in school and working part time at a gas station I can assure you that "what got up the gas bar attendant's ass" was all the stupid people that gas stations see. By the end of my shift I want to punch every customer that I see.

"What... my credit card was declined? Well then I'll need your name to report you to head office."

"Do you have bread?" - "Uh, no. We're a gas station"

"Do you have stamps?" - "Uh, no. We're a gas station"

"The pump isn't working, you better call a mechanic" - "Umm, you have to pick up the nozzle and pull the little trigger thing" - "oh"

May I suggest Google Earth for finding rural locations. Just zoom in close enough that you can see a dirt road, then follow the road. Every time you see a structure, zoom in closer and look carefully. Do you see any cars? Is the driveway grown over, or are there definite tracks? I can't speak for the whole continent, but I run about 80% success on locations I find on Google Earth.

google earth sucks around my area. You can barely see main roads.

Gotcha! Not too great in some areas around here, but excellent in others. Microsoft Terraserver, perhaps?

Keyhole?

Posted by Tat2ed White Trash Keyhole?

Isn't google earth keyhole with google's name attached or do they actually use Google specific maps? I have tried keyhole ages ago and I dont remember it being any better than ge

It's times like this that I'm actually happy to be in NJ...the whole state is in high res. Some of DE/PA/NY/CT and Mass as well. For the rest of the hunting it's either driving, offroading or dumb luck that I find RE locations.

Posted by Watson516 Isn't google earth keyhole with google's name attached or do they actually use Google specific maps? I have tried keyhole ages ago and I dont remember it being any better than ge

I thought when I used keyhole it was better and had better options to play with.