Abandoned Facilities/Ghost towns

[thewizard16]

I apologize if this is a better fit for the Coffee House. I have a question for the members of this board.

Looking at old pictures of the Mountain Inn (after it was deserted, which I still haven't found out why it closed, anyone know?) I really got the urge to do some photography of those buildings/towns/military facilities that got lost over the years. So, my question is simple. In, say, a four or five hour driving distance from NWA, where could I go for this type of thing? It'd be a mix of exploration and photography, and I would of course attempt to contact property owners for permission if the places you know of happen to be on what is now private property. If it's government I may not be able to get in, but I'd still take pictures.

[zman9810]

The old mining town of Rush is pretty cool and has a great hiking trail. It's over on the Buffalo near Yellville. It's off State Highway 14 and you can reach it in a couple of hours if I remember right by taking US 412 . There are a lot of old buildings and mine equipment around. The mines are blocked but still neat to see. It's great day trip.

[thewizard16]

The old mining town of Rush is pretty cool and has a great hiking trail. It's over on the Buffalo near Yellville. It's off State Highway 14 and you can reach it in a couple of hours if I remember right by taking US 412 . There are a lot of old buildings and mine equipment around. The mines are blocked but still neat to see. It's great day trip.

[Mith242]

I apologize if this is a better fit for the Coffee House. I have a question for the members of this board.

[thewizard16]

No worries, but yeah I did figure it would fit better in the Coffee House subforum. But I did leave it in the main forum for a bit so that more people might notice it. Unfortunately I don't really have any other suggestions. At least nothing that is around in this area.

[Mith242]

Thanks Mith, I wasn't quite sure where to put it. I've heard there's some potential in Fort Smith, so I'm trying to get in contact with an "urban explorer" there that might know more about abandoned buildings/facilities in Arkansas to photograph. I've got a bit of a curiousity in those types of things and the whole "post-apocalyptic" feel that those photos have, so I might get to have some fun on the occasionaly weekend in the near future.

[cowbreath]

I've been thinking about revisiting Rush, now that I know the mines aren't all that well blocked (underground ozarks had an amazing picture gallery showing some of the... huge (much larger than I'd imagined) mines). That, and there are more buildings than I knew about. So, it'll probably be a day trip at least. Might camp down by the river, explore during the day.

[Mith242]

I've been thinking of going there also because of the mines. Although the web tells me that I shouldn't go into abandoned mines without trained guides, it is still tempting. They have found many nice rock specimens there, mainly of Pink Dolomite and yellow calcite. Here are some samples from that region:

http://www.minerals-n-more.com/Dolomite_Spec.html

http://www.archminerals.com/old-arkansas.htm

I was pleasantly surprised to find some pink dolomite samples in an unexpected place last weekend. When I was revisiting the site after first finding some calcite crystals, I discovered the pink dolomite and some small pyrite specs on fossilized rocks. I'd tell you where but I'm not sure I'm done searching there.