Driving on highway 108, On the way back from a camping week end in the sierra, north of the Yosemite National Park we stopped at this location, that I had seen many times before. Friends recommended it. The building, on top of a hill next to the highway doesn't look that impressive from the outside. It's only when you get closer that you start to see something quiet unusual: the place is full of all the things that it contained when it was abandoned.
We visited for a couple of hours all the rooms of what probably use to be a bar or a restaurant and possibly a guest house. I found on an old bill that the name of the place was Little Sweden. The owners for an unexplained reason left the place as it was with absolutely everything you can imagine in.
Remains of a truck.
From dates on bills and magazines it seems that the place was last inhabited around 1995. Of course and unfortunately it had been vandalized since. I did some research on the net but couldn't find a piece of info about it. If you know anything about what happen there I'll be happy to include that here.
Old polaroids capture stories only for those who can remember them...
Short and Special + a nail in a freezer...
The main room.
The kitchen.
A bedroom.
An old video game.
Clothes still in the closet after more than 10 years.
coordinates : 38°08'04.54"N 120°05'43.13"W
google map
pictures sources : gregoire V. & Artificial Owl
text source : Artificial Owl
Artificial Owl recommends:
Bokor Hill Station is an abandoned French town built in 1922 on Bokor Mountain, just outside the town of Kampot, southern Cambodia. mark M. who visited the area was kind enough to send us some pictures. the buildings look absolutely eerie and beautiful. It seems that the area that has been abandoned for so many years has some new development on the way and is becoming touristy. 
Bokor resort Hotel/casino
The following description is from Mark M. :" I went to Cambodia and one of the highlights of my trip was a night's stay on Bokor Mountain to see the abandoned resort up there. It was built by the French in the 20's and then expanded much later (evidenced by some sleek and modern architecture), but was abandoned due to the war in the 70's and was used as a hold out for the Khmer Rouge for a while. An important battle happened there, I believe. The main building is intact, overlooking a dramatic cliff toward the distant ocean. There are several other buildings including a catholic church, a casino, some homes."
The following description comes straight out of wikipedia:" The town was built as a resort by the colonial French settlers to offer an escape from the humidity and general insanity of Phnom Penh. The centrepiece of the resort was the grand Bokor Palace Hotel & Casino, complemented by shops, a post office, a church and the Royal Apartments. It is also an important cultural site, showing how the colonial settlers spent their free time.
Now abandoned, most of the buildings are still standing. The strategic importance of the location is underlined by the fact that the Cambodian authorities maintain a Ranger Station on the site."
.jpg)
.jpg)
coordinates : 10°37'19.78"N 104°01'34.61"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 & Mark M.
text source : 1 & Mark M.
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
These are the remains of a M3 Half-track vehicle (if I'm correct) which according to Wikipedia
was "an armoured vehicle used by the United States and its allies during World War II and the Cold War." The pictures were taken by Dayne T. while traveling on the tracks around the gorgeous area of Hole in the rock in Utah. Thanks for the great pictures Dayne.
All the valuable parts seemed to have been stripped apart over the years. This carcass strikingly reminds me of the dried out elephant skeleton that are found in the African desert. Anywhere else this sight would have been mundane, but in this remote desertic area, it gets a whole different meaning.
Illustration of a complete Half-track M3
The area of Hole in the rock, unknown to me, looks like a great destination.
coordinates : 37°22'31.71"N 110°32'21.06"W
google map
pictures sources : 1 2 3 & Dayne T.
text source : 1 & Dayne T.
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
Oranjemund, Namibia. It seems to be the largest diamond mine vehicle graveyard, and yet there are barely any pictures of it. Satellite photos of the area could let you guess how big it is. The mine owned by De Beers is reputed to have the largest private earthmoving fleet in the world.
From the texts I have found here and there, my understanding is that that people are not allowed to visit those the area for safety reasons, hence the lack of available photos.
This tank was last used in industry, not war; after World War II, the diamond miners of Oranjemund used surplus tanks to bulldoze sand.
Once a machine has been used for diamond harvesting in the De beers mine, it won't leave the mine anymore, even after it's Obsolete. Machines of any types have been piling up in the graveyard since the 1900's. The reason seems to be that people could find diamonds trapped in those old machines. I don't know why the company do not dismantle them in search of possible lost gems though...
A map of the graveyard, each point is supposedly a vehicle
And some more few miles north.
coordinates : 28°26'09.22"S 16°16'06.37"E
google map
pictures sources : 1 2
text source : 1 2
Artificial Owl recommends:
Read more [+]
south bunker coordinates : 37°34'05.23"N 122°30'58.99"W north bunkers coordinates: 37°34'28.43"N 122°31'09.04"W pictures sources : 1 2 3 & Artificial Owl
This bunker is located above the pacific ocean at a part of the coast called "devil's slide" few miles south of San Francisco. I want to thanks Kevin L. for sending me this tip, this is truly an amazing location. I had the chance to go there and take some pictures, I can tell that the name "devil's slide" is perfectly appropriate!
There are 2 sets of bunkers in pretty much the same location, the lone bunker to the south, built originally on a thick pillar of sandstone. The stone has eroded so much that the building hangs over it on all sides. And some more to the north.
The following description from the United States Army Corps of Engineers website refers to those constructions (the one to the north) : "Prior to 01 July 1940, the War Department acquired 9.61 ... acres for a triangulation station and observation site. Devil's Slide was one of a series of observation posts during pre-radar days and was a part of the Harbor Defense of San Francisco. Military personnel would use binoculars and compasses to search for ships at sea and relay the position ... using information received from other observation posts. Improvements to the site began in 1943, and included three observation pill-boxes, one electric generator bunker, one communications and command bunker, and an observation tower."
The south bunker.
Looking to the north.
The 3 other constructions north of the first bunker.
text source : 1 2 3
Artificial Owl recommends:
