Speleology
Speleology? Whaaat? What the heck does that mean?! I was wondering the same thing as I was searching google for "icelandic geology" and the "reykjanes peninsula" and stumbled across the word. Hmmm. I just had to know what it was, and eventually got so sidetracked on this new subject that I completely stopped my research on Iceland. Speleology: The science of caves. More specifically, it can be defined as "the activity that focuses on studying caves and natural cavities, their origins and evolution, past and present fauna and flora, exploitation, research, documentation and preservation, as well as the techniques used in the act of studying"". (Geuis, Caving). For more information look at this Speleology and Caving website.
Urban Speleology
Looking this up I came to a search that revealed Urban Speleology. What is urban exploration? I noticed the slogan "public access, for public works" sprawled about on some websites, and though that's part of the philosophy of urban exploration (or so I'm assuming) it's not a great definition. Well, as zone-tour puts it it's "a way of seeing the city by its hidden and often functional side". Which pretty much implies breaking and entering and exploring random and odd places around town without permission. And I was hooked. The first site I came to was Infiltration: the zine about going places you're not supposed to go. It has the info on exploring drains and tunnels, catacombs, and transit tunnels, among other places. Excitement!
I've had friends tell me about numerous explorations in the tunnels under the University of Chicago. I want to go, but I'm too scared. This urban speleology business definitely excites me, but I think I'm too much of a chicken to actually participate. I think I may join a mailing list and then just patiently wait until the time and mission is right. We'll see. One site I found is Chicago Urban Exploration, a conspiracy in moonlight and stillness. It looks promising. I would be fun to attend a meeting. Perhaps I will in January when I'm back in the windy city.
There is also an alaskan site that I ran across, with lots of illegal exploration of the University of Alaska--Fairbanks. It looks fun, and I'm tempted to contact these boys, but it's definitely not something to loose my job over.
The next great urban speleology site that I found is Dark Passage, "a New-York based organization providing blind archaeologist with the finest quality flashlights".
Also a cool thing that I've found about Urban Speleology sites is that they are well-designed and most of the urban speleologists are great photographers. Especially sites such as Dark Passage.
pdXplore
You guessed it. pdXplore is website dedicated to the urban speleology (urban exploration) of Portland and the surrounding area. It's also known as the Portland Vadding Collective.
Plea for Web Design Help
I've been impressed by these sites today. It's pressuring me even more to get up and going on my webpage. I just really need a bit of help and a push to get me on my way. Anyone want to offer a coupla hours to teach me the artsty website stuff? Or refer me to a good site? I'm excited to learn!