I figured it was worth checking out for maybe some kind of connection to the mine tunnels - and regardless, it would be relatively safe, neat to see, and nice to add to Action Squad's collection of 'explored Ford Motors structures'.

(After the the Steam Plant and Assembly Plant earlier in the summer, and the Mines, Power Tunnels, and Hydro Plant in 2000. Oh, plus a separate Ford power tunnel in the years between.)

So we went back and checked it out.

It was, of course, an odd building, designed and devoted entirely to a single purpose - cleaning and detoxifying water used by the plant.

There was a laboratory, with every drawer and item neatly labeled.

There were room-sized vats with giant mixers and weird silt machines that seemed like they might connect to some kind of tunnel, but with no sign of any connection to the sand mine tunnels.

We went through it all, and then scooted back home. If I'd known it was going to be over a year before I made it back again, I would probably have gone back up into the assembly plant for one more try that night ... but I didn't, so we went home.

When we'd all made it down, we started our tour of the mines - it was Junkyard and Asylunt's first time, but for me it was a nostalgic return, familiar yet exciting as I was reminded of features I'd almost forgotten - sights, smells and sounds and textures close to my heart being dusted off and revived in the vaults of memory..

I guess I could go on waxing poetic about how beautiful and kick ass the tunnels were, how great it felt to see them again, but there's no need I reckon. As Venkman once said; "We came, we saw, we kicked its ass!" And that's that.

Junkyard insisted on a victory smoke - he'd brought cigars for the occasion, so we all paused in a sand cave alcove for a puff.

Then we headed deep into the sand mines, which still managed to confuse and disorient me in spite of my many trips years before and the hastily-drawn map I'd brought along.

When we accidentally went all the way down to the caved in dead end, I spotted a toad squatting in the sand on the edge of the tunnel - she'd apparently wiggled in through some small hole, and was presumably in trouble now - there was no food, no nearby water, nothing to sustain a toad. Just a whole lot of fine sand. At first I thought she was dead, she was so immobile and unresponsive, but when Asylunt picked her up she quickly proved her vitality by peeing all over his hand. We didn't want to leave her to die in the mines, so he tucked her carefully into his breast pocket, where she hung out for the remainder of our exploration.

We crossed deep puddles on rafts of sheet foam, found a crate that had held a 50 caliber machine gun, slogged through knee-deep waters, were turned back by the severely flooded tunnels - which, unlike the rusty rungs, had not become any less daunting with seven years of exploring experience.

...

After we'd seen enough of the mining tunnels, we decided to see if we could get into the Hydro Dam. However, the door I remembered from seven years earlier had been replaced with a sturdy new door, which was barred from the other side.

We found the new entrance shaft, which replaced Action Squad's original entrance around the time we were all starting to feel exhausted - we'd been underground for a few hours, and it's pretty hard work trudging for miles through deep, loose sand.

So we climbed back up the rusty rungs of doom, crept through the assembly plant, popped into the the workers' cafeteria to buy a soda, and headed to the steam plant and out of there.

We were outside walking back to the car when I remembered that Asylunt still had a live toad forgotten in his pocket - he fished her out, and we watched her hop away into the woods along the riverbank.

As we passed by, I said 'bye' to the looming Ford sign.

Thank you, Ford Motors.

It's been wonderful. We love you.

See ya later.

- Max Action 1/1/09