More from Mather
At a friend’s suggestion I headed back out to Mather Field and poked around an old bunker complex out there.
I felt like a spy or something. As for directions, all I had was, “It’s south of the golf course… on the left.” So I pulled up Google Maps and zoomed in on the area. Oh, yeah… those looks like bunkers. I actually printed the satellite images out and had them with me to navigate by.
Hmmm, satellite maps of a military bunker complex — 20 years ago that would have been a ticket to jail.
The road leading up to the complex was barred preventing vehicle traffic but not much else. I ditched the car and walked the few hundred yards to the main gate, or what was left of it. Everything from that point on was either open, unlocked or just ripped apart.
It was all pretty cool. It was clear that at some point in time the area was very high security, what with bullet proof glass everywhere (mostly on the ground) and even firing ports in some buildings.
It was also pretty clear I wasn’t the first person there. Some of the bunkers looked disturbingly lived in. Some pretty funny graffiti too. At one point I startled some kind of owl and it scared the crap out of me. The echo from the bunker doorway was a great effect though.
*SCREECH* Oh crap…ap…ap…ap! Heh…eh…eh…eh Cooool…ool…ool…ool.
All of the buildings were completely gutted. One building, one that looked if possible even more high security than the others, was pretty comical because while the door was still locked with a mechanical punch-button keypad, the bars on the windows were all ripped off and the place smelled seriously funky. I didn’t have the guts to venture too far in.
The whole complex is pretty big and I was on foot. I missed a lot simply because the sun was setting and I had to move fast. You know, those big bunkers don’t look so big until you take a “short cut” over one… or two. Yeah, they’re big… *pant* *pant* *pant*
Nothin’ but hardened, reinforced dumpsters out there now though.
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