FAQ's
So what is the Wanderer?
The Wanderer is a site about finding forgotten, little-known, or just
odd places. Ever since I found a factory in the woods when I was 8, I was
hooked.
Most of the site is stuff in NJ, since that's where I lived most of my life,
but I've been adding more & more out-of-state places. Some day I hope
to have more places out of NJ than in.
What specifically do you look for?
There is no certain type of place we look for. If I find something I like, I put it up. This can be anything from your expected abandoned/haunted stuff to something small like covered bridges. I added some places, like The Flume, simply because they're virtually untouched by people. Not every place on an 'exploration' site needs to have some blood-filled story attached to it; sometimes simply being out of the way is enough of a merit.
Who goes on these trips?
The roster changes over time. We used to go out in groups of 3 or 4,
sometimes in larger groups. Things have calmed down over the past few years
and usually there are only 2 of us now.
We've teamed up with other sites for some trips too: The
Forensick Report, The
Unquiet Tomb, Lost
in Jersey, and What's
in the Forest.
Many of the places I've gone to alone, which breaks many adventurers' codes....but
what can I say? I'm just that badass.
Do you guys ever get lost?
No, we just go on a lot of side quests. That take a long time.
How long has the site been around?
Well, I've been taking pics of places for quite some time. When I first
started posting them online was the summer of 2001. One day I taught myself
some very, very basic HTML, and the site started out as a
really bad Geocities page with 5 or 6 places. It didn't get the name "The
Wanderer" until after I took it off Geocities. I jumped around from host
to host, even briefly using Myrmid, the same company that hosts the "legendary"
8-Bit Theater. When it was evident they were too busy kissing 8-Bit's ass
to bother with their other customers, I left.
Does The Wanderer take submissions?
Unlike other sites or magazines, I only put up places I've been to.
If you want to tell me about or send me pics of somewhere I haven't been
to, that's fine, but I won't put anything up until I've actually been there.
Also, unlike other sites or magazines, I take all my own photos, unless
otherwise noted, and do any and all writeups.
Do you give out directions to places?
Usually no. Some places on the site are very fragile and were shown to
me on the condition their locations aren't revealed. This should be mentioned
right on their pages.
Other websites have listed directions in the past and as a result some places,
a few of which I've visited, have been destroyed or demolished.
What's with the URL? Why are you Stu of DOOM? You don't look very DOOMish
to me.
Mostly it's a joke. When I put this thing together back in '01, we were
going through a phase where tacking "of DOOM" to the end of everything
was funny (I would argue it still is). I also did it in part to mock the other
exploration sites with overly cheesy or wannabe goth-sounding names.
...although I'd like to think I'm rather DOOMy.
Why are there far more southern NJ places than northern?
3 reasons.
1) I live in southern NJ and don't go north all too often. I loathe cities,
people, and traffic.
2) Very few sites even touch southern NJ, and I think that's simply a shame.
We may not have the cities, but that doesn't mean we don't have our share
of curiosities. There is more to the Pines, the Bay, and the shore than
boardwalks, corn, and the Jersey Devil.
3) Anything up north has been overdone so many times by other sites or has
been completely raped by Weird NJ that I'm not really in a rush to go check
it out. While I have gone to some of the 'staples', like Paulinskill or
Stone Living Room, they're not my priority.
What kind of camera do you use?
I've gone through 5 for the site, each better than the previous. Way
back in the beginning, Cat & I used disposable cameras. The result was
horribly blurred pics from Walpack, Stone Living Room & Asbury Park.
I then went through 2 regular 35mm cameras...don't remember what either
was. All I know is I broke one while trying to replace the flash bulb.
For 3 years or so I had a Fuji A303.....just recently upgraded to an A600.
Some writeups don't give that much info.
Um....that's the point. I put just enough so you may want to research or perhaps visit it yourself. Or sometimes I simply don't know too much about a place when I first visit and may add more as I learn it. Sometimes, just sometimes, there simply isn't very much to say about a particular place. Look at Chuck, for example. Very interesting, but at the same time self-explanatory.
Why don't you like the term 'urban exploration'?
That term pisses me off.....way too PC for my tastes. Also, most kids
(they're usually 16 or so) who call themselves 'urban explorers', from my
experience at least, tend to be arrogant, snotty punks who think they're so
original, and everyone else who does the same thing isn't good enough for
them. They are also insecure and have the need to fit in, hence their large
groups. Also, I don't think driving down Clinton
Road every Saturday night should be considered "urban exploration".
It's a term some groups use to make themselves feel important or stand out
in some way.
I also don't consider myself a "UEr" because I cover more than just
big abandoned things. While I have my share of abandoned places, I don't think
visiting roadside oddities and restored, state run ghost towns counts as "UEing".
Truth is I'm just not cool enough for them and I really don't care.
I especially love the groups with little sayings like "Take nothing,
leave only footprints." This shouldn't even have to be said; it's commone
sense. Oh, and for the people who think they're creative for coming up with
such a cute lil' quote, I have some news for you:
This is from a sign in a nearby county park. That's right, your lil' original
slogan has been used by "The Man" much longer than you've used
it.
Fail.
Thanks for playing though.
Now go put on more eyeliner.
How often do you update?
I used to say I'd put something up every month. Now I just say "I update whenever I go somewhere," which is still roughly monthly.
Why do some places have really bad pictures? Did someone else take
them?
99% of the pics are taken by me. Any 'bad' pictures are most likely from
old trips when I was using a disposable, or when I broke the flash on one
of my old cameras. While I've reshot most of the old pages since then, some
places have since been destroyed or I simply haven't gotten back to them.
I can never get new pics of Pioneer Smelting,
for example, because it was demolished not long after I went there. So you're
stuck with crappy dark ones and will never see any good ones.
So there.
What's with all the updates and new pics of old places lately?
There are quite a few places that I felt had either incomplete or incorrect
data. And as mentioned earlier, I want to get better pics for most of the
older ones.
...or I had to get new pics for my book.
Several of the newer pages mention 'geocaching'. Whassat?
Geocaching is a worldwide game that I play. Read more about it at their site.