The Valley Tygh.

Located East of Mt. Hood just shy of the cascade foothills, Tygh Valley is really where a man can get away from it all, relax, kick off his shoes and kick up some dust.

The Cabin in Tygh is quite possibly the best thing that ever happened to the Jewelhunters. Being centrally located to many of the ghost towns of the central Oregon plains, It is a key player in many Jewelhunts.

It is owned and operated by Jerry Deppa (pictured with chainsaw) the Father of one of the founding members Chris Deppa. It is secluded, discreet and an all around refuge from the reality that is Portland. If it is raining and shitty in portland, chances are it is dry and awesome in Tygh Valley. The Deppa family is gracious enough to let all of us creatures enjoy their stately manor in The Valley, Tygh.

The Purpose:

First and foremost, the whole point to all of this is to have fun. Second, to take photographs. We like to explore and photograph all things man made and natural. Every jewel hunt is very photo oriented and much of the decision making regarding where to go and what to see is based upon what there is to take pictures of. We hike just as much if not more than going around to abandoned buildings. Many jewels have been found along hiking trails. Sometimes the hunt involves a hike to an abandoned something, so its a twofer.

The Hunters.

The Mill.

This is the abandoned lumber mill south of Hood River, It is very large, and very abandoned. Jewelhunter Dan found this location and it is one of the best to date. The Indoor photos are mostly inside the actual mill, it is five stories tall and houses an incinerator or boiler of sorts. Beware the pigeons. The rest of the complex sprawls out across probably 50 or 60 acres. It runs next to Hood River, the actual river, not the town. I am not sure what the dam is for, if it had anything to do with the mill itself or it just happens to be broken and abandoned on the same property. There is an old pumphouse about a 1/4 mile away from the mill itself that i am assuming was for the dam. The pumphouse is probably the most Dangerous Building i have ever been inside of, dispite the large sign that read "Extremely Hazardous Area - Stay Out" Danger signs have never deterred the jewelhunters so I felt the need to get inside. And i did.

The Hunt Is On.

It has almost been two years on the hunt now. Jewels have been researched, located and examined thoroughly. More to follow.

We certainly have developed a taste for abandoned buildings. It started in the Valley Tygh, our home base for central Oregon trips. we roam the plains in search of abandoned buildings, homesteads, ghost towns, anything of historical significance or just downright interesting.

Collectively, we have been to the majority of central Oregon's "Ghost" towns and homesteads. Don't You even think for a god damn second that that's all we do, we don't have the time nor' money for gas to go gallivanting about the plains whenever we want, sometimes it comes down to the nitty-gritty and we have to seek out someplace closer to home, someplace like the Living Enrichment Center.

The Living Enrichment Center is an 94,000 square foot Abandoned Mega-church / Retreat center that went tits up in 2004 and is now Abandoned. 20 dilapidated apartments in the woods out back, Broken windows, Vandalism, Creepy, Dark. yet, new!

We Respect the places we go, we do not disturb, harm, harass, fiddle or steal anything but the occasional rusted nail. we leave everything as we found it (usually) and are always respectful of peoples private property. The majority of the places we go are private property and we most definitely intend to trespass, respectively!

More to come, My next blog will be "Jewell Hunters Hikes"

Colin