Enjoy Summer without Going Broke or Getting Burnt

Summer is the time people want to be outdoors, doing things and having adventures. It’s when we recharge our batteries from the winter just past and coming up ahead. So everyone, even those who don’t like the heat, humidity and sweat of summer will still try to get out there and do something.

Enjoying some part of summer becomes a bit of a problem if you have a tight budget, or nothing extra to spend at all. I am on a budget myself and I’m not especially a summer person who wants to be out there for too long. So, I put together a list of summer things to do, on a budget, which won’t leave you feeling over heated.

You can always do the armchair adventure idea. Have a staycation with virtual adventures and real snacks.

Pedal Power!

Take out that bicycle and pedal yourself to new locations. Have a plan or just go in some new direction and see where it takes you. Picture yourself as an explorer, sailing out over the vast ocean, suspecting the world is flat and you may at any moment sail right over the edge… but not yet. How far can you travel before you find your flat edge and decide to go back? Bring your own water.

Foot Power!

See your city or town on foot. Sign up for any walking tour you can find, free tours are often available through the local library for bird watchers and other groups who get together. You can be walking through a forest on a breezy summer day and not spend a thing to get there. Or, your tour of choice may be a haunted walk, having a night time adventure and trying to see the ghost.

Pot Luck Dinners

Invite people over for a pot luck. Everyone brings one thing: salad, burgers, buns, cutlery, water, etc. When it all comes together there is enough for a great feast and yet it won’t cost more than you would have spent on making something for dinner that night anyway.

Check Your Local Listings

Check the newspaper and online websites which list local events. Pick something and attend. There is bound to be something going on every weekend, somewhere, in a city.

In smaller towns the church has a pancake breakfast, bake sale or some kind of event involving people getting together with food and face painting.

Most towns have a farmers market on weekends too. Pick up fresh produce and take your time wandering around the booths.

Libraries, museums and art galleries will be trying to attract people during the summer. Check their websites and see what they have to offer. Most of it will be free – you just have to show up.

Check public parks for soccer games and assorted free things you may take for granted. You don’t have to be a parent to watch the kids play but it can make you feel happy to hear them laugh, cheer them on and just be part of a group doing something.

Pick Up Junk and Treasures

Spring cleaning, people moving to new homes and travel plans are all causes for people to sort through their stuff. You can find better trash to treasure during the summer than you will find tossed out during the winter. Take advantage of your neighbour’s spring cleaning to pick up something you can restore, renovate or repurpose. Summer is a great time to be a scavenger.

Of course, you can always haul out some of your own unfinished projects, books and clothing taking up space and have a garage sale. Whatever doesn’t sell can sit at the curb for someone else to pick up as a great find to treasure.

Hang Out at the Mall

Pick the one which still has air conditioning. Shopping indoors can be a sticky, hot adventure in the days of trying to be green. A fast food restaurant is a good choice too, if they keep it cool. You can buy a coffee or a bottled water and hang out for at least an hour. Bring a book.

Staycation Yourself in the Backyard

Pull out a blanket, the radio and a book. Make yourself at home in your own backyard. You can pretend to be at the beach, in the middle of a forest, at the top of a mountain – even bring your own sound effects if you find something to download online. You don’t need to go far to just be outside in the summer.

Be a Weekend Gardener

You don’t need a lot of space to have a few things growing. If you want to go all out and plot a big garden go ahead and enjoy it. But, if you just want to get your fingers a little dirty and have something to grow for it, that works too. Consider a window box which you can plant with herbs, or annual flowers. Container gardening is one way to keep your plants mobile, move them onto patios, decks or balconies and shift them around as they grow, flower or go to seed.

Pick plants which don’t need a lot of water. At first they will need some water to help them transplant and grow new roots. Most plants will let you know when they need watering, they droop and look sad. Over watering and too much care will kill plants too. If you have no luck at all try a cactus. They don’t mind being dry but they do like sun and won’t be happy to be left in the cold if you start them before summer is actually here. Herbs are pretty tough, plant herbs which are native plants in your area and you will be a weekend gardener in no time.

Get Wet

Find a source of water near you and put yourself into it. Not everyone will have a public pool or local swimming hole. But, you can put the sprinkler on to cool down or lie outside in a kiddie pool (pretend the kids are coming over later if you feel the need to explain yourself to anyone).

Do Kid Stuff

• Fly a kite or paper airplanes
• Blow bubbles
• Build a sandcastle

Find Free Theatre and Music

Check for live events where you don’t need to pay or just bring canned goods for the food bank. Theatres may allow the public to sit in on dress rehearsals. If you investigate you can find live entertainment for free at least once over the summer.

Flower Picking

Find wildflowers like daisies and pick a bouquet. If you don’t have a vase put them in a tall glass or water pitcher.

Watch the Night Sky

It may not be the sunny daytime but the summer sky at night is soothing as the day cools off. Find a spot and relax under the sunset until the stars come out.

Build a Fort

Does your grocery store offer boxes? Bring home as many as you can and build a fort in the backyard. Kids can help but do it yourself just for fun. Why do we think we need to have children to enjoy building a fort?

Have at Least one Picnic

Summer is for picnics, ants and all. My Grandfather would take us to the grocery store and buy a loaf of bread, some cold cuts, maybe pickles and cheese too. Then we all drove to the park with him and played on the swings for awhile. Then he would bring out the supplies and we would eat our picnic, even with slightly dirty hands. I still have fond memories of picnic sandwiches with fingerprints.

Seed Spitting

Is it really summer if you haven’t had watermelon? Eat it outside and see how far you can spit the seeds. You can always do the armchair adventure idea. Have a staycation with virtual adventures and real snacks.

When you don't live in the city you can call yourself a rural explorer.

Chances are you already know the first place you want to explore. There's something that catches your eye on the way home from work every day, each time you drive to visit your Mother, when you go on the backroad into the next town... There's a place out there which you'd like to stop and get a look at, if only you dared. Let's not say you need to find the time. The time is there. It's not easy to stop the car, get out with your camera and make that first step into being an urban explorer.

Or, a rural explorer, as I see it. I don't live in the city. I've lived in the city, in a small city and a range of towns around Ontario. I started exploring abandoned farm houses with my Mother and my Aunt, before I ever knew other people were doing the same thing. I didn't go looking for antiques, old hardware or anything like that. I wasn't hoping to see a ghost or wanting to get creeped out. I wanted to see a relic from the past, the old woodwork, the way the bricks had weathered and whatever mysteries might be lost, forgotten and buried under dust, debris and wild plants. The best thing I found myself was an old iron key. I still have it in my jewelry box.

The first time I explored on my own was years later. Right after I got my first digital camera. No co-incidence there. The digital camera is a wonder for anyone into exploring. Now you can take all the photos you want and not think twice about the cost of getting them developed or how many rolls of film you had packed into your purse.

The photo in this introduction is the very first house I explored, alone. Just my digital camera and me. That was the year 2006.

Don't Pass up a Great Chance to Explore

Access All Areas: A User's Guide to the Art of Urban Exploration I bought this book just after the author died. Not from falling off a building or any kind of exploring accident. I met his wife when I bought the book, at a zine fair in downtown Toronto, Ontario. I still have Access All Areas, even though I have not visited all the places he did. Mostly because I live farther north now. The book is a guide to taking a chance, some risks and visiting places mostly unknown, unseen or where you may not be welcome. I hope people continue to buy Access All Areas for all the same reasons I did years ago.

Photo taken in 2007. This house is now gone. Burned down by vandals, then demolished.

The Real Dangers of Urban Exploration

You may expect the top danger for explorers to be people. It's not!

I've been exploring, often alone, and the biggest danger I've found is from wild animals. Not that I have been attacked by wolves, raccoons, rabid squirrels... no. I've been threatened by birds and attacked by bees. I've had toads and frogs scare the pee out of me - I still think I stepped on one poor toad when I was walking through very long grass and couldn't see where my feet were stepping.

Birds can be territorial and may dive bomb you. The only solution is to tolerate it or hide. I've yet to have one actually strike me. But, the closest to do so were blackbirds (those smaller versions of crows) and hummingbirds. Don't laugh!

Bees are pretty self explanatory. Rule number 1: don't step in between the flight path of two beehives. Just don't do it. If you really must, duck down low and make sure your hair is covered. There is nothing like having a bee lost in your long, curly hair - near enough to your ear so you know you're in danger of being stung and you're not really keen on finding it with your fingers.

People will sometimes ask you what you are doing. In all but one case I have never had any trouble at all with people. They are curious. If they know something about the history of the house/ building/ location they will usually tell you about it. Volunteering all kinds of historical information. Which is great. I do like to hear it. Sometimes people want to talk more than I want to keep listening, but I do appreciate their time, their interest in the place I'm looking at and... the fact that I'm a woman and they are likely telling me all this because I don't seem like someone who would be getting into trouble, or making trouble.

Only once, I had a woman who was suspicious. But, it turned out she was the owner of the house I was photographing - it was a ruin but not abandoned. In that case I liked it for the ruined look. But, there are cases where you will find out (later hopefully) that the abandoned house you're photographing isn't actually abandoned after all. It's kind of funny, later.

Getting back to animals... watch for animal holes. You might hurt your leg if you step into one. It is a good idea not to go alone just in case you do get hurt and need help. I do not explore inside the houses, hardly ever actually. I will go inside if I'm with a group, or at least one other person. Safety in numbers, when it comes to injury or... getting caught as a trespasser.

This has not happened to me. But, it is on my mind each time I stop and get out of the car at a location I want to explore. I feel I am keeping myself out of trouble by not entering the premises. If I just walk around outside taking my photos I'm not breaking into the property. Also, I just don't feel right about entering a home this way. Most often they are pretty gutted by other explorers or people looking for hardware and such to steal and sell as vintage. So, in theory, I feel I am not trespassing, or really missing much.

I was asked to leave one location by the security people. This was a time I was not alone so that was nice for me. I had already taken the photos I wanted too. I think they left me alone to wander around for awhile before they finally approached me. But, I'm sure they would have come on the run if I had been trying to do more than take outside photos.

If you do enter any abandoned, derelict or ruined building you must know you are at risk. You can not be 100% sure about anything in that building. Even a place which does not look badly derelict can have structural damage. Don't be an idiot about exploring inside. Wear decent footwear, bring a flashlight (even in daylight). Have someone with you or at least make sure your phone is charged and with you so you can call for help.

Taken outside of Barrie, Ontario. 2011.

Shipwreck on Lake Ontario, 2007.

How to Find Locations for Urban Exploring

I find places to explore by driving around and looking out the car window. These are the times it's important to have someone else driving the car. You can't navigate the car and have most of your attention focused on catching sight of weathered wood, boarded windows or a driveway overgrown with plants.

Urban Exploration Photography Tips

My new (new 2 years ago) digital camera has a great feature for urban and rural explorers, zoom. I've got 10x zoom. This makes a big difference in what I can get into a photo without having to be physically closer. You can't always get close up when there are fences, animals, and etc in the way.

Frame your photo and use the rule of thirds. I like to photograph a foreground of weeds/ wildflowers in front of a house. Sometimes I scoot down to the ground so the house appears to be on a hill. (It helps if it actually is on a bit of a rise). I like to get trees on the sides of my photos. It gives the photo a real, living edge. Then I take a photo where the house fills the frame.

Be creative, try different angles, try getting high (the roof of another building, a tree?) then get down low for a different view. Using a tripod is nice, if you have one. I did buy one but I have yet to actually take it with me.

I do have a camera strap. I always keep it on my wrist when I am using the camera. It is so easy to have some little thing trip you up and next thing you drop the camera. If you have that strap over your wrist, your camera has a much better survival rate.

Focus on details. There will be little details you miss, You will notice them once you upload the photos from your camera. As you get practice you start noticing details easier, while you are still on the site. Train your mind to look for small things, the trimmings, the cracks. There will be details which especially appeal to you of course.

Don't be stingy with your photos. Take extra. You can delete any you don't need later. Or, you might find one of your extras just happened to catch the light and the angle just right.

Try different times of day, different seasons too. Sunset adds a glow to your photos outside. Winter makes everything look mysterious and silent. You should explore night photography too, what works for taking photos in darkness. Bring a flashlight, shine it on a window and get a photo of the beam inside the house.

From 2009. Car and house in the background. Ruined by fire.

Another idea is to join Flickr. You can get a free account. Search for local groups with explorers who are already adding photos. Some of them will put directions and locations on the photos. Not everyone will. I tend to leave it ambiguous. I like to protect the places from vandals and people who just want to grab whatever they can sell. So, I am cautious about giving directions. But, that doesn't mean I hoard them all. If you can join the local group, get involved in a discussion, share any photos from old places you already have - you might find a place in the group. Try to attend when people plan an event - meeting at one site. It's a lot of fun plus you make real contacts and become someone they will share information with.

Flickr has a lot of local groups but it isn't the only source. Search online and see what you find.

Read local history. Read the news. See which buildings in your own town are historical and may be in danger of being demolished. Read about the history fo your area and see what has already been lost and what is still left.

Check real estate listings. Some places have been for sale for years, empty. Some of them are being sold due to fire or damage from something else. Some are being sold in order to be knocked down so the land can be farmed or have housing developments built over them.

On a busy road into the town, in 2008. A baby deer was also at the house when I began photographing.

UER Huge site for urban explorers. Having an active membership gives you some prestige and access to extra features. Membership is free, but donations are accepted.

Painting by Michelle Basic Hendry

Women Urban and Rural Explorers - I have met the women explorers on this list through my years of running the Flickr group: Ontario Rural Ruins. If you are a woman urban or rural explorer send me a note and I will check your links and photos and add you to the list.

Flickr: Female Urban Explorers "This group is a place for UE girls to get together to talk about our explores and experiences and a place to share our images. Let's celebrate the fact that we are female Urban Explorers....and proud of it!"

msDeKay Ontario urban and rural explorer. Lots of photos, not all locations in Ontario.

KateKnevil Ontario rural explorer. Not a lot of photos but very good photos.

Lee-Ann Licini Ontario rural and urban explorer. She also runs the Creepy Ontario group on Flickr.

The Navigator Ontario urban and rural explorer. I've actually met Carla, face to face once.

Michelle Ontario rural explorer and artist. Now moved away from Ontario and living in the US. Her paintings of rural ruins are available on her site.

Abandoned on a Lake, 2010

Take only photos; leave only footprints.

I explore abandoned places, most often farm houses here in Ontario. I post my photos to Flickr, my account there and some of them I select to post to the groups I began for Ontario Rural Ruins and Canadian Rural Ruins. People like my photos and will often ask, "Did you go inside?".

I very seldom go inside the abandoned places I photograph. Not everyone understands this. Some people think you aren't a real explorer if you don't go inside. But, I feel differently. I love to see the outside of the homes for one thing. I also prefer the places which are very deteriorated, eroded by the elements and overgrown by plants. Those kind of places are not safe to enter. I know one explorer who has some engineering and fire fighter background, he takes more risks and enters the places which are risky. But, he is educated about it and decides to avoid anything dangerous.

There is another issue about entering an abandoned or derelict place. You don't own it. So you're trespassing in reality.

At an abandoned place you decide for yourself how far you should go. For me, I walk around the building (watching where I step) but I don't go inside. That's the point where it doesn't feel right to me.

About Trespassing

Basically, trespassing is going onto the owner's property knowing you are doing so and not having permission from the owner. So, by the law urban and rural and industrial exploring of property you don't own yourself, is trespassing.

But, I do it anyway. Sometimes I do stop at a clear sign that the property owner does not want anyone there. If I see a 'No Trespassing' sign or if the property has a locked gate blocking access, I will stop there and just use my camera's zoom feature to get what photos I can. You can take photos from a public access area - that isn't trespassing. You can walk up and down the street along a 'No Trespassing' location and take as many photos as you like. (From the public side).

But, I do sometimes take a step onto the property so I can see more. I don't cause any harm. I don't litter or take anything away with me. I also don't enter the premises (the building) on the property.

The odd times I have had someone stop and ask me what I was doing it was a neighbour who was curious. Sometimes they will tell me all they know about the building and the people who owned it (especially when it comes to old farm houses).

Once, I was asked to leave the premises by security. This was at a location in Orillia, Ontario which had once been a sanitarium. I think they left me to my own devices for awhile before approaching me. I was able to have a nice walk around and I had just finished taking the last photo I wanted to get when they stopped me. They were very nice about it and I had no problem leaving by then of course.

Just to note: a trespasser would probably not be prosecuted if the property was not fenced in, did not have trespassing signs and the land was open - if the trespasser did not interfere with the owner's use of the property and if the trespasser left without incident once (or if) they are asked to leave. (You can be asked to leave by someone who is not the owner and that counts too).

This is why I am strict about the 'Leave only footprints; take only photos' theme of exploration. This is also why I almost never enter the building on the property but I will carefully walk around it to view as much of it as I can.

Some people may think the property owner is just being a miser, a Scrooge or a Grinch about the whole trespassing thing. So, you need to consider it from their angle. First, if you are injured while on their property (even uninvited or as a trespasser) the property owner is liable for whatever happens to you. Not quite fair is it? The property owner isn't even there to have a voice in your exploration, yet they are responsible for you while you are there.

Of course, any harm you do while there will be left for them to deal with or clean up. So don't leave so much as a coffee cup around and don't take anything you didn't arrive with on your person. A property owner can claim ownership of the photos you have taken while accessing the property, if you were not on public grounds while taking the photograph.

As a kid, I really wanted to be one of those early explorers of the world. Travelling on a tall ship, braving the elements and the dragons at the edge of the map... Of course, as a kid, I ignored all the practical things like asthma, allergies, my financial allowance from my parents at the time and assorted other stuff that just gets in our way as adults.

It is sad how far we 'grow' from those days of being a care-free kid who thinks we can do so many things if we can just figure out how to make it get started and get our parents to understand and let us do all these great things. Still, now we are the adults and we can actually do some of the world exploring we wanted to do as bold adventurers when we were younger.

You don't have to take on the world, drain your bank account or find yourself a tall ship to be an explorer. Just get the basics: a map, a camera, maybe a flashlight, sturdy footwear, maybe a jacket if things get wet or messy and a good backpack to stash it all in for easy carrying around. Bring a few bags or something practical for any treasures you pick up along the way. Maybe some bottled water too, for yourself to drink or they also make good storage for plant cuttings, seeds, small fish or assorted other interesting finds.

Now, just take yourself out there, into the world. You can plan a destination, or just move your feet, pay attention to your surroundings (don't watch your feet - look up and really see where you are and what is around you, all the things you usually take for granted and miss). You might plan an adventure which ends up with you at your favourite coffee shop - an adventure doesn't have to be an all day or all week event. An hour is good. Just see something new - new to you. Stop and smell the roses as they say. But, I would say, you should touch some of those roses and not just settle for smelling and seeing them.

Explore your neighbourhood. Explore the alley behind your house. Explore your driveway if you broke your leg and can't get around much. Or, be braver and explore another town, an old house, a rooftop with a view, a cave, a museum, an art gallery, pick something interesting and find something new there. Explore your world.

This summer just past my nephew, Zack, and I did a little exploring together. I told him about some places to see in his town and area. Then we explored this school, which he had found, together. The school has been closed a few years but is not abandoned, just not still being used. Once a year it is open with the Doors Open event for people who come to tour the historical places.

Keri Smith has impressed me with her lust/ zest for life. We could all use more adventure and exploration in our day to day lives.

Get started as an urban explorer with a great backpack. Mine is not as cool at this one from National Geographic, but I can dream (or think of it as a goal for the future). What sort of explorer wouldn't be tempted by something called an Earth Explorer Backpack designed by National Geographic (those explorers/ documenters of the world.

You don't need a lot of gear to be an urban explorer. The basics: digital camera, map, decent footwear, flashlight and something sensible, somewhat waterproof and light to carry them in. Some explorers bring a lot of safety gear, extra gadgets and electronic accessories. If you are exploring risky areas like drains, tunnels and industrial areas it is a good idea to come prepared for danger from gases, chemicals and whatever else might be lingering around.

You could bring water, exploring is thirsty work. I prefer to go for coffee somewhere after I've taken all the photos I want. Of course, it does depend on how mucky I end up being. Not many coffee shops are going to be happy with you if you track in a lot of mud and possibly worse smelling stuff (depending on where you explored that day).

Urban exploring (usually wandering around without permission) is taking a risk. You could be charged with trespassing. However, if you don't have a lot of gear and equipment (beyond your camera) you won't look like someone who has planned to cause trouble, steal or damage anything. I've never had any trouble. People ask what I am doing and I explain that I enjoy old buildings and like to have a look and take some photographs.

Another thing for explorers to know is the 'rule' of urban explorers. Take only photographs; leave only footprints. This means you don't take souvenirs, or remove anything from the property (other than your own garbage).

Don't confuse urban exploring with dare devil stunts. Urban explorers love history, old places and things. It isn't about taking risks or breaking laws. Urban exploring is about documenting history and using photography to share what we find with family, friends and others you can trust not to vandalize or break the rule; take only photographs; leave only footsteps.

There is something about carrying your gear, gadgets, camera and assorted stuff in a backpack from National Geographic. You can pick from smaller backpacks and take a look at the camera strap (below) too.