There are some locations in 7 Days To Die that are well worth an extremely long journey to get to.  Red Mesa happens to be one of those places. Here I found a trove of loot, zombies, and perhaps a new place to set up in. 


Since I was already stationed at the junkyard in the desert. I decided to keep heading south and a bit west towards the edge of the map. Somewhere along there I knew I would run into Red Mesa. A military compound of sorts that housed military and hazmat zombies among many others. 

<center> ![guard tower.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23uFPfsXDuRgLPq4hb2Cw1QprbGbSgvxKUd4ffPqQJGZ9qeUnJbgySHZwt7p5aFHohQ5X.jpg) </center> 
The first little building I explored was the guard’s station. There were not many interesting goods to be looted inside. It however had some amazing-looking decaying and worn-out objects inside. From the chair to the computer. The level of detail this game has added over the years is breathtaking in its own right. 

<center> ![outside Red Mesa.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23vsStMds9FPXoFx8b4znNdCdvKjCM28XjNwdwer9ciRgnMp7zzWoM6vkyjjuZBvqMJAB.jpg) </center> 
After killing off a few zombies. I made my way towards the front gate which luck should have it was already destroyed making easy entry into the compound. This place has a thick outer wall with barbed wire along the top. With a bit of a ditch and landmines surrounding it. 


Somewhere in this compound should be a massive loot room.  I can only daydream of finding massive stockpiles of guns, and ammunition that I was out of. Not to mention who knows what other kinds of goodies could be hiding inside? 

This is one place that can be quite hard to brute force your way around in. There are some thick doors and refined glass windows inside. It is best to have a look around and make sure there are not any secret tunnels leading to other locked parts of the base. As it would take quite some time to break into things. 

<center> ![Mesa garage.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23u5bTsF4DQwqaJ1F9webZJqhhmZscyvxgoEBacM9P6HTRRQkvTUU8ikGqe3w7HJDFGfW.jpg) </center> 
One of the first large rooms I entered happened to be the garage area.  It was filled with military zombies and a few of the trucks they would drive. While it took a little while I managed to clear them out without getting killed. 

I thankfully have a bed set up nearby when I do get killed to respawn. With how primitive I still am in this game a place like this can be rather challenging. Along the way, I would suffer many broken bones, negative effects, and some setbacks. 

<center> ![ammo pile.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23tSSANi8yuc4UTvTLx8XsGcHUJZ3zsx1QCVM6NGeRupjjscyBi65weVCsxDDucPUaDs8.jpg) </center> 

This place has a few ammo piles, weapon racks, and other exciting things to find. While I don’t have a shotgun I’m always happy to just find some ammo. Over time I should be able to option all types of weapons. 

<center> ![missile silos.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23tGbzhyxDttWgJJPzEHnxcvhD594tCMBfNKT5XjaR4JDKG6mGvbZ13fBUTwkP3NbEx43.jpg) </center>

Red Mesa has quite a few different floors to it. Inside you find yourself walking along giant missile silos. This just adds even further to how creepy feeling the overall place feels. I’ve always wondered what the heck happened here. Nothing good with the current safety of the game’s world. 

At one point I finally hit an area where I could not advance any further in without putting some heavy time into breaking down something that was refined. The door in has quite a lot of health. Along with the concrete around it. 

<center> ![breaking a window.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23tbRrMgnM42UJBCQqR3AsQ8TZmq3JSpPDzbVePKUzT5bFZrajw8sNg9rs3SVse8NXDXS.jpg) </center> 
I decided to go for the glass. I knew better that it would not be a single pane of glass for the entire window. I ended up being right after I broke the first section and realized I’d have to break one more to be able to fit into the hole created. 

Sometimes you just got to try things and see what method was the best. Thankfully I brought along a few resources to make repairs as needed to some of my tools. It also gave me some time for my character to recover from some of the negative effects he was suffering from.  

<center> ![control center.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23t72p72or4kZdwSz9gBgDUTDqYuYT844ZGzMAiBXuDBcwRCsiRoa3a4aENp2MpWZdm7n.jpg) </center> 
I then made my way quite deep down into the base. Passing many different areas such as this room that looks like it was used to launch missiles from as a control center. Thankfully there was still some lighting working in this bunker. It was still however quite dark and I would walk around with a torch out once the screaming zombie sounds died down. 


Along the way, I looted all kinds of things. I ended up finding a lot more ammo and some of it ended up being for the guns I currently have. There was also just a lot of random stuff as well. Like tires for instance which I in fact will need for a project, I’ll be working on at a later point in time. 
<center> ![tunnel.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23ynUo7YcDKnVUXyemA9zetNcxUudjUVtanr7rvSuB3uezJpAhtsqA51EeS9wXQVSihBV.jpg) </center> 

I finally made it to what looked like the basement of the compound. There was a bit of a tunnel that I followed for a short distance that needed up being a dead end. It had quite a few zombies that I cleared out as I went. 

<center> ![gym equipment.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23wqZZpbnXAhksNEWm35p5SkQqGYnDtR7aRmRcy1HA1ySStPYXrQeZB4qiqkJ6Poz61Ep.jpg) </center> 

This compound is so huge it even has its workout area. With all the zombie slaying I had just done and the massive amount of loot I was burdened down by.  I was in no mood to pump some iron on moldy and rusting gym equipment.  

I’ll admit this place is so massive I got lost and turned around in it a couple of times. Thankfully between finding areas I could recall like the gym or even an entire kitchen area. They would help me refine my way. The issue somewhat however would be I’d be on the wrong side of a door looking in on where I could find my way from. Meaning I was not fully in a spot I could backtrack my steps from. 

<center> ![hidden passage way.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23wgHhLp14MSsSt2NZYnw1ym7ciZv8wdHxfcLoQz3NF54P3WqqDLgfroS163U7fHk7rd8.jpg) </center> 
I also found several different tunnels like hidden areas throughout the base. This felt like a clever way to show the place has things like water plumbing while also giving you a way to get around doors that would take ages to break open. 


After a while of running into the same areas. I had felt like I explored it all. However, I was kind of expecting there to be a lot more loot. I then recalled one of the buildings on the top had slots you could view out of and a high amount of zombies guarding the side of it. I had yet to find those locations. 

So I went all the way back outside. This time marking one of the walls to that upper building and doing my best to look for ways to move in that direction. I knew instead of going down as I had I was going to be going up. 

After a short while, I found a door I missed just beyond the garage area. It led me to a new section of the compound I had yet to be in. It also had a flight of stairs that went upwards into the tower I was looking for. 
<center> ![loot room.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23u5vrzZRyVobS8VuvLjEp8ehT77p8gnMiaKJoELVYgpkCM6QjRUt86wVbFW52FD2GFBF.jpg) </center> 

I fought back quite a horde of zombies before finding this room. There was some highly rewarding kind of loot boxes in here. I went outside to the gate and dropped some boxes to dump all my stuff in. I knew I was going to need more inventory space. 

<center> ![hardened chest.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/EorzmDg7Tan5HhogSdDjtAodxgUGfxZJr1ZtW5LC3k2pXvRPDyU3WuCEsiG746xJDHS.jpg) </center> 
Thankfully I had 9 lock picks with me and I burned through most of them breaking open a gun safe and a hardened chest. While I was hoping more for guns there was a lot of ammo and gun parts to be had. Along with a bunch of other stuff. 


# Final Thoughts
<center> ![lots of ammo.jpg](https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/23tvc1MaQ4bZKuvxdcjG1kSKfjRXJUkvxcGyuDuj6PJ13u9Ewt4eF2kpxt2VKZtG66Wbs.jpg) </center> 
It’s safe to say I have a lot of ammo and even item modifications now for guns. This was not even all the loot I got out of this place either. I’m rather glad I invested in some of the looting perks. I can’t wait for this place to respawn so I can go hopefully looting again. 

It was well worth the long trip and the couple of days I spent in this location. I also passed a few towns and other buildings along the way to get here. At some point, I’ll be tempted to clear them out of loot as well. 

As far as setting up a base out there. It just feels far too way from anything else in the game. I’m sure it would make an awesome place to fight out blood moons in. however it is just one spot and there are many other locations in-game to check out as well. 
# Other Content

* [7 Days To Die | First Blood Moon](https://enjargames.com/7-days-to-die-first-blood-moon)
* [7 Days To Die | Exploring In Darkness And A Storm](https://enjargames.com/7-days-to-die-exploring-in-darkness-and-a-storm)
* [7 Days To Die | Plan Aborted](https://enjargames.com/7-days-to-die-plan-aborted)

# Information
Screenshots were taken and content was written by @Enjar about 7 Days To Die.

<center> <a href=https://enjargames.com/gaming><img src=https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/K8xmTOyY-image.png></a> </center>
<center> <a href=https://twitter.com/EnjarGames><img src=https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/enjar/Qm5z2YEq-image.png></a> </center>


***
<center><sup>Originally posted on [Enjar Games](http://enjargames.com/7-days-to-die-exploring-red-mesa-restricted-area). Hive blog powered by [ENGRAVE](https://dblog.org).</sup></center>