OT. I mean REALLY OT!
Posted: Sat Sep 06, 2008 1:56 pm
Well, I've sometimes wondered why some folks think this seems to be the place to ask goofy questions... but the fact is.... some of our participants seem to know the wierdest stuff! I expect Ol' GAr might have something to say about this.
Here's my thought for the day:
About 20 years ago (gawd....has it been 20 years already? ! !), I was flying for a company who frequently went to Denver. I had nothing to do for the three days we always spent there so I occupied my time in various ways. One day I was driving up past Georgetown and off a side road away from the highway I discovered a hole in the side of a mountain that had a rusty steel door padlocked shut. Ore-car tracks exited beneath the doors and a trickle of water contantly streamed out between the tracks. Judging by the dilapidated condition of the chain and lock and this place had obviously not been visited in decades. It was pretty remote. I couldn't resist.
I went back to town and bought some flashlights and returned to take a look. The padlock didn't even require much effort and it literally fell apart. I hid the car and entered the mine. I pulled the door closed behind me so no one passing would notice. It was a hard rock silver mine, I believe. The ore car tracks led me along a virtually level shaft about 4 feet wide and 8 feet high. The walls were hard, broken rock, with water barely moving along the ore car tracks about a half-inch deep. Occasionally an old ore car train would be sitting where it'd been parked decades before. I'd have to squeeze along beside the cars to pass. It was darn sure dark.
About 200 yards into the mine several laterals appeared and I followed them along for a ways, mostly to dead ends with vertical shafts. Some of them led to upper rooms which where empty. One or two of the verticals had air coming down them. At most, I'd walked about 1/2 mile into the mountain, and all I found were these different laterals and shafts. Each were about 5 feet wide by 8 feet high. The ore car system only ran thru the major ones. Along the walls would be found signs that had been scribbled in paint "Au-5%" or "Au-10%", which I assumed were assays.
I found some old wooden boxes which were open and contained several sticks of dynamite that had white crystals growing out of them. I figured it was deteriorated pretty good. They were resting in nice old wooden boxes labelled "Hercules" and "DuPont" and I wanted those old boxes. I found one completely empty, and took it back to Dallas with me, but the boys unloading and cleaning the airplane apparently considered it trash and when I returned later in the day, they'd either stolen my stolen box, or they'd thrown it away. I'll never know which.
After several hours in the mountain I decided it was time to leave and I'll never forget the intensely-building sense of claustrophobia I experienced as I worked my way back towards the entrance of the mine. I was walking along the tracks and made that final turn to the main shaft and away down there, about 200 yards away, was the tiny crack of light splitting in from the main metal door. It took several minutes stepping along the track-ties towards the light. With each splashing step closer, the light entering through the crack in the doors became brighter and brighter until, even though I was still several yards away, the light seemd almost blinding due to the contrast between that sunlit day on the other side and the intense darkness of that hole. I suddenly became aware that if anyone had come up to that door while I was deep inside the mountain, and if they'd secured it again closed .... and with my rental-car hidden, ... and with no one knowing where I was.... it could be years before.....
I virtually ran the last 20 yards, stumbling and splashing along the wet tracks, to get to that door!
I don't ever intend to go inside another mountain the rest of my life. I don't know how miners do it. It never bothered me until I came back to that point about 100 yds from leaving that mine. Then it was a compelling need to get out of there!
Here's my question: I was too scared to mess with the boxes that still contained the old dynamite so I didn't touch them. I was worried about handling them so I didn't. Does anyone have any idea how old dynamite is dispensed with and if there's a method to remove the dynamite safely? It looked pretty deteriorated with those white crystals growing out of them, and the boxes were dated from the 1930's.
Here's my thought for the day:
About 20 years ago (gawd....has it been 20 years already? ! !), I was flying for a company who frequently went to Denver. I had nothing to do for the three days we always spent there so I occupied my time in various ways. One day I was driving up past Georgetown and off a side road away from the highway I discovered a hole in the side of a mountain that had a rusty steel door padlocked shut. Ore-car tracks exited beneath the doors and a trickle of water contantly streamed out between the tracks. Judging by the dilapidated condition of the chain and lock and this place had obviously not been visited in decades. It was pretty remote. I couldn't resist.
I went back to town and bought some flashlights and returned to take a look. The padlock didn't even require much effort and it literally fell apart. I hid the car and entered the mine. I pulled the door closed behind me so no one passing would notice. It was a hard rock silver mine, I believe. The ore car tracks led me along a virtually level shaft about 4 feet wide and 8 feet high. The walls were hard, broken rock, with water barely moving along the ore car tracks about a half-inch deep. Occasionally an old ore car train would be sitting where it'd been parked decades before. I'd have to squeeze along beside the cars to pass. It was darn sure dark.
About 200 yards into the mine several laterals appeared and I followed them along for a ways, mostly to dead ends with vertical shafts. Some of them led to upper rooms which where empty. One or two of the verticals had air coming down them. At most, I'd walked about 1/2 mile into the mountain, and all I found were these different laterals and shafts. Each were about 5 feet wide by 8 feet high. The ore car system only ran thru the major ones. Along the walls would be found signs that had been scribbled in paint "Au-5%" or "Au-10%", which I assumed were assays.
I found some old wooden boxes which were open and contained several sticks of dynamite that had white crystals growing out of them. I figured it was deteriorated pretty good. They were resting in nice old wooden boxes labelled "Hercules" and "DuPont" and I wanted those old boxes. I found one completely empty, and took it back to Dallas with me, but the boys unloading and cleaning the airplane apparently considered it trash and when I returned later in the day, they'd either stolen my stolen box, or they'd thrown it away. I'll never know which.
After several hours in the mountain I decided it was time to leave and I'll never forget the intensely-building sense of claustrophobia I experienced as I worked my way back towards the entrance of the mine. I was walking along the tracks and made that final turn to the main shaft and away down there, about 200 yards away, was the tiny crack of light splitting in from the main metal door. It took several minutes stepping along the track-ties towards the light. With each splashing step closer, the light entering through the crack in the doors became brighter and brighter until, even though I was still several yards away, the light seemd almost blinding due to the contrast between that sunlit day on the other side and the intense darkness of that hole. I suddenly became aware that if anyone had come up to that door while I was deep inside the mountain, and if they'd secured it again closed .... and with my rental-car hidden, ... and with no one knowing where I was.... it could be years before.....
I virtually ran the last 20 yards, stumbling and splashing along the wet tracks, to get to that door!
I don't ever intend to go inside another mountain the rest of my life. I don't know how miners do it. It never bothered me until I came back to that point about 100 yds from leaving that mine. Then it was a compelling need to get out of there!
Here's my question: I was too scared to mess with the boxes that still contained the old dynamite so I didn't touch them. I was worried about handling them so I didn't. Does anyone have any idea how old dynamite is dispensed with and if there's a method to remove the dynamite safely? It looked pretty deteriorated with those white crystals growing out of them, and the boxes were dated from the 1930's.