Weather is a repeat of yesterday, lows in the 40s and highs in the 60s. I had some work to do, and Ron was able to get some good photos of birds in the trees and bushes around the campsite. Ron’s prescription was filled at the local Walmart, and we plan to pick it up today. I was finally able to crack the code to getting into my AT&T account and it’s all set up now so we can view our usage and payments.
Around 1:00pm we left to visit Goldfield Ghost Town and Mine Tours. It’s less than a mile away and looks interesting, so we decided to check it out. This is a reconstructed town of a former goldmining town that was located nearby. None of the buildings are original but there are a lot of interesting artifacts, tools, and equipment from the original town, which makes it interesting to us.
We bought tickets to take the mine tour, train ride, and tour the ‘mystery’ shack. Although it’s not authentic, the mine tour provided some interesting information and facts on how miners lived and worked in the 1800s. Miners received $3 per day, working hundreds of feet below the surface in dangerous conditions. They received 4 candles each day to use while working underground and if they used them up, they had to buy another candle. Another job that paid $2 per day, was running the ‘honey’ wagon every day for the miners. This was a portable potty all metal wagon for the miners to use for a toilet. At the end of the day, the operator had to take the wagon to the surface and dip out the ‘honey’. Another more dangerous job was setting the dynamite and these workers received $4 per day. The miners would drive metal stakes into a wall that was to be blasted out. These holes were then filled with sticks of dynamite containing a 2-minute fuse. They would light the fuses, then run like crazy to hopefully get out of harm’s way.
The train ride was not so great but the ice cream cone we had before getting on it was excellent! We also toured the mystery shack, giving me a bad case of vertigo. The building is built at a significant slate, making it for difficult walking while the guide performed various ‘gravity’ defying activities.
We had fun and it was a relaxing afternoon to visit it and learn more about the mines in the area. One of the mines, Mammoth Mine, was closed when they hit an aquafer. There was still gold in it, anticipated at over $1m but it would cost over $3m to get to it.
After our tours, we picked up Ron’s prescription and a few other things at Walmart before heading back to the campsite. We decided a hike would be a great way to end the day and took the Mountain Bike trail that loops around the perimeter of the park. It’s an easy hike and the trail is a hard-packed sandy surface. It is busy with birds, too but most we’ve seen and photographed. At one point, a hawk flies out and I’m not ready with the camera and miss the shot. We are fairly certain it’s a Swainson’s Hawk but without the photo we can’t verify it – maybe we’ll get another opportunity.
We were all pretty tired and we cut the hike a bit short about a half mile of the entire 2.8-mile hike and hit the sack soon after.
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