Old Hundred Gold Mine
The narrow one-lane bumpy dirt road leading to the gold mine
Despite the terrifying drive, Silverton might have been one of my favorite stops, and not just because I was grateful to be alive.
Justin decided to surprise me and the kids with a trip to a gold mine.
Old Hundred, a mine that operated from 1889 to 1971, is open to tours and I highly recommend it.
We took an actual cart used by miners and went 1500 feet into the mountain. Our guide had been a miner for 10 years with his dad and uncle, starting right out of high school, and worked until the EPA shut down the mine for a chemical spill an EPA employee caused.
He took us through the steps, beginning to end, of how a prospector finds a quartz field to how the men follow the vein, getting the loads out, and then getting it to a mill. Even learned how they use the restroom while mining! Seriously, it was such an in-depth look at mining by such a personable guide, that left me with such a deeper understanding of what men working in a mine experience. The process that it involves is staggering to me,
I didn’t think I’d have a million questions to ask, but I did. Even Aubyn afterwards said, “I had no clue about any of that. I feel like my mind has been open to so many things.”
I agree Aubyn. We left with a newfound respect and deeper understanding for miners that hadn’t been there before. There was an appreciation prior, but this brought it to a whole new level.
It really was quite the experience.
