| This is Tony's first time walking around the mine. He is super excited about it all. I think we all are. |
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| Kelly and I had taken measurements of the collar when we initially visited the mine. Those measurements allow us to build a rudimentary head frame. |
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| We are going to use a small ATV winch to haul dirt and ore out of the mine. This is the mounting bracket I welded up. |
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| The winch is mounted to the bracket. We need to use pullies to get enough "pull" to get the ore bucket 100' from the bottom. The large stake is the anchor to hold the ground pully. |
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| Tony made this really neat ore bucket. It has an ore chute on the front to we can unload all the dirt into a wheelbarrow. Each bucket load will fill two full wheelbarrow loads. |
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| The winch runs off two car batteries. We use the generator to power the battery charger to keep batteries topped off. |
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| We poured a small foundation to mount the winch on. |
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| Tony adjusts the height of the winch so we get a straight pull. |
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| One of the pullies is attached to the anchor. This gives us the correct ratio for the pull. |
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| Now that all of the winch gear is in place, it's time to set up the head frame. |
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| The winch is rigged and ready to go! Now for the bad news. After a couple of lifts, the winch overheated and refused to work any more. In the end I mounted a 12,000 pound winch on my truck and we used that for the next few trips. |
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| Tobacco tins are a common sight around the old mines. The miners also made use of them to hold claim paperwork to their claim monuments. We often find them where the miners left them underground and they are in much better condition. And of course, lots and lots of old nails. |
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| Way out here we have to bring along everything we need. Even little things you can find anywhere in a big town, just aren't available in Tonopah. |
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| It's amazing how much work goes into a mine like this. |
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| Tony prefers a hand saw for most cutting. Maybe not as fast as a power saw, but certainly more in line with how the old timers did it. |
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| Late afternoon at the mine. You can see where we put new boards on top of the collar. The weather has taken its toll on the timbers so capping them will slow down the deterioration. |
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| Every now and then someone finds their way up to the mine. We got to the bottom and found that someone had dropped a cantaloupe sized rock down the shaft destroying one of our ladders. We decided for safety and security purposes that we would build a cover for the mine. We did leave an opening for bat egress. |
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| The cover will also protect most wildlife from a long fall. I just love spending time up at the mine. Solitude that I rarely find anywhere else. |
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| Tony is getting ready to head down the mine. |
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| A simple base camp for the week. A cooler, a folding table, and a Camp-Chef stove are all you really need for a camp kitchen. |
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| A beautiful moon across the valley. |
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| We decided to play with the camera and a laser pointer. |
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| More time exposure fun! |
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| I love to camp cook. Tony loves eating camp cooking. We make a good team! |
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| It has become a tradition that I bake a loaf of bread while we are up at the mine. We enjoy fresh bread and butter when it's hot, then a day or two of sandwiches, and what is left makes great French Toast. |
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| Some mornings I'll bake biscuits. I decided to see if I could back them in a cast iron skillet. Turned out just fine. |
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| When we aren't eating biscuits, then it's time to bake some cinnamon rolls. Yeah, these come out of a tube. Not as good as my homemade, but they are quick and tasty. |
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