Skillet
Skillet
Well, we headed out to show my GF a very cool place not far from my home.
Old mining town called New Idria. http://www.new-idria.org/
Actually, a ghost town now with some strange (The Hills Have Eyes) people living around the fringes. Kind of creepy but cool nonetheless.
The local mines produced cinnabar which is the raw ore that produces Methyl Mercury when heated. http://webmineral.com/data/Cinnabar.shtml
They also mined naturally occurring asbestos which is everywhere so you should only really go there when the ground is damp and there is no dust.
There is a semi-precious stone called Benitoite which is really only found there. http://webmineral.com/data/Benitoite.shtml
There are still some old miners with claims working the area for this stone.
You can buy some of this stone at a local bar called Panoche Inn, about 30 miles up the road.
Anyway, it is sort of a big boy's (and girl's) play ground. The BLM area neighboring the town is called Clear Creek and you can ride dirtbikes, off-road vehicles, shoot, hunt and play in one of the many open mine shafts.
If you get in the backwoods on a bike, you can find old mining claims, homsteads and cinnnabar ovens along with many old relics.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/hollister/clea...ment_area.html
Dangerous and not for kids.
Here are some pics of the various "attractions".
Trying a new way of posting pics...
http://expeditionportal.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=5467&d=1170129362
Old mining town called New Idria. http://www.new-idria.org/
Actually, a ghost town now with some strange (The Hills Have Eyes) people living around the fringes. Kind of creepy but cool nonetheless.
The local mines produced cinnabar which is the raw ore that produces Methyl Mercury when heated. http://webmineral.com/data/Cinnabar.shtml
They also mined naturally occurring asbestos which is everywhere so you should only really go there when the ground is damp and there is no dust.
There is a semi-precious stone called Benitoite which is really only found there. http://webmineral.com/data/Benitoite.shtml
There are still some old miners with claims working the area for this stone.
You can buy some of this stone at a local bar called Panoche Inn, about 30 miles up the road.
Anyway, it is sort of a big boy's (and girl's) play ground. The BLM area neighboring the town is called Clear Creek and you can ride dirtbikes, off-road vehicles, shoot, hunt and play in one of the many open mine shafts.
If you get in the backwoods on a bike, you can find old mining claims, homsteads and cinnnabar ovens along with many old relics.
http://www.blm.gov/ca/hollister/clea...ment_area.html
Dangerous and not for kids.
Here are some pics of the various "attractions".
Trying a new way of posting pics...
