Saturday, October 3, 2009

Field Trip!

Last week, we had the opportunity to tour a working mine. Very cool. I was impressed that they have not had a lost time accident since feb. of 2000. Way to go around all that rock and heavy equipment.




We had nice weather too...albeit a tad windy. All of us had trouble keeping our hair out of our face.

Except when we were in the van.



Along the way, we learned that they never discover fossils because they don't take the time to look for them. Rachel and I found a few small ones as we were waiting for our turn to ride the 'kitty kitty'.



We also learned that they have to keep pumps going 24/7 or the place would flood over night once they dig down to a certain level.

Here's tonka digging just a bit deeper.



The next door neighbors often come over and sun bathe.



So, Emily has finally reached 5 ft. in height...but next to the kitty's tires....man, I wouldn't want to have to change one of them.



The crew was really awesome. They showed us thier complete operation, from setting the blasting areas, to loading the trucks, to dumping it into the crushers...and finally, the finished products going out the door.



We were also pleased to hear that in about 3 years when they have finished mining....this area will either be restored to a natural state...or most likely....will become a new lake for us to play in.

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