Nate and I took the kids on a hike the other day to Mineral Ridge, it's a 3.3 mile trail. There are twenty-two stations along the trail marked with tidbits of information telling you how people have hurt and helped the forests. 
The kids did amazing well; there was hardly any gnashing and wailing of the teeth. At first we thought 3 miles might be too much, but they had several benches along the way for resting. 
I don't care too much for scenery shots, but Nate loves them. There are still gouges in the earth where people would randomly stop and dig for gold.
There was a little trail that lead off of the main one; which took you back to an abandoned prospect. Ready for a little history lesson? Only hard rock mining occurred at Mineral Ridge. Miners came from the East and from the California gold fields. The first recorded claims were filed on Mineral Ridge in 1891.
Many people would call this a mine shaft, but that is incorrect. A shaft is a vertical or inclined excavation. This excavation is horizontal and is properly referred to as a prospect, or if a mine had been developed, an adit. A "mine" is an excavation where mineral deposits, or ore, are extracted. Ore was never found and extracted from this site so it is considered a prospect. A prospect is any shaft, pit, drift, or drill hole used to determine if an area warrants development of a mine.
It took a little convincing to get the kids to actually go into this narrow opening. They were terrified that bats were going to fly out at them (not even deep enough to make a good home for a bat).
Many people would call this a mine shaft, but that is incorrect. A shaft is a vertical or inclined excavation. This excavation is horizontal and is properly referred to as a prospect, or if a mine had been developed, an adit. A "mine" is an excavation where mineral deposits, or ore, are extracted. Ore was never found and extracted from this site so it is considered a prospect. A prospect is any shaft, pit, drift, or drill hole used to determine if an area warrants development of a mine.
It took a little convincing to get the kids to actually go into this narrow opening. They were terrified that bats were going to fly out at them (not even deep enough to make a good home for a bat).
You can hardly see the kids or the name of this little covering, "Caribou Cabin". The Caribou Mining Compnay was incorporated July 5, 1918. This is also the summit of the Mineral Ridge Trail. We climbed to an elevation of 2,800 feet
This location is supposedly one of the most popular photographed views of Lake Coeur d'Alene. Not too bad for someone who doesn't care for scenery. From this spot we zig zagged down the moutainside. The next day Denali was pointing to the side of her rear telling me that it hurt, mine hurt too - must have been more of a work out than it seemed.
5 comments:
I am smarter for having read this. Thanks for the education. My kids would love to see this stuff. Maybe someday we'll fire up the mini van and come visit.
Loved the scenery- What a great day trip.
Beautiful-I'm impressed with your little history/mining lesson-I think we are coming up there next spring to visit Nicole so we will have to get together.
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wow, I didn't even know that place existed in Coeur d' Alene! We'll have to check that out someday when we come back.
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