Andy began the fire.
Sunday we were off to Collinsville (pop 40) and the Collinsville Cemetary. Suprisingly, it was almost entirely full of Italian names, and those creepy picture headstones.
Like all old neglected cemetaries, vandalism is a problem.
One of the trip highlights was Shirley, who owned the Bird's Landing Tavern. She got to be in a Clint Eastwood movie once, with the Tavern as the setting.
There isn't much out in this countryside, but there is a LOT of wind. PG&E put in these in the last couple years. There are hundreds of them.
In Antioch we went to Black Diamond Mines County Park. It is HOT, desolate, barren of trees or much of anything. Being a miner here would have been miserable.
We couldn't find the prospector's tunnel in the hills; Andy was disappointed.
But the best was the Hazel-Atlas mine tour! First coal mining, then silica sand (glass) mining. Hundreds of miles of tunnels beneath the hills. They take small groups inside a little ways for a thought-provoking slide show and a chance to poke around the tunnels.
They only let us go in a little ways, but made up for it by giving us jackets (90 degrees outside, 55 inside) and these stylish hats.
When these were coal mines, kids (8 and up) and their fathers labored 10-12 hours daily, 6 days a week. When oil and petroleum replaced coal, they converted the mines to get silica. They blasted these amazing caverns 50 feet long and 30 feet high. They are amazing to see but too dangerous to go inside.
Again, another fun weekend hunting ghost towns and mines. Thanks Andy, good idea!
