Mon July 18th: SUNNYSIDE MINE via EUREKA GULCH TRAIL

The owners of the campground (Sig & Denny) and good friends took their beloved dog, Huey to Durango to have a lipoma removed this morning.  The surgery went well, but he died of a blood clot this afternoon.  Please remember Sig & Denny in your prayers as they are really hurting right now.

We didn't leave until around noon today.  We went to the Sunnyside Mine and caught up with Linda, Larry, Brett, Sharon & John.  This is the mine where Lake Emma collapsed due to a tunnel that was being excavated about 70 feet under the lake.  The lake completely drained June 4, 1978, and flooded the American Tunnel with thousands of gallons of water & millions of tons of mud and rocks.  The cleanup took over two years.  Fortunately, this occurred on a Sunday so there were no miners working and  there were no deaths.  The mine continued to operate on and off until 1991.  In the 60s, it was producing 600 tons of ore per day.

We ran into a fellow from Texas who was very knowledeable about rocks & he shared some of his wisdom.

Sharon looking for another perfect rock:

 Linda, Sharon, & Brett chipping at rocks:

 Larry, Linda, Brett, & Jim taking rock lessons from our new friend (red shirt):

 Old tram station:

 A side-trail with a water crossing:

 Looking thru the passenger side window while crossing:

 Looking thru the driver-side window while crossing:

 Looking back:

 We see this house every year.  Sometimes the roof is collapsed due to snow.  Usually there is a dummy in one of the windows.  The windows were boarded up this year and the dummy is sitting in front of what we THINK is a mine entrance.  (click on picture to enlarge; use back arrow in toolbar to return to blog)

Looking at several cascades of water starting at the top:

 Zoomed in on the one by the mine opening:

 A stop at "Ze Hardware Store" before heading home: