The high country is covered with what remains of the dreams of many men. At over 12,000 feet the miners of the 1800’s were so confident of the amount of gold ore they could produce, that they built this stamping plant to crush that ore for transport. I have no idea if they were successful or not, but it is very interesting to see what remains of their dreams. Click on the image to view some of the detail.
6 comments:
I wonder how many people didn't make it and ended up getting married and populating the west? Probably some of my relatives too.
The photo is amazing. Lots of details.
Abraham Lincoln
the robins
the Japanese Beetles
and this "thing" (I have no idea what is it) is there since the 1800's?
Yes, it was most likely it was built in the 1800's when the area was very active in gold mining. This "thing" :) is a stamping plant. Basically the rock that was removed from a mine was crushed as the first step in removing the gold, silver, lead, etc. The setup is something like the pistons in a car engine. One of the rods (stamps) will be crushing the rock, and the others will be lining up for their turn.
Gold Fever...what challenges in the High Country.
I have seen my share of hunks of machinery that men dream of as the next best idea. It always seem to me to have a certain sense of beauty, no matter how much the rust and weather. As if the dream and the idea was still pumping in there somewhere.
Very neat photo. Makes one wonder how much it would take to get it functioning again.
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