Day 11

 So, me and the wife's nephew were watching YouTube last night and we came across an old, old video on Kennicott Copper in the Oquirrh Mountains of Utah. Back when it was filmed, huge ass dump trucks and giant sized tractors did not exist. Back then, everything was either steam powered or electric. There were miles upon miles of electric train rails as well as steam engine track. At the bottom of the pit there were numerous electric shovels,(think steam shovel only electric) to load the electric trains with the ore.

 Watching it all work in the movie was amazing. A guy sat in an observation booth and controlled all this work using nothing but his eyes. Back then, this was the best way to do it. One of the bad parts of using an electric train was that after every blasting session, new track and overhead electric wire systems had to be put into place. The video stated that at that time there were approximately 4000 workers at the facility each day. That's a lot of people compared to how many work there today. They followed the ore train as it delivered the carloads full of rock to the crusher and then through the process of making solid sheets of copper. I recommend that if you get a few minutes you go to YouTube and watch it. Then watch the new version and see how much it has changed. It's really quite fascinating.

 I can only guess at how expensive it would be to run the mine today using the equipment of the past. Electricity is not a cheap power source. So, what does this have to do with the fotos I posted today??
Today's fotos were taken in approximately 1930. They are of the U.S. Mine and were taken by my grandfather who was an engineer for the mine. I was lucky enough to save the 40 or so I have. Apparently he had already tossed quite a few before I got to them. Now what's really interesting is everything in the fotos is gone. The U.S. Mine no longer exists. The mountain that housed the mine does not exist. It is now part of the hole in the ground of Kennicott Copper. It is so mind blowing to try and figure this out. Think about it. In 1930 there was a 9000 " high mountain with a silver mine in it. Now, in its place is a huge hole that gets deeper everyday. The old video says that at that time, the mine had removed more dirt and rock than the digging of the Panama Canal. Who knows how much they have removed now? 

Anyways, I returned to the Dr. yesterday and he seemed pleased at the progress I have made healing. My goal for the next two weeks is to slowly try and get full movement back in my leg. The range of motion it has now is next to nothing. So each day I need to work with it and try and regain full motion. I am still swollen like no other but the pain isn't nearly as bad as it was. Hopefully I can get enough movement this week to put the top back on the Jeep. It has already snowed in the mountains so its time to button it up. Maybe in 2 weeks I'll be able to drive it again........