Wednesday, September 19, 2012

Western Trip..Zion National Park..Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel..Riverside Walk

Western Trip..Zion National Park..Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel..Riverside Walk… Hope this post gives you a “FEEL” for the place. I think there are enough "sky" photo to link with SkyWatch Friday & might as well link with ScenicSunday
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From the east:US-89 passes east of Zion and connects with SR-9 (The Zion-Mt. Carmel Highway) at Mount Carmel Junction. From there SR-9 travels through the park's east Entrance and into the Zion-Mt. Carmel Tunnel before descending into Zion Canyon.DSC_0332
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“Planning a trip to Zion National Park can be as challenging as exploring the park itself. The park newspaper contains a wealth of information.” CLICK FOR NEWSPAPER
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The Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel Construction of the 1.1 mile Zion-Mount Carmel Tunnel began in the late 1920's and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel of it's type in the United States. READ MORE
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Out of the tunnel and looking back."Window” in the cliff
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“Forbidden Rite Of Passage::  Some summer park workers and local teens defied a ban on pedestrians and raced through the tunnel at night, running their hands along the sides to keep their bearings in the blinding darkness. Some of those participating in Thursday's predawn Tunnel Walk admitted to having made the run in the past while naked — part of a forbidden rite of passage.” READ MORE
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Quick stop to “stretch” the legs
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Getting Hungry.. Time for a Picnic
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From left to right: Larry,my wife Linda and sister Sara getting ready for lunch.
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Always on the lookout for scenery
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Zion has some of the most spectacular trails in the National Park System. Visitors to Zion walk on the canyon floor and look up, rather than looking down from the rim as in many parks.
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Trail Distance: The hike is 2-miles for the round-trip but there is little elevation change and hiking is on a hard surface.
Average Hiking Time: 1.5-hours for the round-trip
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Lush vegetation (ferns, trees, moss) watered by the weeping walls.
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The trail starts at the Temple of Sinawava, the 8th and last stop on the Zion Canyon Shuttle.
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What do these names make you think of? West Temple, Towers of the Virgin, the Altar of Sacrifice, Angel's Landing, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob Peaks, Mount Majestic, Cathedral Mountain, Mystery Canyon, Mountain of Mystery, Temple of Sinawava, the Pulpit, Weeping Rock, Great White Throne, Mountain of the Sun, East Temple, the Watchman. I  think the beauty of Zion National Park is spiritual in nature.
DSC_0426DSC_0381DSC_0415 Joe Todd & Linda reporting from the trail Zion National Park.."Gateway to the Narrows,Riverside Walk”.. As Always, Thanks for stopping by. Heading back to Carmel Junction..staying at::: Zion Mountain Ranch..Bryce Canyon National Park next.. 

Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Silver in the Tombstone Hills

SILVER,SILVER,SILVER,PAAS,SLW,EXK………………and Walking tour of the restored 1878 "Good Enough Mine"

When you think of Tombstone what are your thoughts? Tombstone Exploration Corp has the mineral rights to approximately 11,500 acres of historical mining land in the areas around Tombstone, Arizona. I don’t think I’m going to be buying this stock anytime soon, but I did find it interesting. How about Boot Hill????

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HOW ABOUT SILVER::: Tombstone  was one of the last wide-open frontier boomtowns in the American Old West. From about 1877 to 1890, the town's mines produced USD $40 to $85 million in silver bullion, the largest productive silver district in Arizona. Its population grew from 100 to around 14,000 in less than 7 years. READ MORESILVERNUGETA SILVER NUGGET. So Let’s tour a mine in the hills of Tombstone.

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I do have some nice “sky” shots in this post so may use for SkyWatch Friday DSC_0087

We are getting closer. Walking tour of the restored 1878 "Good Enough Mine". Discovered by town founder, Ed Schieffelin.

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“Visiting the Good Enough makes one thing immediately clear: the silver miners in Tombstone had an easy daily commute. The mining district begins literally a block south of town, and it only takes 30 seconds to walk from the souvenir shops on Toughnut Street to the Good Enough entrance. It's probably the most convenient mine/cave tour in America.”  Read More 

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Genius without education is like silver in the mine. Benjamin Franklin… ( I wonder if you need to be stoic to be a miner)
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In God We Trust...All Others Pay in Silver

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The allure of silver is thousands of years old, but nowadays the precious metal has a youthful look and please PAAS the beer nuts.

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At present, the old silver currency of the US cannot circulate as money because the silver content in the coinage is actually worth a lot more (fiat) dollars if melted down into silver bullion bars… Remember the Hunt Brothers..Beginning in the early 1970s, the Hunt brothers began accumulating large amounts of silver. By 1979, they had nearly cornered the global market.In the last nine months of 1979, the brothers profited by an estimated $2 billion to $4 billion in silver speculation, with estimated silver holdings of 100 million ounces (6.25 million pounds READ MORE

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At this point we are about 100 feet down.

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The plan is for old miners shacks to be brought in and retrofitted as tourist cabins, so that visitors can spend the night in a miner shack.

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FYI:: “Silver is a cool color, and stands as a diametric opposite to gold. Silver is closely tied to Isis and all things flexible, creative, and emotionally intelligent.”

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“In alchemy, silver is an archetype concept - one of seven. Before the periodic table emerged through technological advancement, there were in fact seven sacred metals, of which silver held a place of high esteem.”

DSC_0085 “There are those who also believe that not all silver is created equal! There exists at least one source of silver ( from the Sahara Desert ) that hermetically learned individuals prize for more spiritual reasons.”

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“Historically, silver has been used as a tangible commodity dating back as far as the ancient Egyptians and even the Sumerian Empire. Modern technological advances have increased the actual industrial demand for silver, yet the actual monetary value of silver has been in steady decline since the 1500's.” READ MORE

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DSC_0094 Now THERE is one good looking ‘miner”

DSC_0098 What do you mean..I have to put the silver nugget back LOL….Thanks for stopping by.

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SILVER,SILVER,SILVER,PAAS,SLW,EXK………………and Walking tour of the restored 1878 "Good Enough Mine"