Rust in Peace, Part 3

I have one final entry for my rusty metal series! These images were shot in June and July 2021 at a variety of locations in Amador, El Dorado, and Calaveras counties. The Argonaut Mine, located within the small town of Jackson (Amador County) was in operation from 1850 until 1942. In 1922 the state’s “deadliest recorded mining disaster” occurred there, […]

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Rust In Peace, Part 1

When I visited the Angels Camp Museum in Calaveras County, before I even stepped inside one of their exhibit buildings I found a whole yard full of historic machinery, some of it clearly rescued from rusty oblivion. I could recognize a few of the pieces; the old generator from the Utica powerhouse looks very similar to those I’ve seen in […]

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Big wheels, Take 2

I only just realized that I completely messed up the mid-June blog post about my visit to Kennedy Tailing Wheels Park in Jackson, so I thought I should try again and hopefully get it right this time. I do want to thank all the people who clicked “Like” on the original version!

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Retired and rusty

I’m not sure exactly what this machine was used for; it was part of the outdoor collection at the Angels Camp Museum. There was no sign (and no one nearby to ask), and by the time I had finished shooting these pictures, I just had to get away and go find some shade on this very warm day.

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Magical minerals, Part 3

The final installment of my mineral posts has taken awhile to get here, and it took me a fair bit of digging (no pun intended!) to find more information about the featured rocks. Whatever I did find initially seemed to come from either Wikipedia — quoting scientific sources that I struggled to understand — or alternative health websites focused on […]

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Magical minerals, Part 2

Here are a few more of the rocks and minerals I found on display in the Mining and Ranching building of the Angels Camp Museum. Borates are crystallized salts that contain boron. They are used in many different applications, from fertilizing plants to forming heat-resistant glass and fiberglass insulation. They’re most heavily concentrated in dry, waterless environments like California’s Mojave […]

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Magical minerals

You may remember a couple of weeks ago I published a post about the California State Mining Museum in Mariposa and mentioned that I wished I could find a mineral museum nearer to where I live. Well, it just so happens that I did find a very nice if small collection of minerals from various places around the world on […]

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