Left KOA campground around 11 for 1 pm tour of mine-another beautiful drive! Mine tour of former zinc mine was sterling, indeed! Great tour guide explained the process well, answered all questions, and gave us an idea of what life was like for miners back in the day. Most startling was the procedure for each miner taking their numbered tag at the beginning of their shift and returning it to the board at the end of the day. When a tag was missing, a search was performed of the 37 miles of the mine. One unfortunate miner failing to return his tag was found at home, after the search failed to find him. His punishment was latrine duty for the 3 bathrooms on each level of the 2,000+ feet depth of the mine until someone else committed a more egregious act to replace him! In the mines were discovered 357 minerals of which 35 occur only at this location. The fluorescent rock displays are among the largest in the world, and the most stunning-no other place on earth like it! In operation since the 1630s, (no, not a typo) the mine evolved over time to meet the needs of consumers of zinc. The ore had the a 30% content of zinc, greater than any other mine in the world. The mine closed in 1986 because of a tax dispute after which in 1989 it became a museum. Fascinating! Well worth it!
Now Is Heaven 
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