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After a fun day spent cross-country
skiing, snowshoeing, mountaineering, snowmobiling,
and/or picture taking somewhere
in the vast North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River Basin,
visit the ever-expanding and very historic
Sprag
Pole Museum in Murray Idaho, just 24 miles from Wallace
over Dobson Pass. Murray (pop. ~100) was the central city
of what was the last great gold mining stampede in the Lower 48
(1883-1885), and became the Cradle City of the
Coeur d'Alene Mining District.
This district, now centered in the Silver Valley, has been producing
silver, gold, lead, zinc and copper continuously since 1884.
Have a good meal and a learning experience at the same time.
Between 1884 and 2006, the Silver Valley produced
1.202 BILLION OUNCES OF SILVER. In 2006, 5.0 million ounces
were produced. Production continues to increase
as the price of silver continues to rise and
more Silver Valley mines are reopened
using environmentally friendly methods.
The record-setting
Sunshine Silver Mine, discovered up Big Creek in 1884 by
two displaced Maine farm boys on a fishing trip, is back in operation after
a six year hiatus during which time its new owners refurbished the workings.
Production is estimated to be 2.8 million Troy ounces of .999 fine silver in
2008. In 1937, the Sunshine produced 12.1 million ounces and became the largest
producer of silver from any one mine in the world.
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Silver Summit 2008 will be held
in Coeur d'Alene and Wallace on September 18-21, 2008.
This sixth annual meeting of silver enthusiasts will again gather mining company
CEO's, investors, and pundits together from around the world to discuss
silver mining, silver stocks, silver investments, silver strategies, silver
as money, and the future of silver in society.
Books about Hard Rock Mining
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If you have the
FREE Google Earth program installed,
you may visualize travel from Wallace over Dobson Pass to the
North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River and then up Placer Creek to Murray:
wallace2murray.kml.
The presentation includes two dozen placemarks and a "hang glider's"
tour of the route.
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You may now also visualize travel from Wallace up Burke Canyon past the
lost mining towns of Gem, Frisco, Black Bear, Yellow Dog, Cornwall,
Mace and Burke, to finally circle above the Glidden Lakes on the Montana
border.
wallace2burke.kml.
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The historic mining town of Wallace
(population 960) is nestled beneath Interstate 90, halfway
between two ski and recreation areas in northern Idaho's
beautiful
Silver Valley.
The town has long been famous as the
"Silver Capital of the World"
with 1.2 billion ounces of silver produced in
Shoshone county
since 1884.
Silver mining is still a big part of our economy,
but today it is carried out in total harmony with a pristine
mountain environment that attracts
outdoor recreation
enthusiasts from around the world. Some folks come for the deep powder
at the ski areas, or the 72 mile paved bike path, or the solitude of an alpine lake,
but all agree, this is the place to play.
With
Silver
Mountain and
Lookout
Pass Ski and Recreation
Areas a dozen Interstate miles away in each direction,
the area around Wallace is a full-season
mountain recreation paradise.
Winter embraces alpine and cross-country
skiing, snowboarding and snowmobiling. Fishing,
mountain
biking and climbing, river rafting and
kayaking, golf,
hiking, backpacking, and
motorized exploration on two or four wheels
occupy outdoor recreation enthusiasts from spring to fall.
Bow, rifle and muzzleloader hunting for deer and elk
is naturally popular each fall. Black bears are hunted
during the fall and spring, while mountain lions are
fair game September through March.
greg4mss@hotmail.com
