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Mobile Lifestyle Praise P3

Yahoo Message Number: 77918
Hi Everyone,

For us being out west brings the adventures and activities we enjoy most almost right to our entry steps. Living in the bus allows us the movement we need to conveniently locate near interesting and unique experiences. For example, CA, CO, UT and AZ all offer a rich mining history. Some area mining companies were paying out as much as $50K per month to share holders back in the late 1890s. And they continued to do so for many many years. That kind of bread got attention and also created many boom and bust economies. Famous towns like Telluride and Park City wouldn't exist if it weren't for their mining history and the wealth those old mines created. To visit some of the old mining sites means connecting with a piece of America's rugged past. Like the very migration west itself, mining was (and still is) a dangerous occupation. Metals such as gold, silver, lead, zinc, mercury, iron and copper (to name just a few) helped our nation grow in unprecedented ways. Back then ideas were brought to life with slide rules, clay models, pencils, paper and hard work. And it's amazing the difficult problems that got solved. None of it was without mistakes, hardship and collateral damage, however. It all stands in stark contrast to today's technology product model of develop it, roll it out and then fix it.

Some of the legends of the early mining days remain unsung heros. Their contributions to mining safety embraced the notion that miners were viewed as very important. William Lilly is probably someone that nobody has ever heard of. He was responsible for designing a hoist controller to prevent over speeding and over travel of "skips" in vertical mine shafts. Working as a mining mechanic back in 1915, Henry Logan redesigned Lilly's device and produced the first "Lilly Hoist Controller". His device saved many thousands of lives and it's still used today. He passed away in 1977 at the age of 95. An impressive life expectancy through what we think of today as primitive times. During his career he formed the Logan Engineering Company which produced (circa 1940/1941) the famous Logan lathe to compete with the Sears Atlas lathe. I can't help admire the pride, passion, dedication, innovation and creative genius of these early designers/inventors not to mention their incredible business acumen. Less all the technology, it reveals the influence that attitude and work ethics can have on steering us to a better life. It's been said anyone can do a job with good tools but it takes true genius to get the job done with no tools.

Sadly private land owners, the Forest Service, vandals and our federal government are destroying much of this history. Public safety, lawsuits and environmental concerns all play their part in this. Many mining sites have been defaced, burned down and/or bulldozed over. Others like the Idarado Mine in Colorado have been re-mediated at great expense by Newmont Gold. Just a new remain pristine by having escaped destruction by being either located in remote areas, fenced off and/or listed as historic landmarks. Jeannie and I enjoy exploring these areas and we make sure to leave no trace of our visits. Some of the remote places we visit are challenging to get to. Here's a video of one outing that shows an actual installation of Logan's Lilly Hoist Controller Model D. http://www.muniac.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=91#Post91 I hope a few folks out there enjoy it.

Best - Scott

2006 Allure 430 #31349
(Bus-Stead Lemon)