New Idria Mine and Ghost Town
- The Rotary Furnace building at New Idria which contained the four Gould Rotary furnaces.
Over the holidays Randy and I decided to explore a place that his father had told us of; an old quicksilver mine and ghost town called New Idria. Randy’s father had been there a long time ago. The mine was opened in 1854 and was named after the world’s second largest quicksilver producer in Idria, Slovenia. The town grew up around the mine with the local population eventually reaching more than 3,000 people. The mine was closed in 1972 due to falling quicksilver prices. The town still contains many historic buildings although many buildings are in extreme disrepair and the furnace building and some other buildings are fenced off.
Read MoreKomodo Above Water; Dragons, Eagles and More
This is a beautiful area. The sunrises and sunsets are great. Huge cumulous clouds turn pink and orange. The ocean varies in color from deep blue to a brilliant aqua in the shallows. I did do some snorkeling (when I forgot my dive belt and again when I attempted some over-under shots) and really enjoyed cruising over the reef with brightly colored fish and healthy coral. I would have liked to do more but there was the danger of komodo dragons coming into the water. And the currents could be dangerous to snorkelers also.
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