There are caves. This time of year you’re requested not to enter them because endangered bats nest there from November to March, but I don’t need an invitation not to climb into a cave. “Time enough for the earth in the grave.”
In the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, there is what was claimed to be one of the oldest lead mines in the US. Galena crystals, pewter gray and shiny with a cube form. So as boys will do, we went exploring. Just as the horizontal shaft was almost out of daylight, an inky black hole opened up, wall to wall. We tossed in rocks- it was a long count before the splash. Showing rare sense, we turned around and sought the fresh air.
That's good. My uncle and his best friend used to go swimming in a flooded rock quarry near Knoxville. One night his friend drowned, and almost drowned my uncle while he was trying to save his friend. Those things are unknowably deep by the time they finally stop digging.
That is a sad story. We used to swim in quarries frequently, some with high cliff to dive from, although I never did- got the scars from diving from lower ledges and that was enough. . Vermont has a bunch of marble quarries, we used to sneak in and swim in the abandoned flooded ones. White cliffs, crystal clear water and a weird feeling of vertigo, as one could look down into the depths and see old rusted crane booms and cables and such reaching up from the depths.
5 comments:
As a boy we would hunt similar rock ledges looking for quartz crystals, tourmaline's etc. A fun thing to do. Found small caves occasionally.
There are caves. This time of year you’re requested not to enter them because endangered bats nest there from November to March, but I don’t need an invitation not to climb into a cave. “Time enough for the earth in the grave.”
In the White Mountains of northern New Hampshire, there is what was claimed to be one of the oldest lead mines in the US. Galena crystals, pewter gray and shiny with a cube form. So as boys will do, we went exploring. Just as the horizontal shaft was almost out of daylight, an inky black hole opened up, wall to wall. We tossed in rocks- it was a long count before the splash.
Showing rare sense, we turned around and sought the fresh air.
That's good. My uncle and his best friend used to go swimming in a flooded rock quarry near Knoxville. One night his friend drowned, and almost drowned my uncle while he was trying to save his friend. Those things are unknowably deep by the time they finally stop digging.
That is a sad story. We used to swim in quarries frequently, some with high cliff to dive from, although I never did- got the scars from diving from lower ledges and that was enough.
.
Vermont has a bunch of marble quarries, we used to sneak in and swim in the abandoned flooded ones. White cliffs, crystal clear water and a weird feeling of vertigo, as one could look down into the depths and see old rusted crane booms and cables and such reaching up from the depths.
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