David's Images of the Day Photoblog
After Jerome, we visited the “tourist attraction” of Gold King Mine and Ghost Town. Or how to make money off a dump. Lots of derelict old cars and mining equipment, along with displays for paying tourists visiting a ghost town. It even boasts an old-time desert rat riding a Harley Davidson (for a fee).
Our van spent the morning in Jerome, a historic copper mining town. We then spent some time at the nearby King Mine and Ghost Town. The mines are no longer active, with tourism supporting the economy of the region.
Rock Slide at Curry Village. Hard to believe it has been ten years since I experienced a rock slide at Curry Village. Since then, many of the cabins and cabin tents in Curry Village were relocated further away from the valley walls. Actually, Curry Village is now known as “Half Dome Village” due to a trademark dispute between the National Park Service and the previous concessions service company. Actually, all of the hotels, lodges, campsites, and restaurants had to change their names. Since the rock slide, I stayed in Curry Village two more times.
After our morning session, we ate lunch at Curry Village. Michael Mariant was going to do an IR photography workshop in the afternoon. On the way to the workshop, we stopped by our cabins. As we were leaving the cabins there was this loud noise. At first it sounded like thunder — but the sky was blue with no clouds. The noise got louder, and Michael yelled “run for your lives — rock slide” We all ran from our cabins to the parking lot. Since I drove, I was one of the few that had cameras and lenses available. Most of the folks left their gear in the cabin for the IR workshop. I took the following images during and just after the rock slide. Luckily, there were no injuries since most everyone was out of Curry Village visiting other parts of Yosemite when the rock slide occurred. Later in the afternoon, a Park Service helicopter with a USGS geologist surveyed the rock slide site and declared things safe. Only then were we permitted to return to our cabins. A school group was also staying at Curry village. That evening the Elementary school age children moved to a different campsite. The Middle and High school students remained at Curry Village. The crisis counselors told the students that a large rock falls in Yosemite Valley on average every 9-10 days, so they would be safe for the rest of the trip. Little did they know that Murphy was listening!!!!