August 12, 2015 at 09:24PM by advodna_dave

For $27 a piece ($13.50 for the kids), we took a complete top to bottom tour of the mill, all 14 stories including many of original crushers and sorters, *massive* pieces of equipment that were hauled in in Winter on sleds pulled by horses so that there would be ore ready to load once the train tracks were complete. Of course, the NPS has determined that the building is safe to walk through - at least the route they've specified with plenty of additional handrails, oh and of course, bright red hard hats for safety - but seeing the way the structure was cobbled together and feeling the 100 year old wood creak under foot (especially with two kids in backpacks) quickened the pulse a bit. At one point our guide pointed out a turnbuckle connected a cable from an anchor in the hillside to a large beam in the building and explained that with all the vibration and pounding of the machinery, the building tended to "loosen up a bit" and the turnbuckles were used to crank it back into place! #safetyfirst #Kennecott #wrangellstelias #mining #anythingforajuniorrangerbadge