Come take a look!

For an idea what it's like here in Sutter Creek and in the mine check out this page (from the company who does the underground tours -- which will end in August by the way, as the mine goes into development and production).

1. the picture on the top of the page

2. the first video (1:07-2:45 shows the town and some tunnels underground).

3. the second video is half an hour long, but it's super-realistic!

Tuesday

Today I was fire watch while my co-worker disassembled the rest of that huge piece of mining equipment with a torch (have to make sure the grassy hills don't catch fire!). We stop around noon when it gets hot (by then it's 108°F / 43 °C in the sun). Yes, Allison warned me it was going to be a hot day! (100+°F)

In the afternoon we go barring down rock in the deepest mine shafts that we have pumped dry. You can tell the boss has a mine labor background!

In the meantime I'm also working my way through a 220-page technical report on our gold mining project. Help!

Monday

Caught up on sleep over the weekend! Nice weather. At the worksite we watched a crane lift pieces (jaw crusher to crush rocks, ...) from a huge piece of mobile mining equipment, to be used in our future mill. Very cool!

Pictures will follow.

Later in the day I was down in the mine where I saw the boss drive around a mucker. Very, very cool sight!

Closing the day in the local bar (boss bought us a round because the crane job had gone so well).

Sunday

A slow Sunday, I'm cleaning the studio I moved into.

Great! I've got all the pasta, cooking pots, ... I need for the week. But where is the knife & fork I thought I'd put in my suitcase?

I'm not going to walk back to Safeway (do they even sell that stuff?). Wait, didn't the hotel I stayed at have plastic forks?

I end the day with a visit to the local bar, and enjoy a wonderful sunset. Note to self: I should start taking pictures.

Saturday

Went grocery shopping to Safeway. No buses on weekends (budget cuts), so that's 40 minutes on foot with a backpack, in the sun. On the way back it's near noon and getting pretty warm! I'll be glad when I get my hands on a bike or a car.

Overall it was a nice day - hot but not too hot!

Friday, day 3

For an impression of the mine site, go to this page and scroll down to the group of colored pictures at the bottom.

After work I decide on and move into my own place, in Sutter Creek, just 2km (1.5 miles) from the mine. Good, because my transportation for now... my feet!

Thursday, day 2

Beautiful hills and colorful sunsets!

Not as blazing hot as yesterday. I had some safety training at work. After work, I'm going apartment hunting.

Wednesday, day 1

Flew into San Francisco yesterday and met up with Aïda and Allison for (very late!) dinner in Davis. It was nice to see you back, guys, and thanks again for your hospitality!

After a waffles/strawberries/whipped cream breakfast, Aïda dropped me off at my new workplace, the gold mine in Sutter Creek! Blazing hot day (95°F, 35°C). Much hotter than San Francisco! I hope I'll get acclimatized to this!

They put me on a cart with tourists for a tour in the underground mine. Not bad for a first day at work!

Update

A brief update of the last 6 months:

- January: I quit my labourer job to start harassing oil companies full time

- March: I went on holiday, err... family visit, to Hawaii with John, Aïda and Allison.

- April: a gold mining startup in California offered me a job as a mine engineering intern! ... if I can sort out visa matters (I'd spend my last weeks in Canada on that)

- May: trip to Belgium to visit friends and family I haven't seen in a long time

- June: back across the pond, this time to Calfornia to go work on the mining project

I've decided to keep you guys posted on this blog, with shorter but more regular updates. Californian stories on my Canadian blog... but half of you think I'm "back in Canada", anyway! :P

Look where I'll be based - I couldn't think of a better spot than this one. Right in between family in the Bay Area and Davis, Lake Tahoe, and Yosemite -- all less than 2 hours away!