I’m pretty sure that the State Capital in Charleston is one of the most beautiful in the country.  It’s right up there with Denver and Des Moines.  I love how there’s a statue of a Coal Miner in front of the building. 

“In honor and in recognition of the men and women who have devoted a career, some a lifetime, towards providing the state, nation, and world with low-cost, reliable household and industrial energy…Let it be said that “Coal” is the fuel that helped build the greatest country on earth, has protected and preserved our freedom and has enhanced our quality of life.”

I was a little apprehensive going into the mine, but that was only after the safety training.  They brought up scenarios that I wouldn’t have even considered.  We jumped on a battery operated cart and went down the tracks.  Of course, the first thought was “how many exits are there?”  Danny and John took me down to the very end of the mine, which was 4 miles down.  It took about 45 minutes to reach that point, but once you’re in, it’s all the same.  I was surprised how well the ventilation was in the mine.  It felt like air conditioner.  I helped with ventilation control by constructed a wall to diverge the air further down the mine. 

Everybody loves their life down in the mine.  It’s not like a job you could dread going to everyday.  It takes lots of effort even to show up to the worksite everyday.  Many of the miners commute hours to their location in order to work 9 hours per day or more.  Very hard working and nice people. 

May 25, 2009

The roads of West Virginia are so windy, you could drive straight cutting all the corners.  If you want to go through a culture shock, drive to the Coal Mountain.  There are surprisingly many people living up in the mountains.  Either that or it just looks like that because there are endless amount of trailers along the mountain.  Even some of the churches are trailers and you’re only going to find Baptist churches in this state. 

I was told to show up to work today (Memorial Day) but I think they forgot to mention it was a holiday.  I just figured coal mining was a 24/7 operation.  I drove to the entrance of Dynamic Energy and read a sign, “only drivers that have been through training could drive on rugged roads.”  I thought I’d give a try, but decided to stop after ½ mile .  I thought it would be better if I ran up the hill instead of putting my car in danger.  The hill was steep as could be, but I kept on going.  4 miles later, I still haven’t run into anything.  I started to get impatient and decided to run back down the hill to my car.  I shouldn’t have watched that movie “Wrong Turn” because I was starting to get freaked out with all the wilderness around me.  Keep in mind there is no cell phone reception or internet access to be found.  I gave up and tried to look for something to eat.  I had to drive 40 miles down the hill for a snack, but I needed to make some phone calls, so I had to drive 30 more miles.  Ahhh this is going to be interesting.