i had already known what to expect once we got there since i had read nathan
connor's book, exploring the mines several times growing up. in his book, he
compares the underground mines to a massive cave, waiting to be explored (connor
45). i must say, with my first visit to the coalmines, that's exactly the feeling i got as
the mine elevator slowly took us down into the dark, cool underground maze. i can
still remenfiber squinting to try to adjust to the darkness, and even feeling a little
scared inside as we went down that first time.