Dear Gary,

I think a couple of thanks are due for Dorothy Petry and Randy Middleton. First, the “Old Coffee Drinker” whom I shall now refer to as “Old Sparky.” You’re so right about “good” and “bad” days. We alkl need to see the wisdom in the fact that the gift of life is reason enough to celebrate every day as “good” even though adversity and menal and/or physical pain can be and is thrown in the mix from time to time, sometimes relentlessly.

And, indeed attitude can be affected by altitude. I know I am much easier going when I’m “high.”

Life can be a rocky road, so search for pleasant paths, happy trails, humble highways.

Dorothy Petry gets an A+ for her efforts. Mystery solved. Here’s some more info on “Okanogan” Smith that might be enjoyed by some, if you believe it.

A friend of mine, Jim Creegan, told me about eight years ago that “Okanogan” had a gold mine somewhere near Enloe Dam (before it was built of course) that he searched for and could never find. I told him I know exactly where it is (was?) because I’ve been in it.

Forty-three years ago when I was 10, my 15-year-old brother and I found a very old mine hidden behind some shrubs. We went in about 50 feet (no light) and it had about a foot of water in it and the mosquitos chased us out. You could tell this mine had been abandoned for decades. It is by the fossil beds.

The reason I said it “was” there is because widening and re-grading the road above it has covered the entrance with debris. It could be dug out, but it would be dangerous. I found a lump of dark rock below it and it was almost as heavy as lead and sparkled with gold.

Anyways, thanks again you two your insights are appreciated.

And my opinion (for what it’s worth) on the solar versus hydroelectric friendly fued of late. Both are clean and safe compared to nasty coal and potentially deadly nuclear power. Solar is years back from hydro power, but is catching up quickly. Dams can and do cause environmental problems and need their own expensive maintenance.

Enloe should be dismantled and shoved in our memories as a mistake. The natural falls that existed there were just that – natural – which always trumps man-made spectacles.

I remember reading about damming tidal flows in and out of bays and inlets for power. Scientists said that it could slow down the rotation of the Earth after enough years with enough dams, so that idea was shelved. Wow, they used some sense!

Thank you,

Dan Dixon

Oroville