The small town of Wallace, Idaho, has always relied upon mining for its survival. These days, it's the history of mining that bolsters the local economy. And the best place to learn about it is at the Sierra Silver Mine. We started off in downtown Wallace at the Tour office where we boarded a trolley for the ten-minute trip up to the mine entrance.



Once at the mine, we donned hard hats and followed our tour guide into the cool dark tunnel. Watch your head in here, it's a low ceiling in a few places. Perfect for kids (they have to be four or older)! The tunnel curves around and down through the mountain for a thousand feet, with several large chambers where we could gather around our guide. There are also numerous side tunnels and shafts that have been closed off or flooded over the years.



As we made our way through the mine, the guide demonstrated all the different types of pneumatic-powered equipment that are used in digging, sorting, hauling and blasting. Some of the machinery is very noisy in that confined space, and its no wonder that some miners lost their hearing over the years. We also learned about the daily experiences and risks of hard-rock miners.





The entire tour took about 90 minutes and was both educational and fun. My son loved being in a real silver mine. He picked up plenty of "samples" off the floor of the mine to add to his rock collection. Our guide, a former miner, was full of information and opinions on mining history and the state of the industry today. The cost of the tour was not too high, $9 for adults and $7, I think, for kids.



We spent an hour walking around the town of Wallace, which is on the National Historic Register. It's a classic western mining town, with a near-perfect backdrop of soaring tree-covered mountains. (The Pierce Brosnan film "Dante's Peak" was filmed in Wallace back in 1997, taking full advantage of the scenery and historic buildings.) We found a place for ice cream and poked around in the various gem shops. There's quite a bit more to see and do in Wallace, including a mining museum and the turn-of-the-century train depot which houses a railroad museum. Definitely worth a return trip.