Tombstone's Tough Nut Mine

Tombstone, Arizona is not short on colorful history. In fact, this history is colorful and rich enough to attract visitors from around the world. However, few of these visitors are aware of the rich history that is below Tombstone as well – literally right under the streets that so many tourists trod upon. The Tough Nut Mine is part of this colorful underground history…

This rich silver mine dates back to the 1800s and, although silver was the primary commodity produced, it also gave up a good amount of lead, copper, gold and zinc. There is a lot of detailed information online about the Tough Nut Mine in Tombstone and so I will simply direct those that are eager to learn more about this mine to poke around online.

Aside from anyone being able to find a lot of information online, anyone can visit this mine as well. You see, the owner of the cluster of abandoned mines where this is located in Tombstone, Arizona has set up a small business offering tours of parts of the mines there. The website is goodenoughsilvermine.com or on Facebook at “Tombstone’s Goodenough Mine Tour.” They offer different tours that range from areas that you could take your grandmother around to areas that are fairly advanced (and that’s me saying that). We spent a few days there exploring (and went to a number of parts of the mines that are not part of the official tour).

If you'll recall from my video on the civil defense shelter hidden in the abandoned mine earlier this year, I promised to deliver a lot more on the mines beneath Tombstone. I’m starting to edit those videos now… And if you like this mine, wait until you see the Girard Mine!

As an aside, it is very nice to be able to give details (such as the name) on a mine we visit – especially one that ANYONE can visit – and not have to play at secret squirrel as we are normally compelled to do.

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All of these videos are uploaded in HD, so I’d encourage you to adjust your settings to the highest quality if it is not done automatically.

You can see the gear that I use for mine exploring here: https://bit.ly/2wqcBDD

As well as a small gear update here: https://bit.ly/2p6Jip6

You can see the full TVR Exploring playlist of abandoned mines here: https://goo.gl/TEKq9L

Several kind viewers have asked about donating to help cover some of the many expenses associated with exploring these abandoned mines. Inspired by their generosity, I set up a Patreon account. So, if anyone would care to chip in, I’m under TVR Exploring on Patreon.

Thanks for watching!

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Growing up in California’s “Gold Rush Country” made it easy to take all of the history around us for granted. However, abandoned mine sites have a lot working against them – nature, vandals, scrappers and various government agencies… The old prospectors and miners that used to roam our lonely mountains and toil away deep underground are disappearing quickly as well.

These losses finally caught our attention and we felt compelled to make an effort to document as many of the ghost towns and abandoned mines that we could before that colorful niche of our history is gone forever. But, you know what? We enjoy doing it! This is exploring history firsthand – bushwhacking down steep canyons and over rough mountains, figuring out the techniques the miners used and the equipment they worked with, seeing the innovations they came up with, discovering lost mines that no one has been in for a century, wandering through ghost towns where the only sound is the wind... These journeys allow a feeling of connection to a time when the world was a very different place. And I’d love to think that in some small way we are paying tribute to those hardy miners that worked these mines before we were even born.

So, yes, in short, we are adit addicts… I hope you’ll join us on these adventures!

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Видео Tombstone's Tough Nut Mine канала TVR Exploring