Conveying what a coal mine is like to non-miners can be difficult. I tell Michelle all kinds of stories about my life out at work but she tends to just smile and nod while feigning complete comprehension. (An example of how our lingo can be confusing to non-miners- when I talk about shovels they invariably think I am talking about the implement you have hanging in your shed. But I'm not.) So this past week I was able to bring her and my mom out for a little tour. It was really fun to share my world with her, and now she has a bit of a better appreciation for what I am talking about when I tell her that I can lift 100 tons with one hand!

But I'll let Michelle tell you about her day herself:

Well, being completely naive about mining and small towns and being a through-and-through city girl, I had to rely on Grandma and Grandpa Waddell to outfit me accordingly. I was all ready to wear a white hoodie and my new hiking boots out to the mine when Grandma Waddell went fishing for an old pair of boots and a bright green windbreaker for me to wear. "It will be dirty out there, dear."

Of course I knew it was going to be dirty, but did I really? Nathan pulled up in the mining van and he had covered the seats with paper towel for us to sit on - my first induction to the filth of the mine.


As we drove around, my eyes grew larger and larger at the sites before me. Nath turned to me and said, "So hon, what do you think?" I just looked back at him (with that look of deers blinded in headlights), "It's really . . . big." And said no more. I don't think Nathan had any clue what to do with me at that point.

We eventually made it out to Cheviot mine (its about 20km away from the parking lot and I have never experienced a road like that in my life. The puddles and mud were unlike anything a city girl has ever experienced!)

Dusty (the foreman with whom I forever hold a grudge against for taking my fiance away every 4 days) gave us permission to go and visit Nathan's dad in his shovel. I actually climbed the ladder and entered my very first mining shovel ever and wow! It was really cool!

My first comment (betraying again my city girl-ness) was "This looks exactly like the cockpits in Star Wars!" (the ones you see Luke or Han siting in and fighting the star destroyers with). Nathan's dad sat in this chair, with a huge convex window in front of him (it even went underneath his feet!), operating this huge monster with 2 tiny video game joy sticks. It was incredible and at that moment, I was won over to the work of the mine!

After our stint with Nathan's dad, we again got special permission from Dusty (good ole Dusty) to go and look at the brand, spankin' new shovel they are building for Nath's dad to use.

Well, this naive city girl got to sit in this incredibly sophisticated machine, in the captain's chair (I know its not a space ship but we'll call it the captain's chair, okay?) before Nathan's Dad, the most experienced shovel operator at the entire mine, did. What an honor! And the best part??? The chair had a control for massagers and heat! Who needs the joysticks to control the shovel when you've got this?! It was perfect and so perfect that I couldn't resist but rub it in a little to Nath's dad :)

So, my experience to the mine was absolutely incredible. It started out quite daunting but proved to be very, very cool and I'm very, very proud of what my fiance does! Never again will I simply smile and nod, pretending to understand, because now I really do!!