The soft morning breeze blew over the peaks and through the tall fragrant evergreen forest. I stood on my porch watching the wildlife busily starting the day. I walked on down the road to the other side of Clear Creek, which was the local river. I headed through a valley to a tailing pile that lay in front of the entrance that awaited me.
The entrance of the cave had a musty damp scent from years of still life in darkness. I had explored this mine a few times before and found it to be the biggest one accessible to adventurers. I carefully ducked through the low overhead opening of rock an…