While visiting my grand parents in the Poconos Mountains in Eastern Pennsylvania, my uncle and my cousin and I went hiking through the old coal mines. The Poconos are one of the few places in the world where you can find anthracite, a type of coal characterized by a very high carbon content, which although difficult to ignite, will burn blue. The area had a lot of immigrants from Poland, Ukraine and Germany whom came there to work in the coal mines. My Ukrainian great grand father was one of these immigrants. Enjoy the pictures:
My great great grand mother's house
My great great grand mother house
My great great grand mother's house
Many members of my family did and still do live in the area. This house was once inhabited by my great great grand mother and several other members of my family. It is now empty and condemned to be demolished.
My uncle Dennis and cousin Zack
The area is full of enourmous old slag heaps, some of which have become covered in vegetation. There also seemed to be an abundance of birch trees in the area.
Shotgun shells
There were a lot of shotgun shells in the area. People go out both for hunting and for shooting practice. When I was small my grand father used to take my brother, my cousins and myself shooting in he abandonned part of the mines.
Old road sign
An old sign sticking out of a slag heap. Someone used it for target practice.Parts of the area still have active mining operations, and some parts are reclaiming unused coals in slag heaps.
Picking coal
Shopping for next year’s Christmas presents on the side of a slag heap.
Sink hole
An old sink hole. When underground veins of coal catch on fire and burn, dangerous sing holes can form. In Centralia, Pennsylvania, an underground coal fire has forced residents to abandon the town creating a ghost town.
Zack holding up a sheet of ice
Zack in front of a frozen pond
Dennis and Zack standing in front of a mine shaft
Zack and Dennis standing infront of the mine where my great grand father used to work. He used to walk several miles through the woods each day to work, and it was up hill both ways.
Zack and I in front of a mine shaft
Same mine shaft.
Zack helping me out of the mine
An old building near the mine
Around the mine shaft were several other buildings barely standing. According to my uncle dennis someone had come through a few years back and bulldozed them, leaving a pile of rubble behind.
An old building near the mine
Gushing spring
I have made this hike several times. Once we ran into a women filling water bottles at this spring. The water tasted fine.
Old mine road
The mine road leading to my great grand father’s mine. It’s not really usable anymore except for walking. People also take quads around on these roads.
Mine road
The modern mine road. This road is still used by mining trucks. Not sure we were supposed to be there.
Self portrait
Me! 
