By Scott Shephard
"He" is my good friend Scott Peterson. The light he is seeing is coming down an open shaft at the Ingersoll Mine near Keystone, South Dakota. It is a fascinating place and on the day we were there no one else was around, though there was evidence that someone had been there recently.
The evidence trail started with two black plastic wheels about half way up the trail to the mine. I said to Scott that they looked just like the wheels on my rolling cooler. Of course, it seemed improbable that someone would really try to roll a cooler up the rough and some times steep trail.
Later, where the trail was wet, we saw signs of something being dragged. A body? A cooler without wheels? The answer to that question came when we got into the largest chamber in the mine, close to where Scott is standing in this photo. It was a rolling cooler. With a broken handle. And no wheels. I looked inside and all but one can of Coors Lite was gone. But there was still ice.
The crazy things people will do to have cold beer! But from now on when these people come to the mine to commune, they only have to bring beer and ice - the cooler will likely remain for quite a while.