Saving - 0$
Spending - $20 chiropractor + $3.50 coffee, cookie + 5$ lunch
Today DH and I were off, but since the chiropractor was next door to work, it didn't really feel like it. Got my neck and back popped; another set of errands got us to the Pike Market and then it was back to the car.
On the way back, we made a little pit stop at the Cadillac Hotel where the revamped Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park has their new digs. Fabulous place to visit, and for the frugal, the price is right: free. Course we made a suggested donation and took a look around.
The Klondike Gold Rush occurred 1896 - 1899, but there is so much similarity between Americans of a 100 yrs ago and us today. There was an economic panic in the early 1890's. News of gold sparked gold fever in hundreds of thousands of desperate people. Crazy decision 1 - to go. Seattle made almost $1B (today's money) provisioning prospectors - everybody had to have a year's worth of food and gear for the Yukon, which happened to be in Canada. In other words, 1 ton of gear. Crazy decision 2 - to buy.
Most of the trip was by boat, but there was a mountain pass that a prospector had to cross...with 1 ton of gear. Most had to hoof it, going up and down that pass over 30 times, taking a pack of gear up the hill, then sliding down, then up the hill, then sliding down. I'll bet it got old after the first trip. I felt for those prospectors, doing something insane just because they made those first two crazy decisions.
Lesson 1: How much had I bought in my early 20s on a credit card that I was metaphorically lugging up that pass over and over again?
And when the prospector got there... the good claims had been taken already. Some worked other claims or bought them. The guys who really cleaned up were ones selling donuts and coffee or fresh vegetables. One guy took one look at his claim, then looked at all the scurvy going around, and farmed it. 20 hrs of daylight, giant vegetables, big bucks.
Lesson 2: The entrepreneur sees the situation as it is. Its rarely the original situation that provides the opportunity.
Final amazing stat:
For every 100,000 people who started out
40,000 made it to the Klondike
20,000 prospected for gold
60 people found more than $15,000 worth of gold
30 people kept at least half of their gold after 5 years.
Lesson 3: A lottery's a lottery, no matter how its dressed up.
Klondike musings
January 16th, 2007 at 03:54 am
January 16th, 2007 at 05:34 am 1168925698
January 16th, 2007 at 10:21 am 1168942870
January 16th, 2007 at 12:50 pm 1168951833
January 16th, 2007 at 02:00 pm 1168956029
January 17th, 2007 at 04:32 am 1169008365
The Zeitgeist is across the street, with good coffee, sandwiches, WiFi. If you pack a lunch, a block north is the Waterfall Park, with a little waterfall, plants, rocks, pigeons, and plenty of tables. Its also the birthplace of the United Parcel Service. If you can, hit the Seattle Police Museum for 3$ - its on 3rd Ave S and Jackson, one block east.
January 17th, 2007 at 05:14 am 1169010873
It is colon followed directly by the words rolleyes with no space between them and then another colon.
And thanks for the info on the above.
January 17th, 2007 at 06:56 am 1169017007