Down in the mines

After hiking the trails at Chimney Rock, we took the kids to town. When Brian and I had stayed in Lake Lure for our anniversary a few months ago, we had found a little gem mining place that we knew the kids would absolutely love. It was hard for Jaina and Jayce to get excited about our new adventure since they didn't really understand what we meant about "mining" or "panning". I tried to explain it using the 7 dwarfs and Snow White as my example. "So we are going to a cave with a big axe?" Jaina asked. Okay, maybe I did a really bad job explaining panning for gold part. Anyway, it took them all of 2 seconds to decide for themselves that this was actually fun.

So, its pretty simple. You just take a big shovel full of dirt from the bucket and put it in the screened tray in the running water.

Once the dirt washes away, you are left with this:

Jayce quickly got the hang of it:

So, we weren't exactly in a mine. It was more like a really nice wooden deck.

That's some concentration right there!

Jaina was kind enough to grab my picture so I could prove that I'm part of the family, too! Oh, and the reason for the glasses is because I lost my last box of disposable contacts two weeks ago. I'm getting new ones tomorrow!!

And this, my friends, is what Jaina considered "the motherload" of all rocks. Totally worth the price of the bucket to see her face when she uncovered this geode.

And this is the reason my kids have eyes that constantly snag them compliments :)


All of our "precious" rocks and gems are now displayed in our bamboo bowl upon our coffee table. Jaina wants to go again next time. I foresee a lot of rocks in our future!