The Gold Rush
We took a day trip with Mark and Candy to Dahlonega, Georgia to visit the largest gold mine east of the Mississippi. We had a great tour guide, who spoke like Yosemite Sam, and explained to us the various types of gold mining and the treacherous life that miners led. We all got to pan for gold at the end of the tour. It is harder than it looks! It takes about twenty minutes to properly rinse the sand from the pan, which allows the heavy gold to fall to the bottom. We got to bring our gold nuggets (specks!) home in little plastic vials. We also did some gem mining. Between all the kids, they unearthed rubies, emeralds, white topaz, and a rather hefty amethyst. While Candy and I would have preferred the gems in the form of cut and polished jewels on our fingers or around our necks, the kids seemed genuinely impressed with their zip lock baggies of rocky treasure. Mark treated each of the kids to a souvenir from the gift shop. The boys got very cool wood carved sling-shots, which were a huge hit! We hiked to two more waterfalls, and the boys had a blast on the trail filling their pockets with "ammo" and slinging it out over look-out spots and toward roaring waterfalls. We had to negotiate what constituted proper ammo for the youngest boy in our group. There will be NO slinging of emeralds or rubies!!!
We took a day trip with Mark and Candy to Dahlonega, Georgia to visit the largest gold mine east of the Mississippi. We had a great tour guide, who spoke like Yosemite Sam, and explained to us the various types of gold mining and the treacherous life that miners led. We all got to pan for gold at the end of the tour. It is harder than it looks! It takes about twenty minutes to properly rinse the sand from the pan, which allows the heavy gold to fall to the bottom. We got to bring our gold nuggets (specks!) home in little plastic vials. We also did some gem mining. Between all the kids, they unearthed rubies, emeralds, white topaz, and a rather hefty amethyst. While Candy and I would have preferred the gems in the form of cut and polished jewels on our fingers or around our necks, the kids seemed genuinely impressed with their zip lock baggies of rocky treasure. Mark treated each of the kids to a souvenir from the gift shop. The boys got very cool wood carved sling-shots, which were a huge hit! We hiked to two more waterfalls, and the boys had a blast on the trail filling their pockets with "ammo" and slinging it out over look-out spots and toward roaring waterfalls. We had to negotiate what constituted proper ammo for the youngest boy in our group. There will be NO slinging of emeralds or rubies!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment