Wednesday, August 1, 2007

OMG! We're Rich!

Last weekend, we spent a couple hours at the Lucky Strike Gold and Gem Mine. It was fun, but decidedly weird.

First of all, we weren't exactly sure where it might be. We picked a route toward Marion, NC, but with no assurance that we'd find the mine. By the oddest luck we picked the right highway, but drove right on past the place (because the sign said Lucky Strike "Campground", not Lucky Strike "Mine".)

Eventually we got turned around and located the place. We found ourselves deeply in Appalachia. Rather than give you the specifics, lets just say it's what you might expect, or fear; it's what you read about.

Once we figured it all out and got comfortable, we panned for gold and gems. You buy buckets of sand and sift through and get what you can. Oh, there were rubys and sapphires and garnets. We found a few little flakes of gold.

I learned that I could never be a "Miner, 49er", because I have no patience for it. For $5 though, TB "mined" through a small bucket of sand and found a sack full of pretty rocks and a wee bit of gold. The kids loved it, and it was a gorgeous ride through western North Carolina. Strange as the place was, it was worth it. I'm not sure everyone would agree, but I had fun.

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