vacation excursion #1 :: prospecting

Our first full day of vacation was spent prospecting for gems at Hiddenite Gems. It's located in Hiddenite, NC. (Go figure.) We went creeking and sluicing there, and came home with pounds of rocks and minerals. Here's a glimpse at some of our treasure:

And here's a look at our dirty, filthy, muddy, fun day acquiring the stones:

 After parking we headed down this road -- yes, the one where the sign says, "permitted access only" *giggle* -- and checked in. We paid $10 per person for creeking and sluicing, and a few bucks more to rent the tools of the trade. It was definitely an inexpensive way to spend the day! 

And since the sky was overcast and the Mountain Man who checked us in swore on his arthritic joints it was going to rain, we headed to creek first. It was definitely not crowded and the water was clear and cool.

This is basically what one does in the creek -- using the shovel or your hands put dirt in the sieve and then let water wash the dirt away, check the leftovers for treasures. Treasures like that black rock in the bottom right of the sieve. That's a black quartz. Ooooh! Aaaah!

Here's that same black quartz up close along with one of it's neighbors. I've forgotten if that neighbor is a quartz or something else. Egads.)

After a couple hours in the creek we wandered back up the hill to the sluiceway. It's the same concept of pawing through mud to find a treasure but with a twist.

(Didya catch that "couple hours in the creek?" Me? HOURS in the creek? Uh huh. Holla y'all!)

 Upon reaching the sluiceway you pick up one of these buckets that have been hauled up from the mine. The dirt is red and clay-like.

 

... and then you slap some of that red clay-like dirt in the sieve, shake it up, let the water wash the stones, use the brush to clean some things off, and voila! Treasure!

What they don't tell you is the benches on the sluiceway are meant for people who are 4' tall and anyone whose height exceeds that should expect their knees to be sufficiently squished. It was also the dirtiest portion of our day. We had red clay and dirt everywhere and were still finding remnants days later!

The Hiddenite Peeps do augment the buckets with some pre-discovered stones so you're guaranteed some gems via sluicing. The rocks were slightly larger than what we found in the creek, and it was more social there, too. The staff would walk around and help identify stones, and most of the other prospectors there were chatty. Even my normally shy Turkey was engaging in conversation!

In total, we spent four hours at the creek and one hour on the sluiceway, with a picnic lunch in between. (If you ever go to Hiddenite Gems be sure to pack your own lunch. The only sustenance available on site is a soda machine.) We left a sapphire and a ruby with the lapidary there. We also left said lapidary with some cash to cut and polish the stones, and expect to see the final gems in 6-8 weeks. That leaves us with about 10 pounds of rock waiting at home for a rock tumbler or a winning lottery ticket so we can have them cut, too.

Hiddenite Gems = two thumbs up for fun and educational entertainment!