Gem Mining

Yesterday we went gem mining with friends. This was the second time that I've taken the kids but the last time was like three years ago so the children have little to no memory of it. Playing in the dirt and looking at rocks is one of my kids favorite things to do, so gem mining is always a blast for them. lol

We met our friends early in the day so we could beat the heat. We pulled into the parking lot just moments after they did. Mitchell shouts as soon as he sees them "There's Colin! Mom, I just want to get out and run to him!" I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes from that one.

Once at the mine we started off with sluicing. Everyone got a bucket of dirt that had a few cool looking rocks in them. You scoop the dirt out of the bucket and into your screen in the water. Then you slosh it around until the dirt is all gone and you're left with all the rocks.

The next thing we did there was "creeking". We rented screens and small shovels to take to the creek. In the tiny little creek we walked through the water until the kids found the perfect spot to dig. They had a blast playing in the creek. They found a few more rocks but mainly they just had fun getting all wet!