Thar be Gems in them thar Hills

We have arrived in Franklin, NC. It’s a beautiful town with lots of options to keep one busy. First of all, I want to give a shout to the RV place Great Outdoors RV Resort. This RV resort is perfect. The lots are spacious. The place is quiet. They have full amenities. The people who own it, Mike and Polly, do an awesome job making everyone feel welcome. Polly is the one who helped us figure out where we should go.

Anyway….on to our adventure here in NC. First day here, we went gem mining. I had heard this area was the capitol to hunt for gems so of course Mike needed to go here. Polly recommended (link to tripAdvisor) Cowee Gift Shop & Mason Mountain Mine which turned out perfect. The staff were very friendly and helpful. The kids and I paid for a ‘big’ bucket of dirt that they seeded it with gems so we are guaranteed to find valuables. And look at our haul:

The bucket was perfect for us. With me slowing down the kids, it took us about 30 mins to go through the bucket. Now Mike on the other hand, paid for 4 hours to dig as much as he wanted while looking for the gems. He was like a kid in a candy store.

I was able to keep the kids occupied for most of the time. In the end, we did find some really nice gems.

Yes, I know, it looks like poo but they are rocks. We picked these three to be professional cut. We can’t wait to see how they turn out. FYI: The top is 4 ct, 15 ct, and 1ct.

And here are all the pics I took that day.