Nick was dying to see a real mine, so this was his pick for the day's activity. We all wore hard hats and rain slickers and headed underground to the mine. It was actually really interesting and the kids had a blast. I was assuming that William would lose it big time as it is pitch black, cold, and wet down there; but he loved it!
After the tour the kids were able to pan for gold and silver. Nonie got pretty good at it, she was the designated expert.
William liked this part too, if only because there was sand and water involved.
Elle got the score of the day. No sooner did she put her pan into the water, than she came up with a teardrop sized chunk of silver. The adults around her were quite jealous and asked her to pan for them too.
We should have known that she would be good at finding valuables, as soon as we pulled into the parking lot she sniffed the air and announced "I can smell gold around here".
Shot of the hills surrounding Silverton.
