While on vacation down in North Carolina my bro-in-law and I went to the Emerald Hollow Mine in Hiddenite, NC.( [www.hiddenitegems.com] ). You buy a bucket of dirt from the mine and screen it in a sluice. We found several emeralds, none worth anything, although one is heart shaped. I may have it polished and mounted in a neckless for my wife. I found a very nice aquamarine, may send it off and have it cut. Also some moss agate that could be polished and put into a setting, some lapis and other stuff. I won't be able to retire off of my investment, but it was an enjoyable day.

Next we drove through Alabama to spend a couple of nights with my brother. He and a friend had gone gold mining somewhere in Alabama back in the spring. He showed me the gold he found, probably $300 to $500 worth. I've got to try that someday. I do have a couple of places here in Oklahoma a friend and I are going to try when it cools off a bit.

I've also been to the Crater of Diamonds State Park in Arkansas, but never found a diamond. I thought I found several, but they turned out to be quartz. When I saw someone else find a diamond, there was no doubt I had been finding quartz. Huge difference in the way they look.

[www.craterofdiamondsstatepark.com]

That is so awesome! Sounds like a load of fun!

That emerald mine sounds like an amazing amount of fun! Who doesn't like to play in dirt? haha...and to actually find gems! WOW who cares if they're worth anything...just the thrill of it all!

Thanks for sharing!

How much was it to buy the bucket?

Little late on the reply here, been a bit on the busy side. Anyway, $5.00 is price of admission and a 2 gallon bucket of non-enriched diggings. I found a nice amethyst in it. Then I paid $15.00 for a 5 gallon enriched bucket.

General admission is $5.00. If you want to go down and work the creek that runs through the property it is an additional $5.00. Then for another $5.00 you can work the actual mining area. They have more expensive buckets also. All the way up to $1000.00 enriched buckets. They are huge and have some huge crystal masses on the top.