Pala Mine!

This is one of those trips that makes me realize how rewarding homeschooling can be... and educational.  I personally learned a lot about gems, how to locate them for mining, and the history of this particular mine.  We went to Oceanview Mine (Also know as Pala Mine). 

While it was a little hard for Little Man to make it through the entire trip, he did a great job!  We had a lot of breaks from 'mining' for snacks, games of tag and hide and seek, and just relaxing.  We found a lot of 'pretty' rocks, quartz, and a few little gems.  This is a trip we will do again in a few years when Little Man will get a lot more out of it and maybe we can bring Baby Bug along.

(My camera broke on this trip!  This is why I always purchase the service plan, this isn't the first or last time it has happened.  Most of the pictures were taken with my cellphone, but a few that have the black bars are from my camera, the lens wasn't opening all the way up and then it stopped opening completely.  To much dust/dirt.)

Group shot of the kids (although a few left before this was taken!)

Malcolm showing off one of his finds!

Large Quartz rock with green tanzanite crystals inside.

Various quartz crystals

Mica

Morganite

Lepidolite..?

Morganite (although not as pink)

Aquamarine

Onyx

I honestly don't remember what the black parts were called, but there was a lot of it at the dig.

Tourmaline

Mica

Mica.

Feldspar - an ingredient in porcelain

Malcolm standing by the untouched dig pile.

California Poppies

Our tour of the mines.

These are mines on the mountain next to us.

Entrance to the new mine shaft.

Current Oceanview Mine.  This is an active mine so we weren't allowed to enter.

Our Lord's Candle was blooming.   I have a thing for wildflowers :)

We got to see what the gems look like in a real mine when discovered.