We spent the day on Saturday in Spruce Pine, North Carolina at an emerald mine. One of my cousins was celebrating his birthday and a bunch of the family got together to spend the day mining for gems and celebrating with him. There were about 3o or so of us. We spent the morning digging in the rocks and searching for that priceless gem. Unfortunately no one found anything of high value but there were some emeralds and rubies and a few other gems discovered. We all had a picnic lunch then afterward some people dug some more while others just visited. It was such a fun day with family. Below are some of the many photos I took during the day.
Lindsey, Rusty and Debbie dig in a pit
Mom stops digging long enough for a photo
David enjoys his lunch break
after lunch chit-chat
these pretty white cows grazed on the hillside near the mine
an uninvited guest showed up at the birthday celebration
a wild turkey struts in a field nearby
the beautiful scenic Blue Ridge Mountains ... this was the scene from the mine
