At the Gold Mine you actually board a train for the ride to the mine. We learned alot about how gold was mined in the old days. And this guy sang a few songs while we waited for a couple of tour buses to arrive.
The train went into a tunnel and stopped and we got to see the various layers of earth that had to be dug thru to get to the gold.
We saw this old miner's cabin and got a demonstration of some of the old mining equipment.
When we got to the actual mining area, we all sat on either side of this trough and watched as they told us how the gold was mined. This guide fit the part perfectly:
The gravel would be put into this bin, the water would be started and the gravel and water would flow down the trough. Since gold is heavier, it will drop into the slots along with the fine gravel.
Once the water and gravel stop, the actual panning starts. Several guys showed us how to find the gold.
They all found gold; here is what the guide found:
After that, we all got a small bag of gravel and then found a seat by the water troughs. We poured our gravel into our pan and then started sifting everything but the gold out.
We forgot to get a picture while we were panning so we came back and posed for th camera (hopefully you get the picture!!).
We took our cache into the visitor center, and had it weighed - about $35.
When we left there were at least 6 tour buses in the parking lot, so this place is still very popular after all these years!!
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