Franklin, NC - Gem mining again :)

I had such a good time at the gem mine the other day that I wanted to try it again. This time, we drove about an hour north to Franklin, NC. The town's website boasts five gem mines in the area. After driving around the country side around the town, I think there are more than that.

I went to the Sheffield Mine and tried to find some native Rubies and Sapphires. I did not realize this before, but apparently, you can buy "native" buckets, which is dirt straight out of the mine or "enriched" buckets, which has gem stones added to the dirt. I guess my previous day's bucket was enriched although I didn't realize it at the time. So this time, I tried the native bucket. This was a lot more time intensive and altogether dirtier work. At the end of this day, I came home with a 5.5 carat ruby. I've decided that gem mining is similar to gambling...pay your money and you might come out ahead or you might not, either way, the next bucket is sure to have the really BIG ONE in it.