Maggie tells about our trip to Emerald

A couple of months ago, we took a family trip out west to the towns of Emerald, Sapphire, and Rubyvale to visit the gemfields.
On our way back home we stopped in Blackwater to visit the coal mine.
Here is her story...

Our day started off at school then at 12:45 we were picked up early and headed home to change out of our uniforms and watch mum open her presents (it was her birthday). She got some grill utensils and an awesome caravan cooler that was filled with American candy.

After that we put our stuff in the car and headed to Emerald. The drive was 3 1/2 hours and when we go to the hotel I was glad to get out and stretch my legs. The motel was ok but not the best one we've been in. I am embarrassed to admit I had a little breakdown when I found out that grace and I were sharing a bed and will, grace, and I were sharing a room. After we got settled and I cooled down, we checked the TV and So you Think You Can Dance was on in 30 min.  So we headed to the restaurant at the motel. The food wasn't the best there but all was good when we went back to our room and got gummy worms. We watched Dancing with the Stars and then went to bed. I watched the movie The Hundred-Foot Journey on Netflix till my eyes couldn't stay open any longer.

The next morning we woke up and searched for something good on TV. Nothing really except for Family Feud which I really like. After a while when mum and dad woke up we got dressed and ate breakfast. Then the cleaning lady came so we quickly got our stuff together, left the room, and headed to the gem fields. The first stop we took was Pat's Gems and there we went fossicking.

 

We bought 2 buckets and sifted through to find little sapphires.  1st you pour some dirt on your sieve.

2nd you bang the sieve some more so the loose dirt can flow out.

 

3rd you go over to a big trough filled with water and shake the rocks around to clean them.

 

4th you go over to your station and you quickly tip the sieve over so you don't fling the rocks everywhere.

 

5th you sit and look for shiny. Once you find something shiny you dry it off and look for a glassy surface. It’s hard at first but gets a tiny but easier the more you do it. Dad was the best at it or the luckiest, he found the prettiest ones. I found a few good ones but not many.

 

Our next stop was the Miners Heritage Museum in Rubyvale. There we stopped and ate lunch at some pick nick tables.

After we ate lunch we went on a tour of a gem mine. It was cool but not very exciting. It looked a lot like real life minecraft. Haha!

After that we got another bucket of rocks to go through at the Miners Heritage Museum. We found a lot more gems at this stop and  the lady checking all my gems said that if I got one of mine cut it could sell for 75$. That made me happy! After a big day of Fossicking and the museum we headed back to the motel.

 

On the way back we saw both a dingo and an echidna out in the wild. The echidna ran across the road and the dingo was eating something.

Dingo

Echidna (buried in the grass)

 

It was really cool to not see them in wildlife parks. When we got to the motel we took showers and got ready for dinner. Then we had dinner at the Tavern. It was a lot better than the other night, and with the kids menu we got ice cream.  Yum!!! ☺ The last thing we did was watch some TV and go to bed. I slept in the cocoon shaped sleeping bag and had no problem with the cold. It was nice and toasty in there.
Today is our last day and we spent the morning chilling and watching TV.  After a while we had to get ready though, because we had to be out by 10. When everything was packed up we got in the car and headed to a friend's house to look at their cotton farm.

 

Will learning cotton irrigation

I have to admit I wasn't too excited about looking at a cotton farm because they’re everywhere in texas, but I had fun and found my new love for strawberry cupcakes. The wife of the cotton farmer (Renee) made some and they were delicious!

After the cotton farm adventure we headed to another friend's house in Blackwater, so he could take us on a tour of the coal mine he works in. On the way we stopped by the side of the road for fresh oranges.

 

At the mine, we got to wear hard hats, glasses, and orange vests. That was fun.

 

I also saw this grease stuff that came out of the big machine and it looked like black poop. Hahaha!!! When the mine tour was over we got in the car and headed home. The drive was long, but after a while we got Hungry Jacks. 

Now we are headed home to get some rest before school tomorrow.