We went to Philipsburg, MT, 'cause the internet told us that's where we would find Sapphire mines and we wanted to see what that is all about.
The road to Philipsburg had the requisite critters....
And the road followed Rock Creek......
I know how Rock Creek got its name..it's 38 miles of bumpy gravelly road...
This is how you find sapphires...you get a bag (or bucket) of gravel, use a screen to wash the mud and then use tweezers to pick out the stones. It's fun after you know what to look for...
This is one of the places to sift..the other is Gem Mountain about 16 mi. out of town and nearer to the actual mine. We found about 18 stones that were cuttable. That means they are worthy of the next step-heat treatment. Right now there's such a backlog that whatever we decide they won't be ready until MARCH!
After all that hard work we stepped across the street for a yummy dinner....might go back tomorrow for some more sifting.....
1 comment:
March??? Sounds like another road trip to me!
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