Day 19. Sapphires

Today, we went looking for sapphires. We drove out to the Spokane Bar Sapphire Mine. We got a 50 lb bag of gravel and went to work. Pour a little gravel into a screen, rinse, shake, drain, place a piece of foam on top , flip and pick. Repeat.





It's a lot of work, it would have been better if I had my glasses with me. I found a few that were of good enough quality that they could be processed into nice gems. John found about 8.


After spending 4 hours picking rocks, we hit the road. We had lunch in Townsend, and continued to White Sulphur Springs. The mountains are being replaced by the plains.



Tonight's lodging is at the White Sulphur  Hot Springs Spa + Motel.

Tomorrow we'll try for Belle Fourche, and be home by Friday.
4662 miles so far.