Comments on: Auburn has heritage

By: Mara

Mara — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 20:27:39 +0000

I’m with you that panning for gold isn’t much fun – but kids sure do love it! They have a similar exhibit at the Arizona Museum of Natural History in Mesa, although I think they stock their so that every child gets to leave with a little pouch of gold. My children could spend hours with their hands in the water, looking for those little nuggets.

By: Lora

Lora — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:53:50 +0000

I had no idea that mining is currently popular. And judging from the amount of people who have done it or want to do it, I can see why. I hope my kids have as fond memories as you have expressed, Amy. That speck of gold makes a pretty cool souvenir. Glad that was found. You’re right, Cate, the thrill of discovering something is priceless.

Hope you come on up, Bridget. The hills await you.

By: marina k. villatoro

marina k. villatoro — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 03:17:31 +0000

You know what’s funny, I did a bit of gold panning in Alaska. People still do it, more of a hobby, but they do do it:)

By: Bridget Smith

Bridget Smith — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:57:59 +0000

I love this post. My mom grew up in Auburn and my great grandfather was a gold miner so my dream is to head up that way some day. The drive would be long since we live in San Diego, but we may try it out around Christmas time for skiing. Hope to get up there soon!

By: Dominique

Dominique — Sat, 15 Aug 2009 02:56:23 +0000

Mining looks like fun to me. We went amethyst “mining” in Thunder Bay, Ontario…where they let us dig through the slag pile and buy what we found at $1 a pound. Great fun!

By: Karen

Karen — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 21:27:13 +0000

What a great activity, and suitable for kids of all ages. My son would love it (come to think of it, so would I)!

By: Cate

Cate — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 17:33:04 +0000

I’m with Amy on this one, the childhood joys of finding gold ( and then the disappointment in realising I’m not going to be the next billionaire from it). Great fun and a super story.

By: Amy @ The Q Family

Amy @ The Q Family — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 13:30:01 +0000

This sounds like a great day out with kids. My kids will love to get their hands wet and look for gold. How nice to be able to learn about it with hand-on experience.

We have similar Gold mine museum nearby. I think I might have to check them out after reading your post.

By: Amy

Amy — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 12:25:51 +0000

Okay. This post brought back some wonderful childhood memories.

My parents were big on family vacations, via automobile, when my sister and I were younger. Seems like we went everywhere in California, the Pacific Northwest, and Canada.

One of my absolute favorite vacations included a place where we could pretend to mine for gold. I still, 30 years later, have the little bracelet with the metal miner charm on it.