Eureka! (1 of 4)

Hannah went on her first overnight field trip to the State Capitol! I was a chaperone and we had to meet at the school at 5:45am!

In the parking lot praying before we leave

There were only 9 kids going plus 11 adults (including the driver and our tour guide) for a HUGE motor coach! It had WiFi and a charging outlets next to the seats! Sweet!

Hannah was impressed with our 'bus'. It even had hardwood floors!

We stayed at the Holiday Inn. I had the privilege of chaperoning Laneya, one of Hannah's good friends, since her parents were unable to go. Laneya and Hannah go way back. Her mom taught both Emily and Hannah when they were four years old in preschool. Laneya has been in the same class with Hannah since Kindergarten.

The kids of course hit the pool even though the water was cold!

We dined at the old Spaghetti Factory.

Hannah with Laneya and Alice

Yummy spaghetti

But before we hit our State's capital, our first stop was to Gold Bug Park & Mines. These two mines, Priest and Gold Bug, were real gold mines from the Gold Rush Days.

The Priest Mine was dug into the hillside by hand in the 1850's.

We had some great tour guides which explained how the miners were able to find gold (you look for the yellow vein of the walls) and how the miners scaled the walls (called scaffolding) to get to higher ground.

Duffy and Dewey, our tour guide miners, demonstrated how the miners used explosives in the mines.

This was not an easy nor safe profession!

Next we checked out the Miner's Blacksmith Shop. Miners always need to have their tools sharp and in good shape! Breaking down rocks was hard work.

Hannah with an iron snail

Lastly, we visited the Stamp Mill. This large machine 'stamped' rocks into tiny tiny pieces so it can filter and sort out gold from the rocks.

The people operating and manning this machine were brave! It was easy to loose a finger or hand in this contraption!

NEXT UP: I Found Gold!