Treasure Hunting Destinations

The next time you are looking into cheap traveloptions, such as cheapairplane tickets, discount hotel rooms, and cheap vacation packages,consider making your vacation destination one with mines and sites that welcometreasure hunters.

The following are treasure hunting destinations recommendedby a family travel expert at MiniTime:

• AlabamaGold Camp in Lineville, Alabama is about 85 miles east of Birmingham and rentsshacks for lodging and welcomes families. The gold camp has miles of creek where prospectors (i.e., tourists) cansluice, pan, and dredge. Visitors havealso been known to find red garnets, fossils, citrine, and Indian artifacts.

• SpectrumSunstone Mine in Plush, Oregon is a privately owned mine where visitors canrent cabins or a tipi and remain on site.

• CherokeeRuby & Sapphire Mine in Franklin, North Carolina, is where people can findrubies, sapphires, and lots of impressive, shiny, blingy things. Visitors are given two buckets of dirt, acreek box, and a seat cushion.

• Craterof Diamonds State Park in Murfreesboro, Arkansas is where almost 30,000diamonds have been found over the past 40 years, including a remarkable 5 caratdiamond in August of last year. Oncetired of mining, visitors can enjoy an elaborate water park that is open duringthe summer.

• HerkimerDiamond Mines in Middleville, New York, is where prospectors can find diamondshaped gems (mind you not diamonds). These double terminated quartz crystals are even rarer than diamonds. Equipment, including a hammer and bag areavailable to rent.

• EmeraldHollow Mine in Hiddenite, North Carolina is home to emeralds and othergems. This mine is located about an hourwest of Winston-Salem.

• WoodwardRanch in Alpine, Texas is where rare red plum agates can be found scatteredaround this working West Texas cattle ranch approximately 70 miles from BigBend National Park. Given the agates lieon top of the ground, all prospectors need to do is walk and keep a sharp lookout.

• MorefieldGem Mine in Amelia, Virginia is about 45 minutes from Richmond and is home tomore amazonite than anywhere else in America. Tourists have also found mound topaz, garnets, and amethysts.

• CaliforniaState Gem Mine in Coalinga, California, is where in August a tourist found arare star shaped piece of benitoite which is a blue silicate mineral.

• RainbowRidge Opal Mine in Virgin Valley, Nevada last year had three visitors find$50,000 worth of opals in this remote rustic mine geared toward more serioustreasure hunters.