🔹 Part 2 of 3: Crystal Forest Digging Tips & Packing List
I can’t say enough wonderful things about this experience, but if you’ve never woken up with your pup and driven the ten minutes of winding country road to the mine with your windows down, watching the morning dew sparkle on the grass and smelling the fresh, wild country, you’re missing out. The Wegner mine offers several experiences, including a phantom quartz mine which produces some stellar specimens, a place to dig through the tailings, and even a bucket and sluice adventure for the little ones.
Peep and I want the ultimate experience though, and that is to catch the early morning ride out to the Crystal Forest Mine. With trips at 9:30, 11:30, and 1:30, you can choose to dig for two hours ($20), four ($40), or 6 ($60). Don’t be afraid you won’t get your money’s worth. You will. I have never left without a heaping 5-gallon bucket after a two-hour dig. I’m not sure how much that weighs, but it feels like a lot. On one of my recent trips, I witnessed a 7-year-old newbie turn over a large rock that was easily worth several hundred dollars. The place is seriously crazy. For the entrance fee, you can carry out anything you find. Like, if you find rocks so large they have to be carried out by truck, you only have to worry about the logistics.
Peep is extremely susceptible to heat, so I only take her to the mine when it’s cool. There’s some cover, but it’s limited. Think orange dirt mounds surrounded by wild forest.
As far as gear is concerned, everyone has different opinions. I’m a minimalist at heart, and I know I’m going to have a tough time holding my sun hat, Peep, and a Home Depot bucket full of treasure on the bumpy 15-minute trail ride back to my car, so I try to keep the tools to a minimum. Some people are serious though, so it all depends on what you’re searching for. People looking for large chunks of quartz for their garden or crystal points for jewelry are going to need fewer implements than someone who wants to chisel the perfect specimen directly from a vein for their mineral collection. I always keep a change of clothes in my car, and a towel for Peep. You will be covered in orange dirt. That red sandstone is no joke! If you came with a white Pomeranian, congratulations, you’re now the proud owner of an orange one. If you don’t have seat covers and plan to dig a lot, invest in some now.
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