Rockhounds!

I don't really even know what to say about this activity. It seemed like a good idea, an educational one even, to take 10 kids to dig for thundereggs. I mean, they each got their own pick ax! What could possibly go wrong? It started out well, we drove out to the "recreation" ranch (that term is used very loosly), we had a great picnic lunch. John and Jonas got to see an excavator up close....spirits were high.



Then we drove the eight miles of dusty dirty unpaved roads out to the dig site.
We imagined the beautiful rocks we would un-earth.
We saw goats and squirells and other wildlife.


We arrived at the site.
My nephew Sam summed up most of our thoughts with his words,
"We drove 45 minutes for THIS?"
Still, we perservered.
We dug, we chopped, we searched.
We worked.



We were disapointed, as Charlie's expression shows....



But what could be more fun for a two year old who loves dirt and trash?



Finally, we called it a day....Here's a shot of Joe closing one of the many livestock gates inbetween the ranch and the dig site. I figure I won't have many opportunities to see him doing this...if you look closely, you can see he's listening to his ipod.



It was not the most exciting day, but it was certainly memorable. And, CHEAP. You only pay for the rocks you take out....$1.00 per pound. An entire day's activity for my children was $4.00! But the memories are priceless.