Grandfather Mtn & Gem Mining

In early May some in our homeschool group took a trip to the mountains of North Carolina. We made it a camping trip which was 'interesting'. And only 'interesting' because of the conditions of the campground. I've never been to a group campsite before but from that experience, I don't plan on repeating it anytime soon. I much prefer the individual sites with a little privacy and room.

We did enjoy each other's company though and the activities were a blast. We hiked a trail at Grandfather Mountain and below you will see a bunch of the kids making the adults nervous by hanging out close to the 'edges'.

This trail leads you to a lookout where you can see the grandfather. It's due to the mountain looking like an old man's face as if he's lying on his back.

Too bad I didn't seem to get a picture of it. It was a windy day but thankfully not too windy. We were able to go out on the hanging bridge. That'll scare the pants off anyone who has a problem with heights as you travel across a bridge one mile high. I just didn't look down. And I'm embarrassed to admit that I crouched as I walked across. I didn't want any part of my body above the railings. You know, in case some strong gust of wind came along, picked me up and threw me off. You think about things like that when you're up there.

On a different day we made it to a gem mine. You just can't visit the mountains of NC without hitting a gem mine. The boys were enthralled finding their 'treasure'! I can see the lure of this cheap pastime. Well, it's cheap if you don't actually do anything with your stones. LOL I found a nice hunk of ruby but I didn't have it cut. Maybe for my 25th wedding anniversary or something?

You can tell here who was pretty intense. Tigger didn't let up until every last scrap of sand was sifted through. I helped Pooh make it through his bucket. He did a lot better than I thought he would. And once he started finding some gems, he was happy.
You can see the flow of water was coming along at a nice clip. It kept our work area clean so we could see what we were looking for.

Butterfly Farm

A perfect day for a spring trip to a butterfly farm! The weather was gorgeous! This trip was in the beginning of April.

This young lady gave a wonderful presentation about butterflies. It was kid friendly and yet we all learned things we didn't know before. Tigger looks less than thrilled but he did have a good time!. LOL

Here he is again with a smile. Once we went into the butterfly pavillion (I'll call it that-I can't remember what they called it.) all the kids were given a piece of cotton soaked with sugar water. that way the butterflies would be interested and land onto their hands for a nice long drink. As you can see, the main attraction was the monarch.

Pooh raised his hand and volunteered for this demonstration. He did a really great job even though he got a little embarrassed by the time it was all over with. See the ears on the knees-that's where the butterflies hear. The taste buds are on the feet. The noses are on top of the head. It's all topsy-turvy from what we are! That was cool to learn.

In another post, I'll provide some photos of the butterflies we purchased and raised from this farm. It was exciting!!!