Emerald Mining & Gas Shortages

I ran up to Hiddenite, NC yesterday to enjoy the beautiful autumn day and see if I could strike it rich by finding a million dollar emerald. I didn't manage to find that emerald, but I did bring home a few more treasures to photograph for the Emerald Hollow Mine and gemstone photo galleries. This time around my family and I spent more time with a shovel and bucket, breaking rocks and doing 'mining'. We found a lot of pretty quartz that way and small crystals of gemstones. We did some sluicing, which is always productive if you just want pretty rocks, since the starter buckets are seeded with inexpensive gems. My son found a small sapphire in a bucket of rough we brought down from the mine. The sapphire probably is not worth polishing or faceting, but it's always nice to find gems. I still like panning or 'creeking" the best. I like to play in the water and make discoveries in the creek. Yesterday I did not encounter any hiddenite, but I did find a tiny emerald and ruby. I'll add photos of those finds later today.

One thing I did not expect on that trip was to be unable to find gas! I am very surprised at the lack of news coverage regarding gas outages in the southeastern US. I'm not talking about shortages, where you wait in line or have to buy only a certain grade of gas... there are long stretches of interstate in North Carolina and now South Carolina where you simply can't get any gas. Travelers told me this was true in Mississippi, Georgia and Florida too. So... if you are planning on driving somewhere this weekend, you may wish to reconsider making the trip or at least keep in mind you might have trouble filling up. Some gas station operators told me their deliveries have been put on hold. The best guess I have heard is to expect the shortages and outages to continue for at least another week, while production kicks in following Ike.