big rock candy mountain

We spent half a day at the Big Rock Candy Mountain in early August, 2014. Visit rockcandymine.com for detailed information. We were on a road trip, and had done sapphire mining in Phillipsburg, MT in the past, which was really fun, so we wanted to find another mining experience. We scoured the internet and found the Big Rick Candy Mountain. I read everything on the website, and it sounded like fun, but I was concerned about getting our 32 ft RV to the mining site, as it mentions that you drive your own vehicle to the site after meeting up with your guide. I emailed the owner (didn't realize at the time that was who he was), and he responded immediately, saying that I could, indeed, get the RV there. I called the Grand Forks visitor center to book our "Safari", and the gal was really pleasant and helpful. For up to 5 people, you can book a private tour for $200, otherwise it is $35 for adults and $25 for children, but there have to be at least 6 people. There are 5 of us, and I was willing to pay the $200, but of course, I wanted to save money if I could, and we didn't mind other people. I gave her my visa info and told her we wanted to go either way. Once you book and pay, then they send you an email giving you the details about where to meet your guide. I believe they keep the details secret to protect the mine from people just hoping up there, which is understandable. Suffice it to say, they give you very clear directions for where to meet the guide, and then the guide leads you to the site. Our guide was Lynn, and she was great. We had one other couple with us, so our total cost with taxes and fees was $157.50 Canadian. The hike to the site is definitely a little challenging if you are not in good shape, but you can take your time. You go up a fairly steep dirt path, and if you have some hiking poles, they would be helpful, but the hard part is pretty short, so don't let this dissuade you. They say it is equivalent to climbing 8 flights of stairs, and that is probably about right. Anyways, when you get up there, you get to start searching for fluorite (beautiful green and purple crystals), Quartz, geodes, and barite. The fluorite is incredibly abundant, so the hard part is figuring out which pieces you want to carry out, not finding them. They are gorgeous and you will find yourself wanting to take just about everything you see. We found some cool drusy quartz, too, and our guide was really friendly and knowledgable. We didn't find any barite, but that was okay. We carried 3 heavy-duty shopping bags, and each kid had a plastic pail to keep their treasures. I would recommend that you bring back packs (one's you can either wash, or don't mind getting dirty, as, of course, the ricks are dirty). The couple we were with was much better prepared and brought two large back packs. This made it much easier for them to pack their finds out. We brought a small cooler with several waters because I was really worried about the heat (it was over 100 degrees Fahrenheit when we arrived in town the prior day at 5:30pm!), but the heat wasn't really an issue. It was warm, and I think we each drank a water, but it wasn't bad. We arrived at the site around 11:00am, and got to collect until 1:00pm. The time flies, as it is a treasure hunt. The hike out is better than the hike in, but you have to add the weight of all the stones/crystals. All in all, I think we packed out about 80 pounds. I will note that the road you travel to get to the site is a narrow, pot-hole-riddled road, and was not very fun in a large RV, but it was doable. This was such a fun experience for the whole family (our kids: nearly 14 (boy), 10 (girl), and 6 (boy)). Everyone found amazing crystals. It was so much fun to go through what we each found at our next campsite. We laid everything out on a picnic table with a bucket of water to rinse them off... So beautiful! I would highly recommend this experience to everyone! You do not have to be a geology buff to appreciate this.