Black Diamond Mines

K had a visit on Sunday with his aunt, so we decided to explore the area by where they live.  She recommended the Black Diamond Regional Preserve.  We looked it up on the internet and it had some beautiful pictures and gave information about the tour (you had to be 7, so it isn't something we could have done if K wasn't visiting his family, so we decided to fudge a little on Ainsley's age and go for it).  It was the opening weekend, so we had no idea what to expect, but we were able to get tickets.  Once we finally found the opening to the mine, we went in with our tour guide and spent about 30 minutes learning the history of coal mining and silicate (sand) mining in that location.  It was super interesting, but really cold....the temperature in there is always 56.  Ryan only had a t-shirt on, so he was the least prepared :o(.  We learned that the coal was not very high quality there, so the mining company moved to Washington, hence, Black Diamond!  So, I guess we learned something about Washington as well.    From there, we put on the hard hats and walked down the long corridors and into the tunnels that stretched for many, many miles.  It was amazing to see how much sand they excavated, 1.8 million tons which was sent to Oakland to be processed by the Atlas glass company.  We saw what coal looked liked and the bottom of the ocean floor (including fossils).  I didn't realize that area was ocean 55 million years ago.  The kids were fascinated and hopefully, have a new appreciation for their lifestyle, since we also learned that boys started mining after the 3rd grade! It was really nice to do something different for a change!

We finally have Taco Del Mar back in California and it was only 1/2 mile from where K's aunt lives, so we had to eat dinner there (the true motivation of our outing!).