Faber Mine

On Saturday Matt and I had a very early morning.

We woke, had a very quick breakfast and were on the road. Our goal was to be parked in the Sheetz parking lot in Lynchburg by 7:30 am. The reason for this crazy action on a nice Saturday morning was because we were meeting the Gem and Mineral Society club (which we are members) in order to go rock hounding at Faber Mine.

Faber mine is a mine that is located on the edge of Nelson County but in Albemarle County. Back during the Civil War this mine was used to extract lead to use for ammunition for the Confederate army. So it was really neat to be there and to think that this area played such a part in history.

We arrived at the parking lot and unloaded our items (which we put on a dolly...thank goodness) then got ready for our 1-1 1/2 mile hike through the woods to the mine. Fortunately the hike was level and shaded so it actually a very nice walk.

When we arrived I got my first experience of rock hounding. We took a shovel and a three pound sledge hammer and hiked to the top of a rock discard mound. At the start Matt would find fist size rocks or larger and give them to me to smash open with the sledge hammer to see if there were any nice minerals inside. It was quite fun to whack open the rocks and see the mystery that was covered by dirt and time. We were mainly looking for fluorite, quartz, and many others. We found a lot of Mica which is not what we were looking for, it is pretty and shiny and lovely but it crumbles in your hand as soon as you touch it.

We found quite a number of pretty rocks (not the minerals that they told us to look out for, but still pretty rocks). Then hiked down off the mound for a great picnic lunch. After our stomachs were full and happy we went down the hill to find more rocks. Soon after we started to feel some rain drops. I thought that it was no big deal because it would pass quickly...right? WRONG! We waited, in fact we waited under a black plastic tarp that someone had made into a tent (because they did not want the "little momma"...me... to get sick or wet). After we got tired of waiting we then gathered our stuff and left. Our thinking was with all of the leaves and rocks and rain it certainly would not be safe for either of us to be going around with sharp tools and rocks on uneven ground.

We packed up, and headed out. We were not 10 yards into the long hike back when we found out that our dolly had a flat tire...a VERY flat tire. So we were rearranging things so that I would carry some items, Matt would carry some items and the dolly only had a simple small shovel on it. Thank goodness that the president of the club stopped us, and helped us rearrange our items and put all of our rocks and heavy items in a double jogging stroller that he brought as a cart for his finds.

The rain did not stop, in fact it got heavier and heavier as we continued to walk. By the time we got to the car our clothes were dripping wet and muddy up to the knees. I am so glad that we brought an extra set of clothes to change into for the ride home. But we had a fun time with the people there, and we had pretty rocks to add to our collection. It was a wonderful day.