"1"^^ . . "4"^^ . "2010-09-05T00:00:00"^^ . "15"^^ . "http://www.nchistoricsites.org/Reed/\n\nI brought the family to Reed Gold Mine today, and had a very enjoyable day. This is the site of the first documented gold find in the US (in 1799), and the first US gold mine.\n\nYou begin your visit in the visitor's center. One very friendly woman explained all about the property, tour, gold panning, etc. There is no charge for anything except souvenirs, and gold panning, which is only $2 per pan (you need to pay in the visitor's center, but the panning area is a little bit down the way). More on that later.\n\nAs we got there, the movie was beginning. It was informative, but not very loud, quite dated, and the audio/video were out of sync. I think it was still worth viewing, however, as it explained a lot about the history of the property.\n\nWe did not view the museum exhibits, as my children were anxious to get underground, in the mine. We picked up one of the self-guided tour sheets, and were off. There are about 8 stops underground, where you can view shafts, some mining equipment, etc. It's quite cool underground, and although very refreshing in the summer, I can imagine that it wouldn't be very nice in winter.\n\nExiting the top of the mine, you come upon a recreation of the foundation of the engine house, and then the stamp mill, which houses huge machinery used for crushing rock to find the gold ore. Somehow, we ended up taking the \"Lower Hill Trail\", which does include some inclines and also a few steps. There are a few things to see along this part of the trail, but mainly it is just a beautiful walk. There weren't many people on the trail (maybe a mile for that section), and there were lots of benches in the shade.\n\nOur final step was to visit the gold panning area. We traded the tickets purchased in the visitor's center for pans of dirt and rock. The troughs are built high enough that you don't have to bend over (huge plus) AND are shaded (even bigger plus). There were 2 guys helping in this area, to show you how to rinse out your bowl, showing you each step, and looking to see if you have any gold. During the time that we were there, I would say about half had at least a little fleck (which they then placed in a small tube of water for you to take home) although some pieces were a little larger. You're not in this to get rich, of course, it is for fun, and the kids LOVED it.\n\nNOTES: Several areas of the mine tour are wheelchair accessible, but there is a lot of gravel, and are steep steps leading out of the mine. This might be avoided by exiting back through the entrance. I would call in advance, though.\n\nP.S. If you are a teacher, or homeschooler type, there is a large .pdf teacher's guide which can be downloaded from the website, and has a LOT of information on it, as well as suggested tie-in activities."^^ . "4"^^ . . .