A highlight was visiting the rock farm at the Princess Sodalite Mine, where visitors can dig through a man-made gemstone pit to buy raw treasures by the pound. It makes for very economical purchases, and is just generally a lot of fun.
We also got some rocks ID'd for free by mineralogist Tony Steede, stayed at a B&B who accommodated me with fabulous vegan breakfasts, bought a tri-coloured amber 925 silver ring to stand in for my wedding band (I'm fiercely allergic to anything but silver, apparently), and met an educational outreach coordinator who runs mining tours for teachers.
Some photos of our treks and finds:
Apatite^
^Amethyst
^Sodalite
^Galena
^Definitely some sort of volcanic rock, like Jet or Obsidian. Very dark black and shiny, but extremely light weight. May get ID'd at the ROM later this month.
^Talc
^Fuchsite (?)
^Amazonite (?)
^Red Aventurine (?)
^Blue, Green & White Calcite
^Pyrite
^Feldspar with inclusions of Apatite, Mica, Smoky Quartz and Pyrite
^Smoky Quartz
^Quartz
^Mica
^Fossil
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