点评:About 15-miles after the Idaho/Montana border, is the town of Spencer, featuring the Spencer’s Opal Mine, the Opal Capital of America. I was expecting maybe a tour of a working opal mine and a gift shop. I thought this might be a fun roadside attraction and an interesting tour. I was wrong. It is a working opal mine, but one mines the dug raw ore themselves. Rockhounds pay for a bucket of raw earth, not knowing what they will find. They bring their own tools and eye protection, sit on the pile, and pick through the dirt and ore, saving out whatever chunks they suspect might contain a stone. They keep whatever raw stone they find. It’s an all-day job for those who love the process. Opal jewelry is sold inside, and online. We decided this attraction was not for us. I didn’t know there were opal mines in the US, but this area has several mine stores offering them.
翻译:距离爱达荷州/蒙大拿州边境约 15 英里,是斯宾塞镇,这里有美国蛋白石之都——斯宾塞蛋白石矿。我本来期待参观一个正在运营的蛋白石矿和一家礼品店。我想这可能是一个有趣的路边景点和一次有趣的旅行。我错了。这是一座正在运营的蛋白石矿,但开采的原矿是自己开采的。猎岩犬付钱购买一桶原土,但不知道会发现什么。他们带着自己的工具和护目镜,坐在矿堆上,在泥土和矿石中挑选,保留任何他们怀疑可能含有石头的块状物。他们保留找到的任何原石。对于那些热爱这个过程的人来说,这是一项全天的工作。蛋白石首饰在内部和网上出售。我们认为这个景点不适合我们。我不知道美国有蛋白石矿,但这个地区有几家矿店提供蛋白石矿。