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Gem Mining

Family Fun at Xtreme Park Adventures (Durham, NC)

What do you do when a doctor appointment is extremely stressful? You toss the worries out the window for a little bit and drive to the Xtreme Park Adventures in Durham, NC! We enjoy experiencing family fun adventures, so we were happy to accept the invitation from the host at Xtreme Park Adventures. It was the best medicine for us that afternoon.

There are many activities to experience from gem mining to the escape room. Our family experienced three of the activities at the park.

Gem mining was first on our “bucket” list. Each family member received their own pail filled with dirt and sparkling gems. You will be surprised at all the precious gems and you may even walk away with your birthstone. I know I did!

Hubby and M are two very analytical people that love to analyze every situation. This was the perfect pair to experience the escape room. Let me just say, this was their first time in an escape room and now they are eager to try the bigger one at the park. The word on the street is that only four people have successfully escaped the bigger room. Hubby and M say challenge accepted!

Our last adventure of the day was tackling the challenging rope course. Our family of four was all “we got this” until our eight feet stepped onto the first deck. I stood there in awe, Hubby said, what the heck, I’m going, M started tackling one course and then said nope, changing courses, and L said I will just stay right here with my feet firmly planted. You will have to watch the below video to check out Hubby owning the course.

Pack the family up for a morning or afternoon and explore the park. Just a warning as there will be many laughs, smiles, and family bonding!

There is so much more to experience at this park nestled off the main road. You will forget you are near a big city! Schedule your family for a great adventure soon at the Xtreme Park Adventures!

Exploring Beech Mountain’s Buckeye Lake and Gem Mining

Our next adventure led us to Beech Mountain, North Carolina! Beech Mountain is a quaint town nestled in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains. You may not know, but Beech Mountain is the highest town in Eastern America as the elevation is 5,506 feet. The Buckeye Recreation Center located in Beech Mountain is the place to be for great family fun. With almost 10 acres of lakes, over 28 miles of designated hiking and biking trails and a 23,000 square foot, state-of-the-art Recreation Center, there is no shortage of fun.

Rain may have tried to ruin our family adventure, but we did not allow it to dampen our moods. The smiles and laughter were plentiful on this day.

This was the first time my husband and I both attempted to be in a canoe together. At first, I was questioning if my husband would tip me over. Alas, it was a little romantic ride across the lake.

The recreation center offers canoes, kayak, and pedal boat all for FREE. Fishing is free and no worries if you forget your fishing pole and gear, as NC Wildlife will provide all the supplies you need for free.

After we laughed and sang in the rain, it was time to head up the mountain for a little picnic. This was a simple picnic as we do not like to focus on food on our adventures. There is a picnic area across from the Visitor’s Center. It is peaceful and very clean.

After the refuel, we headed down the mountain to Foscoe, North Carolina to enjoy gem mining at the Greater Foscoe Mining Company. Each family can purchase a specified bucket size and have a blast finding different minerals. The girls found all kinds of gems from amethyst to pink quartz. Hubby enjoyed shoveling out the dirt. It is so nice because you put all your gems into a little bucket and the staff will identify each gem for you. All the gems will be taped onto a big board to keep for a souvenir.

It was a fun day and one we hope to repeat many times!

 

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Hello! I'm Jen and my family is my world. My hope is One Moms World will give you ideas for family travel and/or give you great consumer product suggestions that will be useful for your family. Remember to spread joy today!

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