Day Two – On the Hunt for Sapphires

Another favorite stop of ours is the quaint town in eastern Montana, Phillipsburg. In addition to their famous Candy Palace and Phillipsburg Brewery, the Gem Mountain sapphire mine is just 25 miles out of town.

We pulled into the mine and went to their campground which is nestled in the sage and pine covered gulley just behind the mine’s wash tables. This free camp has become another favorite, not just because of the nearby sapphires, but for its quiet evenings dotted with brilliant stars. 

Yikes, TikTok! The parking lot was packed with cars and people were elbow to elbow at the wash troughs and sorting tables. It turns out someone came to the mine and made a TikTok video, in addition, another person made a YouTube video about sapphire mining. That meant a huge increase in customers, so much so that Gem Mountain was having a hard time keeping up with the demand for their gravel. They limited how many buckets you could sort, but at the same time doubled the cost of each bucket. 


For us, sorting through only two buckets compared to  our usual seven, meant a much shorter day. We did find some sapphires large enough to heat treat and have faceted, but not as many as usual. 





Oh well, we had more time to run into town to partake of some newer brews, along with a few of our favorites. They had a Mexican lager this year that hit the spot after a hard day mining.




After a chilly start, 35 degrees, the next morning we rolled on through western Montana. Such lovely country. 




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