Would you like to buy a mine?

So yesterday we toured the Quincy Mine. During the above-ground portion of the tour, Sam was calm and attentive to the tour guide. But he was also quite firm in his decision not to go underground. We rode the cog train down the steep hill, where they had a covered metal wagon waiting for us. I took Sam's hand and said, "Let's just give it a shot", and he willingly boarded the wagon! He was absolutely fine the entire time we were in the mine. He didn't even panic when the guide blew out the candle so we could experience total darkness (Nolan, on the other hand, just about had a hernia, he was so scared by that!). 

After we rode the train back up the hill, we wandered around the grounds a little more. Later in the day, we went to Copper World (hands down our favorite store in the Keweenaw). I let each of the boys pick out a trinket. TJ got a necklace made with a small copper eagle. Nolan got a stuffed frog. Sam got a hunk of copper, just like you'd find in the mines. It was all he wanted. He told me he will take very good care of it forever. 

This morning, he informed me that he is going to buy a mine when he grows up. He went from being terrified of mines to being absolutely fascinated by them.  

Here are a few pictures from yesterday, and one today of the boys at Jacob's Falls.