In the 1960's, young Andy, age 10 was visiting Randsburg, then a struggling tourist attraction where his mother had a summer curio shop. Bored and seeking amusement he sets off for the gold mines. As he searches for something to do, he encounters an elusive tarantula, a rattlesnake in an abandoned mine and a group of miners who teach him how to extract gold from quartz. What would he buy if he really found gold? Would he be able to keep it and use it at the General Store? His adventures escalate and the trouble he runs into he can't tell his mother about.
Historically accurate information of the mining process used at the Butte mine, occurrences of the early 1900's and photographs of the current town of Randsburg, California which has remained frozen in time. Still operational is the General Store and visible the aging and rusting machinery used to crush and pulverize the quartz so that the gold could be extracted.
Written for ages ten and above.