Well that casserole sounds great. I've been eating either 'road food' or 'feast food' lately, neither too good for me. We hit two of the better restaurants near Creede, well worth it as a special event but no good as a regular thing.

The mine has several things going on; most people come for mine tours, but there's rock and mineral sales tables, a jewelry and gift shop, and access to tailings. As a club we were given access to the 'better' half of the tailings, 1/2 mile down a switchback road, which contained a lot of 'sowbelly agate' and pale amethyst. I might have done better in the other half looking for micros; just got some cuprite and silver-bearing galena, and who knows what I'll find in vugs when I do some splitting. Paid no entry fee, just $2 a pound for my bucket of keepers which came in at $20.   

Honestly, I prefer hounding alone and perusing old abandoned tailings piles on my own, but a lot of times club field trips and these fee operations are the best or only way to get access.