Even in this day and age I believe that great satisfaction comes when we fulfill the hunter gatherer in all of us. One of my favorite ways to satiate that urge is to go rockhounding. I have always held a great appreciation for rocks and minerals and am fortunate to live in an area where the geology provides all sorts of treasures to be had.
This was a wonderful haul on a beautiful sunny day at a reservoir about an hour east of where I live.
I'm not a fancy pants rockhound that maps out areas and searches for the most valuable specimens to be found. I more prefer to make a day of getting out into nature for a nice little hike around a reservoir and see what I might stumble upon.
This is one of my favorite places about a half hour from where I live.
If you are in the right area, reservoirs are a treasure trove for rockhounds. We are fortunate enough to have quite a few within an hours drive. While the waters are usually high in the summer months, the damns open and the water levels drop come fall and winter. After the season of high water washing away layers of the ground underneath you then have access to everything that has been washed into the basin over years and years.
A pretty haul of quartz from the north bank of one of my favorite places.
What you find is always dependent on what the surrounding mountains have given over the years so it's always exciting to try out new areas. You never know what you'll find.
This was a nice bunch of petrified wood that I found in one specific area at a reservoir I go to frequently.
Needless to say, my entire house is filled with treasures I have found over the years. While I try not to overdo my taking sometimes its hard to say no to the majestic gifts nature has to offer.
While everyone may not have a reservoir in their area, there are often places to go rockhound. Check for recommendations online from other rockhounds in your area and go see what you can find. If nothing else, you are getting out into nature and enjoying the day.
That was a nice haul. I find some amazing orbicular jaspers at this reservoir I go to. The lake that is closer has crystals but no rockhunting is allowed. Pretty lame lol... I'll be sure to follow to see what you find next.
Thanks for checking out my post! Orbital jasper seems like a pretty good haul. We have a lot of jasper around here and I love looking for the really unique stuff. No crystals?!?! There's gotta be some cool quartz somewhere? Too bad about the stuff at the lake. Is it a claim or just an ordinance? We have a quartz mine not too far from here but rumor has it that it's the claim of someone not too keen in sharing.
Looking forward to following you...off to see your feed right now :)
Here's taste of the Stony Creek Poppy Jasper.
That's beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Love the shape you chose. Most of the stuff I do is random shapes. I'm so impatient with measuring and trying to keep structure, lol. I just let the rocks show me the way. My pictures are all over the place on misc. electronic devices but to get some lapidary stuff up here soon.
I mostly do freeform designs myself. Like you say the rock just kinda tells me what it wants to be.
It's a state park so your not allowed to collect any geological artifacts. I've a few places where I can find some loose single cystals near town.
Amazing stuff! One of my many hobbies from the past was collecting minerals and crystals. Like it!!
Thank you for checking out some of my treasures :) I hope you still find time to pick up a rock or two along your way ;)
I have many problems because of this - it is like addiction! I travel back from every trip with stones and rocks in my pockets and bags... I have quite a nice collection here and a big collection in my parents home where I grow up. Among stamp-collecting, coins, cactus breeding and aquaristics - geological treasures are one of my favourite :D. So many interests and so little time and space to develop them...
Amazing! I'm late to your post, so I went ahead and upvoted a more recent article of yours. I am a rockhound myself and live right next to Lake Superior! Great finds you have there!
I've always been a rockhound but this hobby had been dormant for at least 20 years growing up in a big city primarily caused this. It wasn't until the summer of 2016 that I realized that I was in a prime location for rockhounding and quickly picked it up again.
Thanks for checking out my post ( and going out of your way for the upvote). Really hoping to get some more lapidary stuff up here soon. Got a little glimpse of your rockhounding stuff. Looking forward to seeing more. I have heard that the Great Lakes are a great place to rockhound. Good to know you picked the hobby up again, it's a great one to have if you can practice self restraint, lol. I unfortunately am terrible at leaving treasures behind and have buckets of rocks, not to mention shelves and shelves of my best specimens.
Love love love rockhounding! Did a bunch on our journey to Alaska and back but your spots look top notch! I’ve never found anything that pretty... coolest thing was an arrowhead and petrified fish vertebrae...
We’ll see what I find at the gem show this weekend (;
I'm sure you will find way too many temptations at the gem show. I went to one in Longmont when I was in Niwot last month. It was pretty much a disaster on my wallet.
If you guys have time on the way back, I have heard that AZ is the best for rockhounding. Have yet to get down there, but is on my before 50 bucket list.
We’ve got a lot to squeeze in but definitely going to try to get some rockhounding done (;
Wow cool quartz. I used to love finding some when I was a kid, I always thought it meant there was gold nearby!
Thanks Adam. Yes its true that where you find gold there will often be quartz. Unfortunately quartz is far more plentiful then gold and can be found much more often. We do have gold down here though and I am always on the watch for indicators. Maybe one day I'll post about that.
When I was a kid I though it ALWAYS meant there was gold nearby lol Never found any gold,found lots of quartz lol
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Looks like you have such a beautiful nature where you live. Very interesting rocks, can't find any like them around here. My kids would in that case have loved to go treasure hunting for beautiful rocks like this! :)
I really am blessed to live in such a beautiful state. We have forest, ocean, mountains, desert, and all of that within a days drive.
It is very true that kids love to look for rocks, especially pretty ones. My daughter is older and she still loves to go rock hunting with me.
It seems that you also live in a beautiful area. I cant wait to see what it looks like when the snow subsides....it does do that, right? :)
Sounds wonderful! Over here the snow will disappear and we will have summer where we can swim in the lake and hike in the mountains. I like all the seasons, but must admit my favorite activities are the ones in the winter! Spring will be here around April. :)
Wow you live in a such a nice place. I don't think we have much rocks to find in the Netherlands. Perhaps if I drove to Germany...
Well the Netherlands seem to have their own beauty even if there are no rocks to be found. I have heard that there are some very fancy rocks and minerals to be found in Germany and Belgium.
It's only a 2 - 3 hours drive so I might go and have a look when the weather gets better.
Definitely give a search online. I know here we have lots of places open to the public to hunt for treasures. We also have places you can go and pay to dig for rocks and minerals. That's sometimes fun because you are almost always guaranteed some type of treasure.
I totally have been known to come home with rocks in my pockets. Beautiful treasure indeed! And great energy. :)
Unfortunately I have been known to come home with a backpack full of treasures. My home is filled with the grounding bounty that nature offers, literally shelves and baskets overflowing. I love the energy of them all and can probably tell you where the majority of them came from. Rockhounding can fulfill so much of our spirit.