Back in the early nineties, I spotted an ad in my local, Jackson County, Oregon, Nickel classified ads newspaper. (Yes, this was well before Craigslist) A guy was selling agate. I visited his house, and bought some pieces, including this rather large nodule. He said that he had found the agate near Lake Creek, Oregon, … Read more
While the high desert of northern Humboldt County, in Nevada may at first appear empty, unpopulated, and even desolate, you might be surprised to learn that within the Virgin Valley mining district, there are thousands of claims, some of them patented, which mean that the Federal Government has passed the title to the claim owner, … Read more
Editor’s note:For 2020 and perhaps longer, the obsidian sites mentioned in this blog, which are in the Modoc National Forest in Northern California are closed to collecting, while the Forest Service and other stake holders in the area decide how to best manage this resource. The Forest Service writes: “More recently, commercial mining impacts have … Read more
As detailed in Eastern Oregon Rockhound Ramble, Part 1, I was out in the field, thoroughly enjoying the first part of a three week rockhounding tour, organized by some Seattle friends. I joined the group at the famous eastern Oregon Glass Butte obsidian grounds, where we collected rainbow, fire, midnight lace, and other beautiful obsidian … Read more
Some friends of mine from the East Kingco Gem & Mineral Club, out of Seattle, Washington, invited me to join them on an Eastern Oregon rockhound ramble. Sounded like a great idea! I met them at Glass Buttes, 77 miles east of Bend, Oregon. The area boasts a variety of different types of obsidian, and … Read more
Light and shadows easily slide together on my annual pilgrimage to the world class halite digs, and the gem show, in Trona, California, during the second week of October. The southern terminus of the Inyo Mountain Range comes alive as hillocks and peaks flare in the sun, and subside. Geology is laid bare here, … Read more
Scott’s Rock & Gem arrives at the Meadowlands Exposition Center, in the Meadowlands Plaza of Secaucus, New Jersey, to help pioneer a fabulous new Mother’s Day weekend Gem and Mineral Show. Inside the Expo Center, Mike Triebold, of Triebold Paleontology, out of Woodland Park, Colorado, is busy assembling the skeletons of multiple, extinct creatures, including this Applachiosaurus … Read more
