Rocks and stuff from the beach and or river!

[Member 34319]

A member here, who has become a good friend, introduced me to tumbling rocks.

I have always been fascinated by rocks as my dad and grandfather used to hunt them, I want to say. Growing up we had large rocks in the yard, that I want to say they found. My dad had a decent collection of misc rocks.

Once we moved to Oregon, I found a lot of joy in river rock hunting and even hiking log roads for quartz. I am always surprised at how much quartz is in logging road! I've found intact geodes in logging roads.

I love walking beaches for agates and have a decent quantity of polished agates now.

Today for Memorial Day, we went to shoot some guns, make some art for the wall, and go rock hunting!

Rock hunting is essentially walking in the creek or river and looking for quartz, or agate, geodes, jasper, etc. Feet feel great in the cool water, you can take a dip if it gets deep. And of course ROCKS!

Anyways, found this guy today.

Anyone know more about cleaning something like this up? I don't own anything big enough to tumble it, but I also don't want to just take a sledgehammer to it to get it into smaller pieces either. I want to remove and residual granite and clean up the crystal. I'd love to get a display lamp for it in time if I can clean it up some. It's by far the biggest nugget I've pulled from a river to date! AA for scale.

Any other rock hounds on here?

Thanks!

Reno

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[E4mafia]

Took a day trip out to the rice museum awhile ago.

Never knew it was tucked away there next to north plains but its a good day trip for the family if interested. Lots to see and learn about.

Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks & Minerals – The museum for rocks and minerals in the Pacific Northwest

ricenorthwestmuseum.org

26385 NW Groveland Dr, Hillsboro, OR 97124-9351

 

[Alexx1401]

Wife got into the tumbling thing many years ago. Bought a pretty nice set up. It was fun as hell for a while till she got tired of it. She was able to make some really cool looking stuff.

 

[Member 34319]

Wife got into the tumbling thing many years ago. Bought a pretty nice set up. It was fun as hell for a while till she got tired of it. She was able to make some really cool looking stuff.

I usually collect all summer and then I get to do something while it rains.

 

[gmerkt]

Lots of things in nature interest me. But I'm not a serious student. I'm interested in rocks. I don't know if I might called a "rock hound," more like a "rock head."

I'm always picking up rocks and taking them home. A few years ago, I needed to replace a timber bulkhead along my driveway. I decided to replace it with natural rock, which I did. Consisting mostly of larger, round river rock from up in the Cascades. Some came from my own property. But it also includes rocks that I've picked up in various places around the country. Like volcanic specimens from California and Nevada. They are all stuck in place with mortar.

About fifteen years ago, I built a rock garden using Cascade rock. I made a number of trips out to the hills in my old Ford station wagon. On the return runs, it was almost down to the snubbers on the rear axle. These days, not all that much rock may be seen in the "garden." The ferns and cyclamens have grown so much over the years that much of the rock is now hidden.

One of my grandmothers had a lapidary tumbler and polished some of the stones she'd pick up. Right after I got out of the army, I visited a Vietnam pal of mine who lived down along the Mexican border. His dad gave me a bunch of black rocks, which I took back and gave to my grandmother to tumble. Later, I asked her how they came out. She told me the black rocks had turned into mud; they were soft and when tumbled too long, had broken completely down. Basalt?

My grandson has picked up geodes with crystals in the middles on some of our trips out to "the pit."

 

[Member 34319]

Pulled this guy out of the river yesterday. Reddish black quartz. I need to look into labidory saws as my tumblers aren't big enough for this size. Anyone cut rocks?

 

[MTpockets]

I am sure that you are fully aware, but just a reminder to all of the types of rockhounds out there....

Some rocks/minerals can be harmful in different ways.

Hazardous Minerals | WA - DNR

The presence of certain naturally occurring elements, such as arsenic, asbestos, mercury, and uranium can make exposure to the rocks that contain them hazardous. The Washington Geological Survey provides maps and geologic information on minerals related to environmental and public health issues...

www.dnr.wa.gov

The Top 15 Most Dangerous Minerals

Just because a mineral is pretty and nice to look at, doesn't mean that there might be a dangerous underbelly. Here are 15 of the most dangerous minerals

rockseeker.com

9 Deadliest Rocks And Minerals On Earth

It's easy to forget how lethal our natural world can be, where an encounter with the wrong rock or mineral could lead to injury or death

www.forbes.com

Also dangerous...

Crack cocaine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dwayne Johnson | Actor, Producer, Writer

Known for: Black Adam, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

www.imdb.com

The Rock (1996) ⭐ 7.4 | Action, Adventure, Thriller

2h 16m | R

www.imdb.com

 

[Mikej]

I am sure that you are fully aware, but just a reminder to all of the types of rockhounds out there....

Some rocks/minerals can be harmful in different ways.

Hazardous Minerals | WA - DNR

The presence of certain naturally occurring elements, such as arsenic, asbestos, mercury, and uranium can make exposure to the rocks that contain them hazardous. The Washington Geological Survey provides maps and geologic information on minerals related to environmental and public health issues...

www.dnr.wa.gov

The Top 15 Most Dangerous Minerals

Just because a mineral is pretty and nice to look at, doesn't mean that there might be a dangerous underbelly. Here are 15 of the most dangerous minerals

rockseeker.com

9 Deadliest Rocks And Minerals On Earth

It's easy to forget how lethal our natural world can be, where an encounter with the wrong rock or mineral could lead to injury or death

www.forbes.com

Also dangerous...

Crack cocaine - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Dwayne Johnson | Actor, Producer, Writer

Known for: Black Adam, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island

www.imdb.com

The Rock (1996) ⭐ 7.4 | Action, Adventure, Thriller

2h 16m | R

www.imdb.com

Killjoy!

 

[Mike_M57]

Are you going to open a Chinese restaurant?

Suodiu

 

[oremike]

My parents used to own The Dundee Rock Shop. In fact I helped dig out the thunder egg that is in one of the entrances to the state capitol building.

 

[Member 34319]

Poor man's lapidary saw.

 

[Mikej]

Dad did a bunch of rock stuff. Everything I found to show him he said was Leaverright.

 

[MTpockets]

This is my Dad removing some Fraggle from the Rock.

The rocks were used as yard decorations at a relative's home.
Would have been interesting to see what they looked like on the inside....the rocks, not the Fraggles.

 

[OldBroad44]

My mother was a gem carver. Her masterpiece was a dragon about three inches long. The body was green petrified coral oriented so that it looked like it had scales. The big scales were in the wide part of the dragons body with smaller scales at the ends. Body was partially curled. The eyes were tigers eye agates. The wings were made from sheets of mica. It looked alive. It reminded me of Smaug, the dragon in The Hobbit. Smaug when he was resting and relatively content for the moment. But the flashing eyes made it obvious he was not asleep. He looked like he might challenge me to a riddle game at any moment, a game that might cost me my life.

My mother had a basement room set up for her gem carving with cutting wheels of many sizes, grinding and polishing equipment, etc. Running water to cool and clean rock and equipment as she went. Protective gear. Relatively speaking making straight cuts is easy but part of the process of carving. What my mom was doing was more like sculpting. But sculptors usually work with soft stone such as marble. Mother often worked with hard stone such as agate or obsidian. She subscribed to one or more lapidiary journals. She often went to rock/gem shops or mail ordered high quality cutting material. She also belonged to rock hound clubs that would make special arrangements with mine owners. The mine owners would dynamite a new section of cliff. Then let the rock club come do their thing for a price. Then let the rest of the mining operation resume till it was time to dynamite another slab. The mine would be noted for certain things. Mother got a lifetimes supply of moon stones to carve and use as trading material. She turned one into a dog wood flower.

 

[Member 34319]

My mother was a gem carver. Her masterpiece was a dragon about three inches long. The body was green petrified coral oriented so that it looked like it had scales. The big scales were in the wide part of the dragons body with smaller scales at the ends. Body was partially curled. The eyes were tigers eye agates. The wings were made from sheets of mica. It looked alive. It reminded me of Smaug, the dragon in The Hobbit. Smaug when he was resting and relatively content for the moment. But the flashing eyes made it obvious he was not asleep. He looked like he might challenge me to a riddle game at any moment, a game that might cost me my life.

My mother had a basement room set up for her gem carving with cutting wheels of many sizes, grinding and polishing equipment, etc. Running water to cool and clean rock and equipment as she went. Protective gear. Relatively speaking making straight cuts is easy but part of the process of carving. What my mom was doing was more like sculpting. But sculptors usually work with soft stone such as marble. Mother often worked with hard stone such as agate or obsidian. She subscribed to one or more lapidiary journals. She often went to rock/gem shops or mail ordered high quality cutting material. She also belonged to rock hound clubs that would make special arrangements with mine owners. The mine owners would dynamite a new section of cliff. Then let the rock club come do their thing for a price. Then let the rest of the mining operation resume till it was time to dynamite another slab. The mine would be noted for certain things. Mother got a lifetimes supply of moon stones to carve and use as trading material. She turned one into a dog wood flower.

Thanks for sharing this. Good read!

 

[Mikej]

My old dad actually got heavily into rock hounding for a time. When I was in my early teens we'd go to Lake Powel, Bullfrog Basin to be precise, with the Econoline Van, towing a 17' Aristocrat Low-Boy, a 12' aluminum boat on top of the van and two Honda 90's in the van. There were places there out of the basin where petrified wood was laying all over the desert in places. He did a lot of hounding with a guy he became friends with that was a professor at the U of U. He had geodes, trilobites, coral, all kinds of rock. Got a rock saw and polisher. He quite the rocking thing when his proff buddy stayed at a site they were digging 'cause dad had to get home. He later found out a boulder came out of the bank, after dad left, and killed his friend. Could have been both of them

The West Utah desert had all kinds of interesting rocks and minerals. Southwestern Wyoming has a lot of interesting rock stuff too.

I still have a few hundred pounds of the petrified wood I was lucky to get from their house that dad and I rode out of the desert on our Honda's.

 

[Member 34319]

My old dad actually got heavily into rock hounding for a time. When I was in my early teens we'd go to Lake Powel, Bullfrog Basin to be precise, with the Econoline Van, towing a 17' Aristocrat Low-Boy, a 12' aluminum boat on top of the van and two Honda 90's in the van. There were places there out of the basin where petrified wood was laying all over the desert in places. He did a lot of hounding with a guy he became friends with that was a professor at the U of U. He had geodes, trilobites, coral, all kinds of rock. Got a rock saw and polisher. He quite the rocking thing when his proff buddy stayed at a site they were digging 'cause dad had to get home. He later found out a boulder came out of the bank, after dad left, and killed his friend. Could have been both of them

The West Utah desert had all kinds of interesting rocks and minerals. Southwestern Wyoming has a lot of interesting rock stuff too.

I still have a few hundred pounds of the petrified wood I was lucky to get from their house that dad and I rode out of the desert on our Honda's.

Polishing petrified wood makes for some very nice rock! I found a nugget of it in the Nehelum that is actually currently being processed. I'll post it once it is finished.

 

[OldBroad44]

If you happen to visit DC, check out the rock and mineral collection in the Smithsonian Institute. Really spectacular. Figure on spending all day in just that section.

 

[Member 34319]

If you happen to visit DC, check out the rock and mineral collection in the Smithsonian Institute. Really spectacular. Figure on spending all day in just that section.

I've had not 1 but 2 opportunities to visit DC. The first was without the kiddo and I geeked out at the Smithsonian for most of that trip. The rock and mineral exhibit being my second favorite, the aerospace exhibit took the cake. I didn't get around to every exhibit unfortunately, even after the second trip. Second trip, my son was only a few months old at that time and it wasn't much of a tourist trip as it was a "watch the baby while my wife got to go to the capital building for work!" trip. She definitely got the better trip to DC that time! We did get to go to the botanical garden the 2nd trip and spent a day in there. That may be a close tie with the mineral exhibit.

 

[oremike]

So here's a feel good rock story for you. I was living in a single level apartment complex in Oregon City and I see an old couple moving out and the boxes looked heavy so I asked if I can help to which the gentleman replied yes. He told me he was donating his rock collection to the Baker County Museum. I didn't think anything about it, lots of people do things like that. After we go the u-haul loaded he gave me a Gold Sheen Obsidian cabochon. It was beautyful and I kept it in a display case with my other really cool stuff. Years later my wife and I camped at Fairwell Bend State Park and spent a week riding around exploring Eastern Oregon on our motorcycles. We stopped at the Baker Museum and saw they had a full room of this guys rock collection minius one silver dollar sized spot in one of the display boxes. I asked about the missing piece and was told that's the way we got it. I told them I had that cabochon and got the rolling eyes, sure you do look. It was a year or so later that I got back over there but I did let them put that fine piece back where it belonged.