Any Rockhounds around?

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Fort Henry Custom Knives

Joined
Nov 17, 1999
Messages
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Hey Gang, Anyone here collect Rocks/Minerals? My Wife's brother is a long time collector but he is into Micro Mounts. I think have a small collection would be a great tool to educate my children with and fun for me as well. I am in the South and I'm sure there are some good Rock hunting spots within driving distance.

- Anyone know how to find out if I could dig/collect on Public lands (or can you only do this on Private property)

- What are some of the best Books for beginners?

- Is Ebay a viable source for specimens?

- Are there any Forums on the Net where folks Swap Specimens?

Thanks in advance.
 
A friend of mine gave me a rock polisher for my little bro, he loves and is fascinated by rocks. Even made a somewhat useable chert piece. He collects most of his from the stream that runs through my parents property. Fanatic about it even.
 
My wife loves to pick up different rocks, as we hike about in Utah. If you didn't already know, Utah is one big rock! You can't take rocks out of the national parks or monuments but you can collect off BLM land. We have loads of interesting rocks and petrified wood scattered thoughout our home and yard.

Last year we were hiking in a drainage in Zion N.P. and found an awesome rock, polished smooth with a hole in it. I set it up on the side for others to enjoy, when we went back, months later, it was history. Guess it's now decorating someones garden.

Win
 
My girl and I spend many hours hunting through the old mine tailings by monarch pass in Colorado. We go back to the same mines every year and find new stuff because of washout.
 
My family and I enjoy native gem mining in NC. You can find an amazing array of gemstones in that area (Cowee (?sp.) Valley, and around Franklin). Stick with the native mines, tho....
 
I used to be into it very heavy,and also got into metal detecting.What State do you live in?
 
I used to be, but moved so many times that carting around a couple hundred pounds of rocks got to be really old. The "Roadside Geologist" books are very nice and tell you good places to collect.
 
I don't really go out lookin for em so to speak, but I do have a couple interesting rocks. Only time I go lookin for one is when I visit some place special. Then I try to find one that just looks different and will remind me of the place. I started marking them after I got 10 or 12 of em, lol.
One of the interesting rocks is real shiny, like chrome, with a blueish tint, and was brought up on an oil rig drill. I sent a small chunk I had to a forumite and he had it analyzed and told me what it was but that was years ago and I forget, lol! I know it's super hard and if you put a flame to it, it melts real slow. Weird stuff!
The other interesting rock I have is an old native American tool. It's a chunk of sandstone that that has holes in it that were used to turn the ends of sticks round. The side opposite the one with the holes is flat. I think it might have been used for sanding things too.
If you're ever out hunting and see a big rock that has horizontal or near horizontal grooves cut into it, check out the ground around it. N.A.s used big rocks like that as sharpening stones and would often break points and pitch them right there.

Oh yeah, you out west guys should get into meteorite hunting!!! Actually you could do meteorite and gold hunting at the same time with a metal detector, well, maybe. The settings might be different on those now that I think about it. Meteorites are worth some bucks!!!
 
Like others, I used to be into it bigtime... not so much lately. Me and my daughter have done a little hunting, usually coupled with geocaching. Someone else said it, but national parks/monuments are no-nos, as are state parks/historical sites. But just plain-jane BLM land or state land is good, and always seek permission on private land. NM is a great state for it, I ought to get out more.
 
sorry, found this thread in the archives, i am an extreme rockhound. my family and I went to North Carolina this spring break to look for gems. i have a lot of knowhow on the subject, and meteors, just ask.

Brook
 
I ask people who are tarveling out of the country to bring me a rock back. I have a rock from India, and Africa. I have a friend in Canada, who has a rock for me from Greece. I collect all kinds of rocks.
 
I'm a Mudlogger/Geologist, so I don't look at rocks unless I'm being paid to. ;)

Regarding the BLM, you can surface collect rocks and minerals in most areas. You can ~not~ collect rocks that happen to be artifacts or certain fossils. There are also additional regulations and maybe even permit requirements for commercial collecting.

The regulations and guidelines are usually easy to find online. Like this document that applies to Washington and Oregon:
http://www.blm.gov/nhp/efoia/or/fy2000/im/m2000-023ch1.htm

I've worked on and around BLM land for many years. I'd like to highlight the section about knowing exactly who's land you're on when exploring or collecting. Western land is often a checkerboard or private and public land, sometimes the boundaries are marked, more often they aren't.

Generally speaking, collecting ~anything~ from State Parks, National Parks, National Monuments, or Indian lands is not legal.

Happy Hounding,
-Bob
 
L6steel said:
I don't really go out lookin for em so to speak, but I do have a couple interesting rocks. Only time I go lookin for one is when I visit some place special. Then I try to find one that just looks different and will remind me of the place. I started marking them after I got 10 or 12 of em, lol.
One of the interesting rocks is real shiny, like chrome, with a blueish tint, and was brought up on an oil rig drill. I sent a small chunk I had to a forumite and he had it analyzed and told me what it was but that was years ago and I forget, lol! I know it's super hard and if you put a flame to it, it melts real slow. Weird stuff!
The other interesting rock I have is an old native American tool. It's a chunk of sandstone that that has holes in it that were used to turn the ends of sticks round. The side opposite the one with the holes is flat. I think it might have been used for sanding things too.
If you're ever out hunting and see a big rock that has horizontal or near horizontal grooves cut into it, check out the ground around it. N.A.s used big rocks like that as sharpening stones and would often break points and pitch them right there.

Oh yeah, you out west guys should get into meteorite hunting!!! Actually you could do meteorite and gold hunting at the same time with a metal detector, well, maybe. The settings might be different on those now that I think about it. Meteorites are worth some bucks!!!
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I have collected them at varying points in my life , I still pick up ones I find interesting from time to time.

About 1.5 hours from my pad is place called Rock Creek , lots of holes burrowed into the rock from Indians long past.
One day while fishing with my Dad I got bored and started digging loosely in the nearby dirt , I found a whole bunch of Obsidian chips , mostly small , no arrows or anything... Came back a few years later after snow melt and found a huge piece of Obsidian as big as a baseball , I will post a pic of that tonight.

Also at the beach once I found a rock/mineral ? that I have no idea what it is , it looks like a fat silver nugget , wierd..
 
Part of how I became a jeweler is due to rock-hounding. I used to take the kids and wife and head out for the Appalachians, and other areas on most any weekend. Got into cutting, then faceting, then jewelery work.
I still have a big collection of rocks scattered about the house and yard. The pride of my collection sits in the living room. It is a fist sized piece of white quartz with a fuzzy blue coating on three sides. It is one of the original specimens of Crystalline Turquoise found in Lynch Station, VA in the 1930's. The other half if this rock is on display in the Smithsonian hall of gems. This material has never been found again anywhere in the world. It is considered one of the rarest mineral materials there is. There are more moon rocks that crystalline turquoise.
I had several other smaller pieces and gave them to Universities as far away as Germany. When I am tired of admiring this unique specimen, I'll give it to one of the Va universities, - Va Tech,UVA, or ODU. Or it might go to the GIA museum in CA.

Back to rock-hounding -
There is not much that you can do for less money than rock-hounding. A tent, a campground, a willing (or at least obliging) partner....It don't get much better than this.
Stacy
 
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I still have a large specimine with light green beryl in a pink sandstone type of bed. Basically it is weathered. When Zimbabwe gets better I will go back and peg rights. We buildt a lodge on the site it for a client and this came out of the foundations. However the owners might object.

I used to go gold panning one weekend a month with a friend that had rights. Magic, in the wilderness with a pan and a case of beers. Great fun, barely found enough gold to pay for the beers. Not enough panning and too much partying.
 
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