So monday came way too quickly this week!
The kids are all back in school, and it was time for my weekly commute from PA to MD. I packed up my gear and headed on down. I marveled (as I always do) at the amazing folding of the Appalachians as I drove down 70. As I got closer to Mont. Co., I found myself getting excited about collecting more samples.
Stacy and I had processed the material from last week into sorted sizes by screening furter and further down. Some of the fine sands showed some serious gold flecks and flour, but I also noticed a bunch of crystals of all colors.
We discussed our plans to invest in a digital microscope and some compact LED lights to take better images to show off and to really examine some of the finer sands. 16x magnification in a small glass vial is fun, but I really want to see the details of these minerals!
Back to the drive.
I stopped in Boyds MD along 10 Mile creek to look for some good spots. There is a creek crossing on West Old Baltimore Road that has always fascinated me, so I decided to search there. This small creek leads into Little Seneca Lake (kind of funny since it is the largest in the area), and is a watershed for the drinking resevoir. The land around the creek is mostly privately owned (read posted signage!) and requires paying attention to. The locals are very nice and decent people, so please respect their land.
The road crossing is rare as you have to actually traverse the stream to get to the other side. It is not county maintained, so please use caution if attempting. There have been numerous attempts to shallow the crossing by dumping loose stone and gravel into the crossing. The immediate area is therefore contaminated with non-native stone and the downstream side also has non-native wash.
Upstream is private land on both sides of the bank, but there is very shallow water. The stream gets interesting during flood stage and washes large chuncks of native quartz into the stream bed. I took several large quartz samples as well as some placer sands for further study.
Next, I went back down county to the Cabin John area. I found an interesting neighborhood run off that leads into Cabin John Creek and took a few placer samples as well as some larger cobbles. Aside from the hot weather and the pain in my shoulder hating that I had collected 50lbs. of samples, a good time was had.
My present fixation is what I am referring to as "Wormy" Quartz samples. These tend to be samples that were directly adjacent to the native rock they intruded upon (so there is some left over attached material), and they have the appearance of being eaten thru by worms. This appearance is from the streams eroding out or rusting the ferrous material that was there. On the inside, I tend to find micro-crystals at the edges and variations of quartz (Citrine, Carnelien, Chalcedony) around the other mineral deposits of magnetite and iron oxides. So far my only complaint is that I have to break the samples to see the interesting tiny crystals. Searching mainly streams, weathering and erosion have damaged the exterior of the samples.
Results and images to follow soon!
I am looking forward to some non-stream expeditions in the near future. As the farmers begin harvest, I may have to stop and get permission to search the land once the crops are gone!
Till next time!
Tuesday, August 31, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
8-25-10
Wednesday was my last day for exploring this week. I decided to hit a few new places. I do not have pics from the locations or samples yet, so I will just provide some details of my search.
Cabin John Creek and Rock Run in lower Mont. Co. are known for gold deposits, so i decided to check the area out for myself. I started at the corner of River Road and Seven Locks Road in Potomac. Heading NW from there along River Road, there is a bridge crossing of Cabin John Creek. I parked on the north side of the road right at the bridge. There is a small area for about 2 cars there. The State Highway Administration has posted signs for "No Trespassing" to the right of these spaces, but Cabin John Creek Stream Valley Park begins at this location and heads north past Bradley Blvd, Seven Locks Road, and Democracy Blvd. There is a walking path that begins at this location as well.
I started in the stream itself right at the bridge and began walking upstream. I was immediately surprised by the sheer volume of Granite in the stream. Nowhere else in the county had I seen this much granite. I later learned that Tri-State Stone (http://www.carderock.com/) operates their granite quarry about 1/4 mile downstream and that this was the top of the local formation. It was an amazing site as it looked like the stream had actually cut dimensional stones, pavers, and veneer pieces. These rocks looked like the type of material people pay good money for. No surprise that there are three quarries within a stones throw of this site. Unfortunately for me, this meant very little in the way of large quartz cobbles to search and break. I will have to return one day to sift the abundant gravel in the stream though and search for interesting granite specimens.
Being a bit disheartened by the lack of targeted samples, but still fascinated with the local geology, i searched my brain for another spot. I didn't have to go far. Crossing to the other side of River road is Carderock Springs Dr. Just downstream from the location i started from is a fork in Cabin John Creek. Another tributary joins the stream not 100 yards below the bridge. I went and parked in a small pull off just uphill from the intersection of River and Carderock Springs and climbed down into the much smaller tributary. At first glance, I was worried as there was a large granite outcrop right next to me. This proved to be a temporary thing, as just upstream, I found what I was looking for. There is a rise in elevation from the bridge to this location of about 30 feet. This area marked the top of the granite formation and the local soil began in earnest on top of it. The stream bed is littered with many cobble sized pieces of Quartz ranging in color from almost clear to smoky quartz appearance. Most of the samples are Milky in nature and tinged yellow to brown by the Iron. Many pieces vary in crystal structure from fine to large/mixed crystals. I assume that the samples come from further upstream and uphill (they are eroding out of the dirt stream banks) and come from several locations. The show varied cooling times with the difference of crystal size.
From these two sites, I have about 40 hard rock samples ranging from several ounces to 20 lbs. I also filled up a coffee can with selected sand/gravel from behind one large granite boulder. This stream bed has plenty of sand and gravel, but a very low water flow. I don't think there is enough for sluicing at all, and panning spots were hard to find. It looks like it would have good erosion during flood stage. Carderock Springs comes to a T intersection at Fenway Road. The stream is diverted under Fenway via a 6 ft. concrete tunnel that is about 30 ft. long. I will check upstream from this location after I go through my current sampling.
As the evening wore on, and the mosquitoes began to feast on my pale legs, I decided to get out of the darkening little stream bed and go west a bit. I decided to check out a location known for gold, but one I had never actually visited. I turned NW on River Road and took it into Potomac Village. A left turn onto Falls Road and I was pointed in the right direction. Falls Road dead ends at MacArthur Blvd. A left will take you to DC, a right takes you to the C&O Canal Towpath and the National Park Service Headquarters @ Great Falls MD. Before you turn though, look straight ahead into the woods. You will see several fenced off areas and the remains of the old water tower. These are shafts 1-3, the water tower, and the remains of the Assay Office. Turn right to head to the park. Normally, it is paid entry, but they are doing some construction and entry is free (for now at least). I parked on the left side of the road (where it was safe) and walked back to the area. The tailings and dumps are all grown over, and most prospectors tell you there is no gold to be found anymore. I suggest walking around in the woods looking for pieces of quartz that the trees have naturally pushed to the surface.
A few key notes about this site. It is an interesting part of Maryland history. The Quartz veins were up to 200 ft below ground and the site was set up to crush dense quartz for the tiny specs of gold intrusions. The US GS has an online publication about the site. It is an interesting read if you like that sort of thing (which I do!). Also, the recent construction has unearthed a rather large quartz boulder that is right next to the road. I suggest you stop by and take a look to see what exactly they were working with! Some recent tree falls right on the hiking path also show distinct mining signatures and marks from drilling and pick marks.
Even though I have yet to really inspect my samples, I have noticed a few things from this day of searching:
1 - The area is very diverse in it's geological structure.
2 - It is better to be outdoors than behind a desk all the time.
3 - I still like playing in creeks and streams and digging in the dirt!
Cabin John Creek and Rock Run in lower Mont. Co. are known for gold deposits, so i decided to check the area out for myself. I started at the corner of River Road and Seven Locks Road in Potomac. Heading NW from there along River Road, there is a bridge crossing of Cabin John Creek. I parked on the north side of the road right at the bridge. There is a small area for about 2 cars there. The State Highway Administration has posted signs for "No Trespassing" to the right of these spaces, but Cabin John Creek Stream Valley Park begins at this location and heads north past Bradley Blvd, Seven Locks Road, and Democracy Blvd. There is a walking path that begins at this location as well.
I started in the stream itself right at the bridge and began walking upstream. I was immediately surprised by the sheer volume of Granite in the stream. Nowhere else in the county had I seen this much granite. I later learned that Tri-State Stone (http://www.carderock.com/) operates their granite quarry about 1/4 mile downstream and that this was the top of the local formation. It was an amazing site as it looked like the stream had actually cut dimensional stones, pavers, and veneer pieces. These rocks looked like the type of material people pay good money for. No surprise that there are three quarries within a stones throw of this site. Unfortunately for me, this meant very little in the way of large quartz cobbles to search and break. I will have to return one day to sift the abundant gravel in the stream though and search for interesting granite specimens.
Being a bit disheartened by the lack of targeted samples, but still fascinated with the local geology, i searched my brain for another spot. I didn't have to go far. Crossing to the other side of River road is Carderock Springs Dr. Just downstream from the location i started from is a fork in Cabin John Creek. Another tributary joins the stream not 100 yards below the bridge. I went and parked in a small pull off just uphill from the intersection of River and Carderock Springs and climbed down into the much smaller tributary. At first glance, I was worried as there was a large granite outcrop right next to me. This proved to be a temporary thing, as just upstream, I found what I was looking for. There is a rise in elevation from the bridge to this location of about 30 feet. This area marked the top of the granite formation and the local soil began in earnest on top of it. The stream bed is littered with many cobble sized pieces of Quartz ranging in color from almost clear to smoky quartz appearance. Most of the samples are Milky in nature and tinged yellow to brown by the Iron. Many pieces vary in crystal structure from fine to large/mixed crystals. I assume that the samples come from further upstream and uphill (they are eroding out of the dirt stream banks) and come from several locations. The show varied cooling times with the difference of crystal size.
From these two sites, I have about 40 hard rock samples ranging from several ounces to 20 lbs. I also filled up a coffee can with selected sand/gravel from behind one large granite boulder. This stream bed has plenty of sand and gravel, but a very low water flow. I don't think there is enough for sluicing at all, and panning spots were hard to find. It looks like it would have good erosion during flood stage. Carderock Springs comes to a T intersection at Fenway Road. The stream is diverted under Fenway via a 6 ft. concrete tunnel that is about 30 ft. long. I will check upstream from this location after I go through my current sampling.
As the evening wore on, and the mosquitoes began to feast on my pale legs, I decided to get out of the darkening little stream bed and go west a bit. I decided to check out a location known for gold, but one I had never actually visited. I turned NW on River Road and took it into Potomac Village. A left turn onto Falls Road and I was pointed in the right direction. Falls Road dead ends at MacArthur Blvd. A left will take you to DC, a right takes you to the C&O Canal Towpath and the National Park Service Headquarters @ Great Falls MD. Before you turn though, look straight ahead into the woods. You will see several fenced off areas and the remains of the old water tower. These are shafts 1-3, the water tower, and the remains of the Assay Office. Turn right to head to the park. Normally, it is paid entry, but they are doing some construction and entry is free (for now at least). I parked on the left side of the road (where it was safe) and walked back to the area. The tailings and dumps are all grown over, and most prospectors tell you there is no gold to be found anymore. I suggest walking around in the woods looking for pieces of quartz that the trees have naturally pushed to the surface.
A few key notes about this site. It is an interesting part of Maryland history. The Quartz veins were up to 200 ft below ground and the site was set up to crush dense quartz for the tiny specs of gold intrusions. The US GS has an online publication about the site. It is an interesting read if you like that sort of thing (which I do!). Also, the recent construction has unearthed a rather large quartz boulder that is right next to the road. I suggest you stop by and take a look to see what exactly they were working with! Some recent tree falls right on the hiking path also show distinct mining signatures and marks from drilling and pick marks.
Even though I have yet to really inspect my samples, I have noticed a few things from this day of searching:
1 - The area is very diverse in it's geological structure.
2 - It is better to be outdoors than behind a desk all the time.
3 - I still like playing in creeks and streams and digging in the dirt!
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Upper Rock Creek - Montgomery County MD
Here are a few sample pics from Upper Rock Creek in Montgomey County MD. All samples were taken from a stream bed located about 1.5 miles NW of Lake Needwood in Derwood MD.
This is a very clear transluscent sample of the local quartz in Rock Creek. This particular piece was broken from a rounded stream cobble that showed a dark spot on the surface. The spot turned out to be a dark black crystaline structure with the same luster as the quartz. As I am still in the early stages of learning, I am not sure exactly what this black spot is.
Two images of a Small Quartz Cobble Broken to reveal what I believe to be Magnetite Intrusions. The top image is with room lighting (flourescent) and the bottom image is with camera flash. There are multiple crystal structures going on in this sample and the coloring varies dramatically. The quartz in the lower left side of these pictures has a very golder iridescence. The small light spot to the right of the middle magnetite has a green tint to it as well. Possible evidence of gold and copper?
This image is of a very compact sandstone with ferric (iron) discoloration and minor intrusions. Formed primarily of transparent clear Quartz grains, it also exhibits some fine, clear, golden mica flakes. The stone had serious ground discoloration and the interior was darker where part of the stone rested in sand/gravel bed of the stream.
This sample is another piece of the Ferric Quartz from above. This section of break shows a nice nearly transparent crystal form to the right side. Directly beow that is a section of finer crystal forms with a golden iridescence. To the left of the sample is the magnetite intrusion.
This smaller sample of Milky Quartz is translucent with Ferric discoloration. The center of the sample has a much smaller crystal structure that is highly golden in sheen. The golden sheen progresses to the outside of the sample in the left side of the image.
These are but a small sampling of the rocks found in Rock Creek and broken to reveal their interiors. Once I have a better system in place, I will be taking much more detailed images at higher magnification and brighter lighting to better display the crystal structures them selves. I have about 20 lbs. of additional samples to take home to process.
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| Quartz with Ferric Intrusion |
This is a very clear transluscent sample of the local quartz in Rock Creek. This particular piece was broken from a rounded stream cobble that showed a dark spot on the surface. The spot turned out to be a dark black crystaline structure with the same luster as the quartz. As I am still in the early stages of learning, I am not sure exactly what this black spot is.
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| Quartz with Magnetite (?) Intrusion 1 |
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| Quartz with Magnetite (?) Intrusion 2 |
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| Ferric Sandstone of fine Quartz |
This image is of a very compact sandstone with ferric (iron) discoloration and minor intrusions. Formed primarily of transparent clear Quartz grains, it also exhibits some fine, clear, golden mica flakes. The stone had serious ground discoloration and the interior was darker where part of the stone rested in sand/gravel bed of the stream.
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| Ferric Quartz with Magnetite (?) Inclusion |
This sample is another piece of the Ferric Quartz from above. This section of break shows a nice nearly transparent crystal form to the right side. Directly beow that is a section of finer crystal forms with a golden iridescence. To the left of the sample is the magnetite intrusion.
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| Ferric Quartz with Finer Golden Iridescent Crystals |
This smaller sample of Milky Quartz is translucent with Ferric discoloration. The center of the sample has a much smaller crystal structure that is highly golden in sheen. The golden sheen progresses to the outside of the sample in the left side of the image.
These are but a small sampling of the rocks found in Rock Creek and broken to reveal their interiors. Once I have a better system in place, I will be taking much more detailed images at higher magnification and brighter lighting to better display the crystal structures them selves. I have about 20 lbs. of additional samples to take home to process.
Cambria County PA
I live in Johnstown PA (aka Flood City). The area is very beautiful and lots of mountains around. Many of the road cuts show amazing layers of sedimentary rocks and coal seams. The main pic for this blog is a sample from Route 56 @ Widman Road. To give you a better idea of scale:
This pic shows the scale pretty well. The truck is about 6 ft tall and about 10 feet away from the rock formations. Directly behind the truck, the layer is highly fractured shale (10 - 15 ft thick). On top of that is a 2-3ft thick section of sandstone with a minor overlay of coal. Directly above the coal is a thin layer of Marine Limestone (from a short period of saltwater sedimentation) covered by another layer of sandstone. This pattern continues for several more layers before being covered by much more recent soil deposits.
This image is of Shale overlaying Coal @ Lorain Borough Park. This section was exposed by a tributary stream of the Conemaugh river. This formation is about 50 ft tall between the park and Ohio Street. Above the Shale (not pictured) is a layer of sandstone than repeating layers or Coal/Shale/Sandstone.
Looking upstream @ Lorain Borough Park you can see a thick layer of weathered Sandstone Cobbles. The stream runs over a seam of Coal before continuing into more Sandstone Cobbles. Sandstone Cobbles in the foreground actually cover a thin layer of Shale beneath the coal seam. If you look in the left side of picture, you can see an older wall build from the stream cobbles. Sandstone is abundant and commonly used in the area for foundations and retaining walls. Many beds like this end up in peoples houses locally.
Going even further upstream, Lorain Borough Park has a very nice nature trail (was a pleasant surprise!) that walks the visitor through the wooded section of park. Following the stream, they have placed a bench next to this formation for quiet reflection. The lower portion of the falls cascades over a 3 ft thick coal seam and the top cascades over what is left of the Shale above it. Given the downhill slope to the natural formations, this stream is taking it's time eroding thru the layers. Just upstream from this location, the stream travels over the top of the Shale layer for about 100 yards. this layer of Shale is only about 3 feet thick, so it looks like a long flat slide.
These are but a few samples of what i have to look at and enjoy within the City of Johnstown PA
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| Ford Explorer next to road cut |
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| Shale over Coal seam |
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| Upstream shot of Sandstone Cobbles with Coal layer then more Sandstone Cobbles |
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| Waterfall over Shale and Coal Seam |
These are but a few samples of what i have to look at and enjoy within the City of Johnstown PA
Montgomery County Streams
Over the past two weeks I have been spending my spare time after work researching some local streams in Montgomery County MD. I always make sure to have a few key items with me each trip. I bring along my camera, rock hammer, jewelers loupe, small buckets, big buckets, shovel, back pack, flashlight, and my gold pan. I have sampled a few areas in search of some interesting minerals.
My first stream was Seneca Creek. Sneca Creek runs thru the north and western county from Lake Seneca (Seneca State Park), the Boyds Resevoir (Black Hills Regional Park), and near Damascus MD with many tributaries, all the way to the Potomac River at the C&O Canal Seneca Aquaduct. It is the main stream from Gaithersburg/Germantown, and has many easily accesible areas. This shot was taken of a gravel bed near the Rt. 28 bridge near Poolesville.
I like to get in the streams and walk the beds and banks looking for interesting samples. The bed had many fine examples of Milky Quartz with mineral Iron intrusions.
Moving further upstream to Seneca Creek @ Old Blackrock Mill (Blackrock Road) in Germantown. About 1/8 of a mile upstream of the mill, I saw this large quartz boulder (4 ft tall x 2ft wide) with an interesting oxidized copper sheen on it. The boulder is Milky Quartz with lots of Iron mineralization (brown tints common to the area), but I had never seen the green copper oxide on one. The boulder is too large and naturally pretty to try and sample, so I just took some pics.
The majority of my time was spent looking for small sample rocks to break or take home to show Stacy (my lovely wife). I also took a coffee can sized sample of sand to pan from behind a boulder in the stream. We were very surprised to find many different colors of snad sized gems in the stream. Once I have set up a decent Microscope, I will take pics to show you.
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| Seneca Creek @ Route 28 |
I like to get in the streams and walk the beds and banks looking for interesting samples. The bed had many fine examples of Milky Quartz with mineral Iron intrusions.
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| Milky Quartz Boulder with Iron and Copper Intrusions |
The majority of my time was spent looking for small sample rocks to break or take home to show Stacy (my lovely wife). I also took a coffee can sized sample of sand to pan from behind a boulder in the stream. We were very surprised to find many different colors of snad sized gems in the stream. Once I have set up a decent Microscope, I will take pics to show you.
The Beginning
Howdy all!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my new Blog! This is just the beginning, but I plan to publish my adventures in my new found hobby. I want to take you along with me from the very beginning, so you too may see how a hobby can be formed.
First, a bit of background:
For years I have been fascinated with rocks and minerals. I never really did anything about it, but I have always liked the shinies. I have also always liked to get dirty and dig thru things. Over the past few years, I have developed more of an interest in my natural surroundings. Moving from Maryland to Pennsylvania had a lot to do with this.
I grew up in the relatively flat Montgomery County Maryland. As a child, I was always playing in the dirt, digging holes, and playing in streams. Unfortunately, I never really paid attention to the rocks and minerals around me.
About 5 years ago, I moved to Cambria County Pennsylvania with my wife and kids. We had to get away from the hustle and bustle of the DC metro area, and we found the quiet city of Johnstown. Our first drive up there was through the mountains on a foggy night, so I couldn't appreciate the natural beauty of my surroundings. The drive back was another story! I was fascinated by the layers in the rock formations, but couldn't stop to really look as I was driving. Once we were settled in to our new home, I had the chance to finally look around. I wanted to know more about the mountains and how they were formed!
I spent alot of my spare time watching the Outdoor Channel and came across the show "Gold Fever". I was intrigued by the idea of prospecting and loved the scenery of all the adventures they showed. My whole family enjoyed sitting in front of the TV and watching all the great places they went on the show. We also ran across some fun shows on the Travel Channel about "Pay to Dig" sites and vowed to one day add them to our vacation list.
My wife has always liked making jewelry, I have always liked playing in the dirt, so we thought we may have finally found a hobby we could share!
My lovely wife signed me up as a member of the GPAA (Gold Prospectors Association of America) and ordered me my first Gold Pan. She got herself a nice little metal detector to start searching around the yard. Little did we know that we had moved into one of the few places in the US that have very little minerals other than COAL! She began finding all sorts of small metalic objects in the dirt, and I found lots of left over remnants of the steel industry in the streams. But no gold.
A bit if research led me back to my home town and I discovered that there was gold in Maryland right near where I grew up! I made a decision to one day return to the streams I played in as a child and search for the color!
Three years passed, and we had not really searched for gold, gone on vacation, or expanded upon the idea of a shared hobby. 2009 rolled around and my mother asked me to come back to work for her elevator company in MD. I now have a weekly commute to Montgomery County and lots of spare time after work. The job afforded my family the opportunity to finally take a vacation in 2010. Guess what we did?
At the end of July thru the beginning of August 2010, my family packed into a car and took a vacation. We travelled down the Blue Ridge mountains to New Orleans to see my sister-in-law and family. Along the way, we took our kids to Luray Caverns in Virginia. We stopped in Tennessee on the way down and spent the day in the Smoky Mountain region. We made good on our promise and finally went to Spruce Pine NC to go to Gem Mountian (www.gemmountain.com) and sluiced for gemstones.
We all had a great time finding Garnets, Amethyst, Topaz, Tourmaline, Quartz, and native Emeralds in the enhanced buckets. The spark was back! My wife and I probably had the most fun enjoying family time all playing together, but the kids seemed happy too!
Since that day, my wife and I have grown closer sharing our fascination with rocks and minerals. Each week I plan a few locations to check and bring back samples for her to inspect. We are working on our system, planning new adventures, and reading like crazy! There is so much to learn! Please feel free to stick with me as I share my adventures with you as well!
Thanks for taking the time to visit my new Blog! This is just the beginning, but I plan to publish my adventures in my new found hobby. I want to take you along with me from the very beginning, so you too may see how a hobby can be formed.
First, a bit of background:
For years I have been fascinated with rocks and minerals. I never really did anything about it, but I have always liked the shinies. I have also always liked to get dirty and dig thru things. Over the past few years, I have developed more of an interest in my natural surroundings. Moving from Maryland to Pennsylvania had a lot to do with this.
I grew up in the relatively flat Montgomery County Maryland. As a child, I was always playing in the dirt, digging holes, and playing in streams. Unfortunately, I never really paid attention to the rocks and minerals around me.
About 5 years ago, I moved to Cambria County Pennsylvania with my wife and kids. We had to get away from the hustle and bustle of the DC metro area, and we found the quiet city of Johnstown. Our first drive up there was through the mountains on a foggy night, so I couldn't appreciate the natural beauty of my surroundings. The drive back was another story! I was fascinated by the layers in the rock formations, but couldn't stop to really look as I was driving. Once we were settled in to our new home, I had the chance to finally look around. I wanted to know more about the mountains and how they were formed!
I spent alot of my spare time watching the Outdoor Channel and came across the show "Gold Fever". I was intrigued by the idea of prospecting and loved the scenery of all the adventures they showed. My whole family enjoyed sitting in front of the TV and watching all the great places they went on the show. We also ran across some fun shows on the Travel Channel about "Pay to Dig" sites and vowed to one day add them to our vacation list.
My wife has always liked making jewelry, I have always liked playing in the dirt, so we thought we may have finally found a hobby we could share!
My lovely wife signed me up as a member of the GPAA (Gold Prospectors Association of America) and ordered me my first Gold Pan. She got herself a nice little metal detector to start searching around the yard. Little did we know that we had moved into one of the few places in the US that have very little minerals other than COAL! She began finding all sorts of small metalic objects in the dirt, and I found lots of left over remnants of the steel industry in the streams. But no gold.
A bit if research led me back to my home town and I discovered that there was gold in Maryland right near where I grew up! I made a decision to one day return to the streams I played in as a child and search for the color!
Three years passed, and we had not really searched for gold, gone on vacation, or expanded upon the idea of a shared hobby. 2009 rolled around and my mother asked me to come back to work for her elevator company in MD. I now have a weekly commute to Montgomery County and lots of spare time after work. The job afforded my family the opportunity to finally take a vacation in 2010. Guess what we did?
At the end of July thru the beginning of August 2010, my family packed into a car and took a vacation. We travelled down the Blue Ridge mountains to New Orleans to see my sister-in-law and family. Along the way, we took our kids to Luray Caverns in Virginia. We stopped in Tennessee on the way down and spent the day in the Smoky Mountain region. We made good on our promise and finally went to Spruce Pine NC to go to Gem Mountian (www.gemmountain.com) and sluiced for gemstones.
We all had a great time finding Garnets, Amethyst, Topaz, Tourmaline, Quartz, and native Emeralds in the enhanced buckets. The spark was back! My wife and I probably had the most fun enjoying family time all playing together, but the kids seemed happy too!
Since that day, my wife and I have grown closer sharing our fascination with rocks and minerals. Each week I plan a few locations to check and bring back samples for her to inspect. We are working on our system, planning new adventures, and reading like crazy! There is so much to learn! Please feel free to stick with me as I share my adventures with you as well!
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