Hi Rod,
Laughed at your 'Sir Rock Candy' mention ... I've garnered a few honors over my years of locality stewardship, but didn't realize I was a candidate for knighthood!
Have leased a couple locations from Weyerhauser/BN over the years, part of Hansen Creek is likely the best known. Their real estate department is quite helpful. Liability is the worry of most landowners, me included. Liability insurance is available to non-profits at very reasonable rates. If every club leased a private land locality with their insurance, we'd have lots more places for club trips. Club members could assume responsibility for occasional patrolling of the locales, and follow up with prosecuting people who did not follow the rules. This is the model used in Australia, where I go to avoid NW winters. The government sets aside fossicking areas, and clubs take responsibility for them. One place there I've dug for 20 years has always been clean & neat. My diggin buddies & I cut up a bunch of firewood and maintain the loos every year. Last year the outhouses were wrecked, and a bunch of dangerous holes were dug. We got on the horn to the local club, and within a week, a crew came out and we rebuilt the loos. We got the Forestry blokes to fill in the dangerous holes with a dozer, and we reported the folks who came by and complained that their holes were filled in. It's back to being a great place for the public to dig. It's within a wildlife reserve, so there's lots of politics, but the locals have done a great job of keeping it open. Can put you in touch with the group there, if that could be helpful. Would love to see such a system set up here. Not sure if possible in our litigeous society, but would be worth a try. The Red Top model seems like a good place to start.
Bob

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Funny thing was, Paul, I brought some ametrine spheres I had made, to display in a black shadow box. Have special lights which plug into the back of the box, so the ametrine appears to jump out of a black background. Great idea, but left the lights home on the counter! So you can see them next year... We'll have a bucket for the drool, ;~)).

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Not only will Dan be "revealing" where the diamond pipes are but, I'll add a number of treasure hunting details to the Jack Slade story. Details leading up to the event, time of day, number of bandits, response time of the posse and cavelry, the results of the Pinkerton's investigation and the Overland Stage Company's records. And of course, Johnny's best guess... LET'S POOL OUR IGNORANCE AND SEE IF WE CAN SOMEHOW MUDDLE THROUGH! :-)

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No critter involved, not coprolite, just looks like it. Is a siderite concretion commonly found in WA. There's a long thread about it, search Salmon Creek.
Bob

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" Hi where is spruce ridge and is it open to anyone to look for amethyst?
Thank you Wade"

Spruce Ridge is in western Washington. We're open for guided digs in the summer. See www.geologyadventures.com for more info. The amethyst always occurs as scepter crystals, and is much less common than the quartz & pyrite specimens for which Spruce is famous. Featured as show #1 on the 3rd season of Cash & Treasures, after the name change to Kirsten Gum: Adventurer.
Bob

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"One of my poodle puppies is going rockhounding or diamond hunting with me someday. Sweetpea (should have named her Roxie) digs for and collects a rock everyday and brings it inside to her bed, not all are a pretty as this but I get a kick out of her stopping at the door and going back out to make sure she brings a rock (and sometimes an acorn or two) back inside before going to bed. This sample is the 3rd of it's kind and the largest so far that she has retrieved, but I am not sure exactly what it is. She is very protective of this rock and won't let my other two poodles near it, so hopefully her chewing on these won't hurt her. It is triangular in shape, about 2 inches top to bottom with 3/4 inch sides. The photo shows the "lines" in the rock and the silvery sheen, it appears that millions of tiny white and silver threads are all lined up together to create it. A light will show through it, but only with a milky glow due to the exterior, which if scracthed turns a chalky white against the shiny areas. It's time for all the experts to pin this one down for me. It's probably some type of quartz, but it is so different from all the others that I have, I'm just not sure. Can you help?


Terry

P.S. Not sure what category you want this in so it's just getting posted to general discussion for now!"

Hi Terry,
To add to Bill's reply, gypsum has a hardness of only 2 on Mohs hardness scale. A fingernail has a hardness of 2.5. THis means that you will be able to scratch the gypsum relatively easily with you fingernail.
Dan

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"Sharon and Tim, Thanks for the compliment. I found those two on my first weekend and second day collecting at the quarry. I reached into a hole and felt their faces before I ever saw them. I was hooked and it led to @ 15 yrs years collecting there with many completely unproductive, but enjoyable days waiting for the next nice piece. I have been enjoying looking at all the beautiful minerals you folks get out west and wishing I lived closer to those sites. Mike"

Wow! That is one beautiful smoky quartz!

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That's my other secret...

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i added your picture to your ad.

~zeke

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Thanks for the info. The specimens are just fantastic and wish we could find something like that! W saw some of the things that Jeff brought back and they were really nice too. I guess we will just have to make it up your way next year.
Tim and Sharon

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