Having recently attended this year’s Northwest Rock hound Retreat for the first time which was held at the Hancock Field Station September 7-13 in North Central Oregon I couldn’t help but reflect back upon this most interesting and unique location.
Through a collaborative agreement between the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry and the NFMS (Northwest Federation of Mineralogical Societies) rock hounds from British Columbia, Idaho, Washington, Oregon, and California were once again able to gather for a Fifth year to expand their areas of interest in a wide variety of lapidary activities and to use their free time to explore some of our public lands which surround the Hancock Field Station, in particular, the Clarno Unit one of three units which comprise the 14,000-acre area known as the John Day Fossil Bed National Monument. The Clarno Unit is located 18 miles west of Fossil on highway 218, and offers the public a chance to walk through and gaze upon eroded ancient mud slides which formed cathedral shaped spires 40 million years ago.Speaking of public lands and Fossil, one of Oregon’s lesser known towns, there is a site located behind Fossil’s only high school, situated on a hill-side on school land, where lies one of the richest fossil beds of the Bridge Creek flora found in Oregon which is easily accessible and open for public collection for a nominal fee of $5 which provides a needed source of revenue to Wheeler High School. These fossil beds formed some 30 million years ago when volcanic ash fell in the region, during the formation of the present-day Western Cascades. This site has yielded over 30 species of plants, most of them belonging to the genera that are no longer native to the Pacific Northwest. Fossil hunters and collectors can dig unlimited fossil specimens in relative comfort and safety without fear of being fined, arrested or having their fossil finds confiscated. ...........cont

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It was my intent to ROCK OUT in Franklin,NC. I was heading to Young Harris Georgia to attend a couple of Lapidary classes at the William Harris School of Lapidary Arts the last two weeks of September. I had purposely made plans to stay 2 stay in Franklin,NC the weekend before the start of class so that I might have a opportunity to enjoy the flavor of the community and do a little mining for some of those elusive Ruby's and Sapphires.I arrived 9/19 from Asheville,NC via Hwy #19 driving through Maggie Valley and Cherokee passing by stunning scenes and landscapes and stopping quite often to absorb the sights and smells of the Smokey Mountain culture.I made a pit stop in Cherokee, where the native peoples have lived for many thousands of years. Here is where I found the entrance to the Great Smokey Mountain National Park as well as the Blue Ridge Parkway. Two absolutely magnificent road trips full of beauty and history with plenty of pull-offs. It was on the Blue Ridge parkway on my return to Asheville I came across a flock of 11 wild turkeys walking single file along the roadside. It was a sight to see. I spent more time in Cherokee than I had planned realizing it wasn't long enough to truly see everything in that growing town. The reservation community is a bustling place with the presence of an expanding Harrah's Cherokee Casino. I was fortunate to have arrived on a weekend that the Southeastern Tribes were having their annual Cultural Arts Celebration at the Indian fairgrounds where I also paid a visit to the Museum of Cherokee Indian. It was a treat to absorb some of that experience but alas I was on the road again after a 3 hour layover. I turned South just outside of town on Hwy #441 travelling through National Forrest valleys and woodlands to Franklin where I would stay for two nights at the Days Inn.
In the morning I would locate the operational mines in the area in the hopes of finding my first ruby/sapphire or any other treasure. 2BCont..

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