#centraloregon

As a Rockhound, one must learn to trust your inner feelings when finding and identifying a piece of unusual material! Here is a classic example that we recently found on our last trip out, the first photo is what the rock looks like on the outside (it was actually dry and dirt covered when I found it), it looked like a big hunk of Basalt with little specks of agate strewn across the surface. Weighing in at around 10 pounds, this was a tough decision, put it in my pack and continue hiking around looking for better materials or pass it up because it really was not promising to look at. I trusted my gut and stuffed it in the pack, I carried this extra 10 pounds around for the rest of the day since I was nowhere near my truck to unload it.

After a great adventure in the Central Oregon high desert, we made it back with a bounty of new materials to work with including a big hunk of curious Basalt, low and behold, after the first cut on the saw, I was utterly astonished at what I had found, it turns out to be an incredible piece of colorful, dendritic moss agate that looks nothing like what we expected to see once it had been opened up!

So this is why you study hard, learn as much as you possibly can and have faith in your instincts when the natural world reaches out and gives you a great big hug. Mother Nature has a lot of hidden treasures just waiting to be discovered, get out there and see it for yourself!

Cheers, Tut