Cheap Pastime-- Rock Hound

[Mom5farmboys]

We've had quite a bit of rain here in the last few days, some really torrential storms. Out in our back pasture is a bit of a washout, the ground is gravelly and after a good hard rain all kinds of interesting rocks come to the surface.

The boys and I walked back there today and were looking around (they all had their own ice cream bucket to carry their treasures) we found fossils, and a geode (we cracked it open when we got home and sure enough it had some small crystals in it), black stones, and sparkly stones.

They all came home with their buckets full, and once we were back at the house we sat in the shade and showed off our best finds. Then they hauled them up by the hose and spent quite a bit of time washing them up, and we admired each others rocks all over again.

We had a nice time together, and it didn't cost us anything. Plus we got some very "valuable" specimens! I was just curious are there any other rock hounds out there?

[tomato204]

Long-time rockhound and Lapidary here. It's a great hobby/pastime even if you just keep them to look at. Rockhounding can lead to studying the geology of your local area, then expand into learning about the whole state or country even. It's a great thing to do with your kids. Kudos to you!

[Junie]

Another rockhound here. Great hobby that you can do most anywhere. (We also look for bones and have numerous animal skulls)

[Mom5farmboys]

Tomato, Thanks for your kind encouraging words! :)

Junie, Funny you should mention collecting skulls, we too have quite an assortment of them around here. Lets see off the top of my head we have a cow, calf, deer, possum, cat, pig, chipmunk, squirrell, and raccoon.

If you take the skull (we've only ever done this with cow skulls-the rest we've found in the woods and fields) and put it in a barrell of water and leave it for a couple of months, it will come out pure white. Looks like its been bleached. One tip keep that barrell far away from the house, and when it's time to fish it out, just tip it over and leave while it drains and dries out (give it a day or two) because the water is very stinky!

[LJH]

I'm an uneducated rockhound. I love rocks and pick them up everywhere I go; usually don't know what kind they are but if they're pretty or interesting in some way, they come home with me.

We have tons of petrified wood around here, it's everywhere, including some big chunks you can't even lift. Also lots of geodes and fossils. In fact, I'm saving up for a tumbler and will need to pick some brains to know what to buy. Would love to hear your recommendations, Tomato!

[Junie]

Mom5farmboys, the only skull we've had to clean was from our llama. He fell and broke his neck, so we kept the skull. The rest we've found in the woods or fields. In addition to the ones you mentioned, we have a horse, goat, fox, coyote, and mouse. We found the mouse skull in an owl pellet.

[CapeCMom]

The little guy and I hunt for cool rocks when we go to the beach. Most are pretty polished as you can imagine so that only adds to the glittery fun! While we are there we also collect seashells which we keep in a big glass apothecary jar, and sea glass as well. We have found some rocks that we thought might be meteorites but were not sure so this year we are bringing a magnet with us-they fetch some pretty big money on the collectors market.

[Quietgentleman]

I have a friend that goes out after a heavy rain and searches for arrow heads and spear points. He has quite a collection and he tries to identify what they were made of. It's surprising but he has some that the stone was mined in other states. Most of the material was mines east of us.

QGM

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We had a nice time together, and it didn't cost us anything. Plus we got some very "valuable" specimens! I was just curious are there any other rock hounds out there?

Our kids had a rock tumbler when they were young. They had oodles of fun finding rocks, tumbling them, making keychains, etc. We even tried to grow our own amethysts. It was such fun for school projects. Our homegrown geodes never got too big, but it was a great lesson for them.

[Junie]

I hate to hijack the thread, but can anyone tell me how to identify a geode without cracking it open?

[tomato204]

Hollow geodes (they're not all hollow) are lighter than a solid rock. www.rocktumblinghobby.com is a good place to get a little background in tumbling and they have a message board too.
http://andy321.proboards.com/index.cgi?

[Junie]

Thank you, tomato204. My kids find geodes, but never knew how to identify them before. They only knew they were geodes because they like splitting rocks with a hammer (weird kids, I know)

[BigOBear]

Thank you, tomato204. My kids find geodes, but never knew how to identify them before. They only knew they were geodes because they like splitting rocks with a hammer (normal kids, I know)

There... fixed it for you Junie :wink: Starting out burning your name into a piece of wood with a magnifying glass and ending up terrorizing fireants is right up there with splitting rocks too (latest adventures last weekend :P )

We find big clam shell fossils after a flood when the lake finally drops really low. Some of the shells are as big as my fist. Sometimes we'll find the 'fan' or spiral kind of seashell fossils, but mostly the clam shells by the bucket loads

[Junie]

I hate to say it, but I'm at least as bad as the kids. I'm the one who taught them to burn things with a magnifying glass, dig for buried treasure (how was I to know they'd dig up the neighbor's phone lines?), and haul home every lifeform on earth.

[BigOBear]

That's how it ought to be though right? :)

[tomato204]

Yes. Kids need to explore the world they live in. They're more connected to it that way.
Here's a picture of what you can make with some of those rocks once you get the hang of polishing...
http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o182/Rockguy46/august%2014/CIMG0486.jpg

[Mom5farmboys]

Our kids had a rock tumbler when they were young. They had oodles of fun finding rocks, tumbling them, making keychains, etc. We even tried to grow our own amethysts. It was such fun for school projects. Our homegrown geodes never got too big, but it was a great lesson for them.

We got the kids a rock tumbler last summer and have used it once. I don't remember the name of it but it isn't one of those "toy" ones. Its metal and should last awhile. We have a little trouble narrowing down our choices for just 1 load, lol.

We looked online and found some plans for homemade rock tumblers-big ones to do big rocks, someday when we have a little more time I would love to polish some of the bigger rocks we have found, I think they would make some really cool gifts.

[Junie]

Beautiful work, tomato204! I really like the setting of the smaller green stone. Gorgeous!

[tomato204]

Why thank ye, Junie. I don't make the volume of stuff I used to when I did the craft fairs and all. More or less retired from it except for the occasional piece now. I still like to get out after a rain and look for interesting rocks. The ring with the small green stone is Chrysoprase, more scarce than Jade (the bigger one in the front).

[momma_to_seven_chi]

We got the kids a rock tumbler last summer and have used it once. I don't remember the name of it but it isn't one of those "toy" ones. Its metal and should last awhile. We have a little trouble narrowing down our choices for just 1 load, lol.

We looked online and found some plans for homemade rock tumblers-big ones to do big rocks, someday when we have a little more time I would love to polish some of the bigger rocks we have found, I think they would make some really cool gifts.

Silver is actually very easy to work with too. So after you tumble and polish, you can create small pieces of jewelry of your own design. It's cheaper than buying the preformed blanks you use to make things. Rings are more difficult, I think, but I have seen people make them from thicker pieces of silver. I just never had that talent. Pendants are very easy just simply wrapping wire around a stone to hold it.

[Mom5farmboys]

Silver is actually very easy to work with too. So after you tumble and polish, you can create small pieces of jewelry of your own design. It's cheaper than buying the preformed blanks you use to make things. Rings are more difficult, I think, but I have seen people make them from thicker pieces of silver. I just never had that talent. Pendants are very easy just simply wrapping wire around a stone to hold it.

Maybe I should make a little time and pursue this a little more seriously, I think I could have a lot of fun with it. Great idea about the pendant, now I want to try that too!

[Junie]

Why thank ye, Junie. I don't make the volume of stuff I used to when I did the craft fairs and all. More or less retired from it except for the occasional piece now. I still like to get out after a rain and look for interesting rocks. The ring with the small green stone is Chrysoprase, more scarce than Jade (the bigger one in the front).
I recognized the jade, but not the Chrysoprase. I like the way the light filters through it. Very nice. I like the setting, too - it's complex. I'm actually more drawn to interesting settings than I am to specific stones. Of course, it's nice when they work well together.

[tomato204]

Rings were my niche at the craft shows. Lots of folks make bracelets and pendants and many are quite nice. Rings are harder (for the customer)to find so they are thrilled to get a one-of-a-kind ring at a good price. Usually I was the only one with a good selection of rings in different size, different stones etc. I just got too old and cranky to get up early and sit in the sun all day, lol.

[momma_to_seven_chi]

Rings were my niche at the craft shows.

You have talent! You use to be able to get lots of them really inexpensively at reservations or in Mexico. The gambling casinos have kind of killed some of the reservation crafting.

[tomato204]

Yeah, things change all right. I'm sure the casinos have helped a lot of people with jobs and all, I think they've hurt a few too. As humans our main job skill should be "rolling with the punches" LOL. You just have to adapt to survive things when they change. Somebody said "the only thing constant is change".

[Laura]

I have about 1 ton of rocks IN my house!!
We used to take the kids 'gem mining' in North Carolina.....and wow, do they have a lot of gems!
Not sure what to do with them?
Had a tumbler, but it just didn't get the job done.
Maybe I should get a book and learn how to cut them?
I have emeralds, rubies, tourmoline,(sp) amethyst, quartz, rose quartz, and so many others. HUGE HUGE pieces, and everything inbetween......

[tomato204]

"Maybe I should get a book and learn how to cut them?"
Laura, you don't need to buy a book. The link in reply #11 has all the info right there, more than any book. Plus you have a lot of members there that will help you with any question you might have. Rockhounds generally are friendly and helpful. Just don't post a spot where you find something really pretty on the 'net, it'll be attacked and stripped in no time by the few that aren't so nice! I really wish that wasn't true. Anyway I will do my best to answer any rock-type question you have also :)

[patience]

We have lived in 3 very different parts of Indiana, each with unique rocks. Up north, near the Miami Valley, there is loads of sand and some very ancient limestone deposits. Our second place was at the edge of the Wisconsin Glacier reach, and had an underlying Knobstone, a sort of multicolored sandy shale.

Our present place is south of the reach of glaciers, and has a deep strata of limestone, laced with caves and sinkholes everywhere. On top of that is clay mixed with orange-red, iron rich cherty carbonate rocks, all of them sharp cornered, not weatered at all, and full of fossils. Mixed in are some geodes, and occassionally some blue-gray flint nodules, although those typically occur to the north of us in areas with exposed limestone. (Bedford, IN, and south).

The limestone exposed by highway cuts, is in often tilted layers, evidence of some past upheavals. There, we find geodes embedded in the limestone strata, and flint nodules of primo quality. South of us is Wyandotte cave, a State Park. Remains of flint-mining indians were found in there, one crushed by a rockfall. He had carried a bag made of woven rushes found in the nearby river bottoms. I think he was estimatd to be 2,000+ years old.

This area was popular for flint mining, and also chert stones that made good flaked tools. There are ancient buffalo trails here, and burial grounds of native americans, so the whole area is ripe for finding their artifacts. Artifact hunting is much more difficult, since farmers here quit using moldboard plows and went to no-till. As a child, I could simply wait until after a rain on plowed ground, and rocks of all sorts would show up plainly, many of them bits and pieces of indian artifacts.

In the past few years we had the backyard terraced for gardening, and unearthed a host of fossils. Typical finds are the ancient seaweed stems, that look like a stack of coins, along with an abundance of tiny seashell imprints, and a few more mysterious things.

I'm trying to figure out how these broken up sedimentary rocks got scattered all through the clay here, yet are unweathered, and pretty obviously were not moved in by the glaciers. Some upheaval occurred to break up what was once an ancient seabed, and is now about 900 feet elevation.

Not all that far away is the Wabash River Valley, which is part of a failed continental rift, IIRC. That is supposed to be connected to the New Madrid Fault. I hope those rocks stay peacfully right where they are!