Great finds! Too bad the epidote on my property isn't crystal, but it is a nice green. Maybe I can find another seam....

great finds Woody!! We are a lot alike! More than once I've pushed my timeline just to go over "one more ridge" or "just 15 more minutes" and end up hauling ass back to the car before it gets dark (though I also cary the essentials for being stuck out at night, just in case!)

Done the same elk hunting - got caught by an evening thunderstorm which forced me to hunker down, and a few bolts came really way too close for comfort - had sparks raining down on me! Felt them too... no shock, but eerie just the same. 2 hour, cold, wet, uphill hike back to camp in the dark to boot. Now, I carry some sort of shelter, just in case...

Woody I am new to this and am looking to learn... Well the family is looking to learn. If you would like to go out sometime and wouldnt mind sharing some knowledge let me know. I am willing to drive anywhere and pay for lunch, dinner, and gas or whatever else is needed ie beer. Let me know what you think. If you are interested PM me.

Thanks,
Chris

Hope you like hiking, Woody doesn't exactly believe in trails, he really embraces the "road less traveled" idea!

Hello Chris,
I’m not sure how the PM thing goes but I think we can get you and your family on the right track. There is merit to what Dypheron was saying and I would first have to understand what your comfort level is. A lot of times it is not the toughness of the hike per say, but rather just being out in hills all day long. Now I understand most folks have a life and it can be difficult to devote the entire day I just figure if I am going to hike up any hill I plan to stay a while. Met up with a feller named Shawn this weekend, we stayed out 12 hours on Saturday and 10 hours on Sunday. He was a real trooper and I was very impressed but I have learned the hard way that I need to be mindful of peoples comfort level and stay within those boundaries. So Email me and we will chat. Hope to hear from you soon, Woody.

Chris - I can tell you, Woody is amazing to watch and learn from. He has a darn fine eye for spotting things. Woody - the dark crystals you found here is hornblende, and the very red formation you found is orthoclase. I took the samples to the rock shop in town. He might make some cabs out of the epidote I took to him, too. If he does, I'll try to get some pics from him and post them.

I sure would like to see those cabs. That color you have in the epidote there is good quality. If you can find a piece thick enough to make a cabochon it should be a treasure. Orthoclase on the other hand is common Feldspar and is normally uneventful. If I am remembering correctly the only difference between Orthoclase and Microcline is that Microcline has crystal, blocky structure to it. Still might look good polished up. let us know how that goes. Have a good one, Woody.

If and when he cuts some, I'll let you know.

He does not have a slab saw, but he is going to tumble all the pieces - even the larger ones! I still have more if anyone has a slab saw and wants to cut some cabs - or even hearts - Denise, are you listening? - I also have more interesting things that have washed down the hill due to our storms - even some grey volcanic stuff that has mica and tiny garnets (garnets are a maybe - but they flash red). Large chunks of ugly quartz and some nice sized chunks of pink feldspar, plus more epidote and unakite. There is rose quartz too, but very fissured and fractured, with feldspar and other inclusions. It's not the pretty rose color either - just an ugly dirty whitish and uneven pink. I kind of want to polish the corners of some of this stuff, but I don't have anything to do it with. Oh well, I don't have the time to do it anyway.

The offer's there - anyone want some epidote rock samples to cut and polish?

I had another nice adventure this weekend out looking for crystals. It saved a lot of time back packing in and staying the night rather than making the trip up and down the mountain every day. I started a hole a few weeks back when I was making a video about how to find a crystal pocket and it continued to produce nicely. The main items found in this hole have been just Smokey Crystals and Fluorite. There is still one small spot left to poke around in but for the most part it has dried up. Some of the crystals found in this pocket were as shinny as glass. Most however were typical of this area and only had two or three good sides. I’ll have to post up some pictures after I get them all cleaned up some of the fluorite really came out nice. Hope you enjoy the video, Woody.

http://youtu.be/SVJC3q-vH0M

Great video, Woody! I have to find time to get out there with you.

Sounds like you have alot of the same stuff at your place as we do ours Caveman. We have 2 barrels ready for tumbeling. One has Unakite and the other is filled with Epidote. We also have several larger pieces that we are planning on slabbing and working into cabachons and hearts. The Unakite is really cool stuff! If you needed any of yours worked into cabachons, just let us know.

I'm really bummed that you weren't able to make the members outing like you had planned Woody.

I'm thinking that some heart epidote earrings and an cabochon pendant would look nice on Mrs Caveman!

I bet they would!