My last outing, A Weekly posting Options

[russau]

Twas a good time dredgeing on the Arkansa River with Leonard!

[h20prospector]

I second that ! Good to put faces to seen screen names Had a good time out too.
Pat

[colo_heff]

My daughter and I went to one of our favorite places to hunt rocks yesterday and I thought I'd share what we found.... very diverse in just a short distance...

Pic 1 has petrified wood, picture jasper, smoky quartz crystals, topaz, and amazonite...

Pic 2 is topaz, clear with some impurities but look dark due to the background...

Pic 3 are the quartz crystals, usually worn edges from stream abrasion

And Pic 4 shows the Amazonite my daughter found... I had isolated the layer in the creek bank where the quartz crystals where (probably from the Devils Head area) and showed it to her, she leaned forward and plucked out the Amazonite, pretty wild...

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[Woody]

Cool Finds Colo-heff,
That area up there in Franktown is interesting. A few years back, one of my brothers and I, found a very large section of petrified wood. It was real neat Marbled Agate. I did not know there was Topaz in that area. I may have passed over it many a time thinking it was clear quartz. The Amazonite form Devils Head is very well known. I myself have never found any outcroppings in that area but it has been years ago since I was there. If you ever wish to do some kicking around in this area let me know. I can pretty much guarantee that you will go home with your pockets full.

Hi Leonard, Russau, & Pat,
Looks like you guys were seriously getting after it on that outing. A group of Ol' Pros just hanging out and having fun. I bet there was a lot of young Whipper Snappers stopping by, seeing how it is done, and keeping an eye on you. I would of liked to stop by myself and visited with you guys a while. Maybe next time.

Mrs. CP,
Yep! I grabbed all that stuff. After I cleaned it two days later I looked it over again. I re-evaluated my opinion about it only being low grade. Some of the pieces show fair crystal form and don't break apart easily. I will most certainly be back there soon.

Talk to you guys later, Woody.

[Woody]

Hi everyone,

Sorry about my absents. I’ve been extremely busy for the past several weeks and have not had much time for my postings. Three weeks ago I started prepping and getting things together to take the kids Elk Hunting. Normally I am very good at not pushing that kind of stuff off till the last moment but this year it sure felt like I did. We headed out that Friday after I got off work and did not get to our spot until after midnight. We got up super early to finish getting ready. And for the next two days everything on the earth was once again just fine. All my cares and worries seemed to just drift away. I think that Mother Nature is truly the best medication in the entire world.
I was taking my two step kids hunting. “I hunted Archery so I did not have a tag”. This was the first big game hunting trip for both of them. We rode the 4 Wheeler for about a mile, then hiked for about another mile. I left the 16 year old boy, “Mason”, in a nice spot overlooking a meadow that had a pond and provided quick access to the dark timber that elk so dearly love. Me and the 14 year old girl, “Caitlin”, continued heading down the draw to a place where I had been successful several times in the past. The plan was to walk along about half way up one side of the steep draw and keep our eyes peeled for elk moving in the dark timber on the other.
As we were nearing the end of the draw we started to hear an elk bugle. The elk bugled again and it was obvious he was in the draw and heading up. We began to work our way down into the drainage to a point where we could see better into the timber on the other side. Just as we got to about the right level we saw movement coming up the draw. This hillside was so steep it was very difficult for us to sit without sliding. I sat in front of Caitlin and tried to give her a shoulder for a rest or at the very least stop her from sliding. Finally we got to a spot where both of us were stopped. Caitlin held her composure very well as 3 elk walked past us at a distance of about 50 yards. It was two Cows and a Spike Bull. After they pasted I told her to wait a minute because that spike was not the one we heard bugling.
Just as we were trying to shift to another, more comfortable position, we saw another elk coming right up the same path the others had used. This time it was a legal bull. Caitlin put the 30-30 on my shoulder and waited for the elk to move into a perfect open spot on the other side. The bull was taking his time and in no hurry. I whispered to Caitlin that it was a “Shooter”. I felt her pull the hammer back and take the safety off. Just as the bull stepped into the tiny open area, I felt Caitlin slip a bit. As she readjusted her aim the bull stopped and sniffed the ground. He was very interested in what the tracks of the others might have to say. Caitlin steadied her aim and leveled her gun out and right as I was expecting to hear a loud bang, ….. I slipped a little. Not much, but enough that it messed up her aiming. The bull still stood there, broad side, sniffing the ground less than 50 yards away. As she again tried to steady her aim neither one of us could find a secure position. We probably slid less than 6 inches total but it was little bitty, herky-jerky, movements all the way. And the Bull just walked right out of sight. At first I was worried she would be mad that she had lost such a great opportunity. But she took it very well and for the next several hours she just fed off of that moment.
We continued to walk down the draw and stopped at some nice wallows. We spooked one more elk that day but never seen much of him. Mason also had some luck that day. Just before sunset, he looked up and there was a 4 point bull standing broad side about 60 yards away looking right at him. He tells the story all calm, cool, and collective however his shots were anything but true. It appears he suffered a severe case of Buck Fever. we had to leave on Sunday evening and got back home around midnight ready to start a very busy work week again.
So no more meat for the table from this hunt but I now have two young hunters that are all ready chomping at the bit and making big plans for next year. I can’t blame them.

Good luck to all you guys and gals in the hills this hunting season. Hopefully your hunt and time in the field is enjoyable even if you don’t fill your tags. Woody.

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[swizz]

Woody,
That was an awesome tale and you had me on the edge of my seat there for a minute! I thought for sure she was gonna get a shot off. Really glad that you had time to take the kids out and definitely sounds like they had a good time. I cannot think of a better guide than YOU.
Thanks for taking us along (vicariously) for that adventure!

[Woody]

This week I was able to get back up to the spot where I have been doing some rock hounding at before the snow fell. I continued working the seam of Amazonite I had started earlier. After a short while the green Amazonite started to transition into harder bits and pieces. There was even the occasional showing of smoky Quartz. I dug around that seam for several hours and found some samples that looked like they would clean up nice.
I had been in an uncomfortable position for a long time and decided to try a different approach. So I dropped down hill a couple of yards and started to dig in the scree. I quickly uncovered some nice large sections that at one time had good crystal growth on the top sides. That indicated to me there was once a shelf protruding out of this spot with good Amazonite. I continued to dig in the alluvial decomposing granite and found enough large pieces to encourage this method of searching. I wish I could have seen these sections of rock before Father Time took a little off the top, so to speak.

Now everything is covered in about 10 inches of snow and might stay that way for the winter. I am so glad I shifted some priorities around and took the time to go on what might be my last opportunity to dig in the ground for a while. I will still get out, I just have to change my plans to accommodate winter. Stay warm everyone, Woody.

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[Woody]

Here is a pic after I did a quick clean up. I still have not got around to buying the right cleaning accessories that everyone keeps telling me about. Hopefully I will soon and can make a winter project out of cleaning a lot of my rocks.

The last pic shows two of my best pieces ever. I did find one rock that was too large to carry out whole and I might save that story for another time.

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[Denise]

Fantastic finds Woody, you definately hit a good spot! Maybe you can sneak into the kitchen and "borrow" some of the vinegar for cleaning them up a bit till you can get some SIO.

After a short while the green Amazonite started to transition into harder bits and pieces.

I'm seeing a baby blue color Woody........... Maybe we should ask CP or Swizz what color they see?

[swizz]

aqua!

[Woody]

Thanks Mrs Cp,

and Swizz I think Aqua fits nicely in the realm of possibilities of color. Sometime I will have to do a line-up and show the full spectrum of colors I have of it so far. Quite versital. This spot should give me pleanty of oppertunities to get out of the house anytime I am feeling bored. Hopefully the snow will not be too bad and I can get to it this winter as well. woody.

[Woody]

This weekend was kind of nasty around here. The recent snows have pretty much melted and left the foot hills in my area muddy. I decided to head south a bit and take the stepson Rabbit Hunting. Living on the Front Range of Colorado does have its drawbacks, including having to drive for over 60 miles just to hunt a rabbit. Back home I can drive 4 miles and get my limit without putting in a full day of work. Here I’m lucky to get two but you know how it goes, …. “If you can’t be with the one you love….
Any way we did have a good day of it. We saw 5 rabbits and got three. It was some tuff hunting. The ratio was one to one. For every mile we walked, we saw one rabbit. For now I’ll take those odds and be glad to have them. It had been a long time since I was able to get out hunting small game, I think three years now.
The first rabbit jumped up and took off at around 60 yards. I threw some lead at him but he was never in any real danger. I used the excuse that I had to knock some of the rust off of me. I’m pretty sure I heard the rabbit chuckle but I think the stepson bought it. The next rabbit jumped up in front of the youngster and he yelled, “Rabbit”! But it was too late, I done rolled em’. Uh, the rabbit that is. Not the youngen’. We seen another Fleabag streak across the prairie but he was about two counties away and just outside of my missile range. The next rabbit popped up and started boogieing off to my right. I just sort of Flat-Lined him right there and put an end to all the drama. Then we walked for at least two more miles and didn’t see a thing. Just before we got back to the truck we were fairly worn out and my ol’ butt was draggin. I was plodding along and snapped back to the living when I heard the crack of a shotgun. Mason bent down and picked up his rabbit and came up with a big ol grin on his face. It was a long walk but it could have been longer. That was the first rabbit he ever got all by his “onezies”.
After that we went to another location and did not see a thing. We were in an area I knew well and I called a halt for lunch in a spot that looked promising for what I was after next. As we ate our sandwiches I started poking around in the rocks and in just a short time I had found what I was looking for. Sharks Teeth! And quite a lot of them at that. Spent maybe an hour playing in the rocks but came away with a nice haul. You just got to love good old Colorado. Where else can you go Rabbit and Shark Teeth hunting all in the same day? Have a good one, Woody.

In these first few pics you can really see how different some of the teeth are. But they are all from Sharks of one type or another.

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[Woody]

Look at how well preserved some of these are. You can still clearly see the serrated edges still on the teeth in the next pic. The last pic shows mainly the teeth from a type of Crusher Shark. It has a funny name. Something like Whipple-lot-alus.

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[swizz]

Woody, I am definitely awestruck at your Shark Teeth! Just..... WOW, nice stuff there.
I posted a classic just for you in the Jam Sessions category to go with your Rabbit hunting adventure.
(I accidentally added it to Denise's "Love Shack" thread.... oops, n00b )

[Denise]

Very cool shark tooth finds Woody! It amazes me all the different things one can find here in Colorado while out prospecting.

So what do you do with the rabbit pelts Woody Fudd?....hehe


Great song Swizz!!