My last outing, A Weekly posting Options

[RyanRoberts]

Those look so cool polished up!

[Denise]

I love following your adventures Woody, great finds! Good job on the cabochons and settings, they look great!!

[Woody]

Hi all,

I'm still working late nights on the Cabochons. Each one brings about a new set of lessons, but at least I'm making forward progress. For the last couple of weekends I've been concentrating on an area I call the "Back Forty".
It is perhaps the most rugged area that I frequently visit. With winter right around the corner I wanted to spend some time here before it gets snowed in. It will probably be around the end of March before this hillside sees any
sun again, so even a little snow last long here.

Anyways I made a video and it is interesting... not so much for the Quality of the Crystals, but more so for the location, or hole that they are coming form. I opened up a large hollow spot that I can clearly see good material
in. I just can't get to them..... Yet!

I hope everyone is ready for Winter, cause it look's like she's a coming. Woody

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1NrjdWfXRw

[Denise]

Very cool Woody, it looks like a great spot! Sweet finds!!

Stay safe out there and happy hunting.

[Woody]

Hi All,

Well I got out again last weekend, found some material that made the trip back home. I still have not returned to that big hole I started opening up a couple weeks back but that's ok, It'll give me something to do once the snow sets in heavy. Here is a
pic from this last weekend. I also fond a few cubes of Fluorite but they did not show much color. Those fluorites are tricky! One minute to the next you can go from dull, etched and bland, to colorful and see-through. I guess the best advice is to stay in
the game and eventually you'll pull something out worthy of top shelf!

Have a good week, Woody.

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[Crusty]

Whoa! That's a big ol fella!! Nice!

[Denise]

Very cool large piece of Microcline Woody! Would make a great display specimen for showing handcrafted jewelry and such.

[Woody]

Hi Denise,

So that big stone in the last pic is actually a single piece of Quartz. It has a heavy red stain and was very dirty, I guess I threw an unintentional curve ball at you. Here it is at the house all cleaned up. It has unusual, deep pitting on all the facets. I bet it
would react well to SOI. Might have to try it. If you think you could get some use from it let me know. I'll get it to you one way or another or I'll drop it off the next time I'm down that way.

have a good one, Woody.

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[Denise]

Wow, that's a great Quartz specimen! Always hard to see what one has till it's cleaned up.
Thank you, that's very generous of you Woody but I was thinking for you and the jewelry you're making now.


Nice find!!

[MikeS]

Cool quartz cluster! Beautiful cabochons as well! Good work Woody.

[Woody]

Hey Mike,

Thanks! You and your brother ought to come down and visit me sometime when your in the Springs. I've got some "interesting" items setting aside that might challenge you guys. Every once in a blue-moon, I'll come a cross a specimen that just doesn't
fit in with the rest. Most I figure out in time, but over the years I've managed to accumulate some that's still eluded identification.

If you ever get down t his way, feel free to stop in. Woody.

[Woody]

Hi All,

Over the years I’ve had the pleasures of meeting many people who were interested in Crystal Gems and Rockhounding in general. Probably the most frequent question I have been asked is, “How did these items form?” recently I made a promise to
dig-up some literature which explained the process and made the development easy to follow. Here is a video documentary made by Novia that makes the entire process seem simple. It focuses a lot on the formation of Diamonds, but if you change
the ingredients of the molecule, then all the other gems form in a relatively similar way. I will warn you, the Video is 50 minutes long but I think it is very interesting and informative. It also introduces a new theory about the development of Plate Tectonics.

https://youtu.be/2SXdxZZ07AQ


Enjoy, Woody.

[CP]

Thanks for adding that up in the forum Woody, that does sound extremely interesting! I'll look forward to watching that soon when I can sit down for the whole length and enjoy.

[MikeS]

That was a good NOVA program. I will surely try to stop by next time I am down that way Woody.

[Woody]

Hi All,

I hope everyone took advantage of this great weather we had during the extended weekend. Myself I headed over to the Western Slope and spent Thanksgiving with family over there. Had a great time! Also on the way over
I stopped at the claim and dug 6 buckets of dirt. This was a planned event because I needed to bring in some Winter Supplies, “so to speak”. Cabin Fever can be lethal if caught wedged between 4 walls for an extended period
of time and I pity the fool who is unprepared.

The water level was the lowest I’ve seen it which made for great access to parts of the river not reachable during the higher volume of summer. I never even bothered to bring my gold pan to the river, I just screened the
material down to ½ inch, loaded the buckets into the truck and got back on the road again. The next day, after we had all eaten our fill, I put some dirt in my pan and handed it to one of the kids. Within 10 minutes I had three
generations of “Kids” with their noses stuck in a pan. I only had the one gold pan so we had to use anything we could find. Plastic bowls, old Tupperware, dish pans, plates whatever was available. The gold was nothing to
speak of, but the garnets were the focus of our attention. The biggest ones were about a half-inch and some garnets had multi-faceted faces. The best ones had facets visible on all sides. The smaller ones seem to have better
clarity than the bigger ones. That was last weekend…… I’m already down to 4 buckets left. Good thing I have a bunch of Zircon dirt stashed away.

“just a little heads-up for my fellow river associates” While I was digging the material, I found a rock that still had garnets in the matrix. This makes the 3rd such rock I have found so far. The biggest of the 3 rocks is about
the size of a plate. So keep your eyes open for schist, if you find some look it over for garnets before you chuck it.

Have a good one, Woody.

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