The goodies are out there, we just have to do some research then get out there and look.
Some locations are so plentiful, you can see them on the ground, just awaiting to be discovered.

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This little piece even has some moss growing on it because its been waiting to be found so long....hehe

mmmmm........ Bubblicious......mmmmmmm...

Sometimes the colors even jump out at you.
Most of the stuff found on the surface is small, but perfect for tumbeling.
Anybody else finding goodies right on the ground like this?

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Pinon Mesa near Grand Junction has some nice agate laying all over the ground. Have found a lot of nice stuff for tumbling up there.

Would that be Chalcedony?

I love Agate Rich, will have to check that out sometime! What kind of colors?

Yes it is HighPlainsSifter, good eye. Some of the pieces we found even looked like crystal flowers.

I have tons and tons of that very near my house. That is a lovely piece.

Thanks, I would love to see pics of what it looks like in your area.
Here is a small piece that has a dark colored inclusion inside it. Piece is as small as my finger tip, but has great detail I think.

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Why is it pink. Would that be iron/rust patina?

I will take some pics of the area for you.

Im not sure HighPlainsSifter, but It sure is cool. Especially with the darker inclusion inside.
Im looking forward to seeing pics from your area.

This is a piece that Mike found and gave to me. It definately shows color!
Here is a picture of the front side with druzy......then a picture of the backside showing whats causing the colors.
(red and orange)

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Pardon my dry thumb in the pic.

I'm not cerain on the red color either, but it appears to be an inclusion (iron stain possibly? is what we thought too) in a few of the begining formation layers against the matrix material the chalcedony formed in.

The darker spots seem to be related to the begining layers formed too. Once we get a couple samples polished out it will be fun to see what they look like with the clear agate layers overlying polished. The first cuts have pure white bubbles under the clear bubbles which should really be cool when cabbed out.

Looking forward to seeing some pics for sure HighPlainsSifter.

CP

My apologies, I will post some soon. Near my house is a very beautiful gorge, that has a prehistoric look to it. I know, arent all formation really prehistoric? But when you step into this gorge, you get the distinct feeling of stepping back in time. The problem with this gorge, is that even at my tender age, I hesitate to go by myself, because of the very rugged terrain. It would take only one slip to fall and hurt yourself badly. Now I dont mind taking the chance on that, because I do love the area, but its been hard to get someone to go with me. As soon as I can, then I will post some pics not only of the Chalcedony, but of the rock formations and the caves of the area.
It is very pristine and I think it is also prime for rock hounding and nugget shooting, as it has only been used for cattle.

My understanding of Chalcedony, is that it is formed at lower temps and thus has the bubbly formations. It is lighter because of the bubbles and therefore unlike solid quartz and heavier metals, it has a tendancy to migrate towards the surface and not down towards bedrock. Someone please correct me if I am wrong on this assumption. I can tell you that I create water fountains. Some of the prettiest water fountains I have created have been lighted and I use a lot of Chalcedony, because of its translucent look and how it picks up the light.

The pics you show, really do look like iron has colored them. I have seen them colored like this before. What I have not seen, is the pink one that Mrs CP posted. I would be very interested in knowing more about the lcation where that one was found. Also its size?

oooooooooo.....Very cool!!! You have pictures of your fountains? We would all love to see some of your art work, and those sound fantastic.
No rush on the other pics....Safety first always.

The piece I found with the dark inclusion is about 1/2" wide, and was found about 20 miles or so NW of Monta Vista Colorado. It fits on the tip of my index finger.

You know I had all my pics stored on the computer that crashed in Feb. I was not smart enough to put them on photobucket or some such website. When I get back to Colorado Springs, I plan on setting up business. Not only do I do desktop, but I also make large room size as a center piece. Some I have sold by contract and get up to a few thousand dollars.

But in todays economy, I think I will have better luck with the desktop models. I used to do the shows years ago and I am anxious to get back to them. Working for the man these past years, didnt allow me the time to commit to them. Its really all in my head after I find the materials. They are like snowflakes...no 2 are alike.

I also really like your picks! Makes me envious that I never thought of making them. Do you market them? If so, do you have a website for them? I would like to see more!

Your water fountains sound fantastic! I'll be patient for pics.
Feel free to list them in the forums for sale section If you want.

You havent seen the rest of the website yet? Well sounds like you need a tour....hehe
My husband Dan and myself run and operate ColoradoProspector.com.
We created it in 2003 to help people find and learn how to research for open land to prospect on.
Since then, it has progressed into much more.

All the website work is done by Dan and myself. So if you find something broken.....Dan did it!
(Sticks tongue at Dan ).......just kidding

If were not out finding goodies, we are cleaning and working them to bring out their beauty.
We also created the Miners Market to help keep the website going, and so people have a trusted place they can list their mining related creations.
Thanks for the compliments on the guitar picks! You can find them in the "Folk Art" section. Stone sculptures I make are coming soon. Only have pics of those in the forum here so far.


I think its also a good site to bookmark as your home page.
I may be a bit partial of the site though.....hehe
Check it out and let us know what you think.

I just wernt to the Miners market. So much to see on this site that I just hadnt gotten there yet. I may take you up on your offer to post the fountains. I have 6 in inverntory now, so I will start taking pics again soon. I do have one 2 part question......
1. Is it always the mans fault
1A You dont know my wife do you?

LOL.....

Naaa, Its just fun to tell them it is...... I bet your wife would agree.

I think my wife of 25 years allows me to believe that I am in charge, but I repeat alows me to believe that. She is the steadier influence.

Your too funny.

The ones that are tumbeling are turning out great! More are showing the pink tint now that they are cleaner.
Here is a picture of a little crystal flowers that I also found.


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Some were even mixing with the Chalcedony in some pieces, like this bigger one in my hand.

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Very nice! I simply must get off my butt and get to take those pics!

This spot sure caught my eye! Not sure how this formed (erosion/formation), but it sure looks cool. The one on the right almost looks like it snapped or folded over.


Any ideas anyone? I would sure love to know more about it. Might be a fun place to go back and check out!

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Sure looks interesting. Is that a tailings pile in th background???

I think that is the natural hill side climbing upwards in the background. The scenery and dirt colors change quick also.
Here is another spot that is interesting looking. Almost looked man made when I first saw it.

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Cool pic! I wonder if those rock have any fossils in them??

You never know nmjack, there are areas in Colorado known for fossils.

While out exploring, we came across this.
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Here is where the bats were roosting. Im no Guano miner, so we will gladly continue on to a different area.
Plus bats are sensative to their roosts being messed with. So I took my pics and moved on.


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This was a little more eye catching!

It is wet because water was seeping out of the mountain on it.
Hard to see in the picture, but there is a mix of something green running through it.

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This is a beautiful blue rock, but a bit too big for the backpack. Its almost like a Chrysocolla or Turquoise color. Rock is not cleaned off at all or wet in picture.

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Snack while you hike if you dare. Notice the one on guard?

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There was green and blue all over the place! Here is an example of some green nodules forming in the Breccia.
The bigger one in my hand appears to be an agate nodule. See the little green one still sticking in the rock?

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OOOOOOO! That bigger nodule in the last pic was cut open.
Amazing blue banded agate taking on a star shape the way Dan cut it.

Here is one of the green nodule broken still in the host rock.
Almost looks like a green M&M with a dark chocolate center. Ok, so I have chocolate on the brain.
Maybe Goethite? Will have to get the loop out and take a closer look.

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The bottom of this waterfall sure looks like a great place to have a seat and take a break.
What a great way to cool off at the end of the day!


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Nice waterfall pic honey, what a great spot to take a cool down! Literally Brrrrr, chilly water!

Here is that agate nodule pictured above chopped in half then polished. Cute lil' buggar, think we'll have to see if there could be more of these out there. Like that blue!

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I definately want to find more of those agate nodules!
Here is a close up of one I found with different little nodules still in the rock.

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No telling what you will find while out exploring! Seems every area we go, it offers something cool and different, including its scenery.
Ever feel like you were being watched, when it was just you and the rocks around?

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This was an added rock bonus. I didnt see it worth keeping, but my 9 year old saw it as the find of the day.
Lets see those finds everyone! I know we arent the only ones out enjoying this great land of ours.

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Cool Beans! That photo above the snakeskin looks like a petrified old car hiding behing a rock.

Too cool!

Thanks d.

faaus

Good to hear from you Larry! Maybe one of the old "Flintstones" original models, - the stone tires?

Things that make you go.....hmmmmm.
This rock looks like a big mushroom, but those would have to be some small bats to leave that Guana under the cap.


Lets just call this one shelter from the storm.

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Cool pics honey. That last one definately looks like a mushroom.....extra large size.

Here's a small fluorite we found while out doing some new area research around Colorado. Very small but good shape and quite clear....possibly a tint of blue and a small dark inclusion. We weren't expecting to find one of these that day, but we aren't complainin'.
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Hopefully everyone is finding some nifty stuff this season so far. Still some great weather left yet, get out there for an adventure soon.

mmmmm Fluorite! There are so many amazing places in Colorado for finding goodies

Dont know what it is about this area, but I sure get a good feeling about finding nice goodies.


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Here is a cool Star Quartz. We found a bunch of these! Is it just me, or does anyone else see the heart in the center?

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Dan decided to cut one in half since we had several to see what was inside. Dont worry, I saved it and polished out the backside. Sure is pretty stuff!

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No telling what your going to find when your out there looking.
Here is a cool piece. This stuff was all over the place. Its pretty hard stuff too!
Some kind of Chert or Jasper? Sure is pretty.

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This is a cool little nodule. The whole thing twinkles in the sun.

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You can see by the broken edge that its 2 solid layers of quartz crystals.
I was thinking this one might make a nice heart.

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They are calling for snow this weekend, but none so far where we are digging!
Have a great weekend everyone, and stay safe out there.

Weather was a bit scary looking for snow, but it blew right past. Here is a little mushroom that was hiding out in the rocks.
This mushroom is a bit smaller than the rock mushroom above. This one is as small as a dime.

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Guess this little mushroom gets to grow for a bit longer. What a fantastic way to enjoy the fresh air in the great outdoors!

Little d, I think you stumbled upon a leprechaun's golf ball! He was just getting ready to tee-off when he heard you crunching along and had to hide. Look around the area for his bag of gold!

Still love this site and the great posts...(even Scottinski's - LOL!)

You folks are the greatest!

Heavy Pans,
faaus

You had me going there for a minute Faaus. It got me looking around trying to see If I could find his gold, and lo and behold...........


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Rats.... Thats not gold! Guess I scared another one, but this one uses orange golf balls.

Guess the search continues.........

Wow! Think we found another sweet agate spot. In some places here in Colorado, the agate is strewn all over the ground. Here is a cool piece that has great banding!

Top view...
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Side view...
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The search continues..............But I wasnt expecting to make a find in the glove box of the truck.

Here is a beautiful smokey Quartz with little purple Fluorites on it. Guess it was hiding from us from our last crystal dig.
Its such a rush when you hit a sweet pocket filled with crystal goodies by the handfull, no telling at the end of the day where one has stashed them all. Flats in the back of the truck, backpack filled, your pockets filled with little finds, buckets etc.

I scratched off some of the dried coating with my fingernail so you could see the nice dark smokey.


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Amazing how it lasted in the glovebox without cracking the Fluorites. Guess the temp changes were gradual and not too quick.....whew!

It is amazing that the flourite wasn't damaged while bouncing about the glove box. Nice specimen!

No bouncing!! It was wrapped in a bit of TP, and placed to the back.
It sure is a pretty one, and will clean up nicely. The other side also has Fluorites. Its tip is perfect, including 3 small Fluorite faces not seen in that pic. Dan recognized it right away. He said it was from the Spring Fling in 08'.

Poor Smokey. Im going to have to file charges against Dan for crystal neglect!!