My last outing, A Weekly posting Options

[lostnewb]

I'm sure he will. His dad's name is Chris. The other day I took his dad along on a crystal hunt. He had been out with me a few times before but we had not really found much material. Earlier this winter I went on a duck hunt with Chris and his dad and I learned that the whole family shared the interest of rock hounding. So I decided to help them step it up a notch. I had been meaning to re-look at an area that I first dug into many years ago. At that time I was quite green and I can remember finding some stuff that looked kind of like quarts but wasn't. So I just tossed it down the hill with the rest of the overburden. I later learned that it was in fact low grade Fluorite.

I always meant to return to that area but keep saving it for a good cause and this seemed to fit the bill nicely. As we made our way up the hill I was picking here, poking there, and just shy of my intended hole I found a small area that held all the key indicators. A simple flick of the pick produced a few low grade crystals and lots of purple clay. So much purple material that later I would come to call this hole the Deep Purple Pocket. Together we worked that spot for a few hours and it became clear there was a lot more to be unearthed. I figured this would be a great stopping spot and we left it "ripe for the pickings". I knew him and his entire family would return the next day and had high hopes for them finding a few goodies.

That next day he brought along his wife, his son & daughter, "I think 4 and 6" and his dad. Together they worked that pocket and indeed pulled out some nice items. I had been in another area and met them just as they were getting to the car. What a sight we all looked. Everyone covered from head to toe with dirt and sporting Raccoon Eyes from the dust on their faces. We looked like the type of motley crew most folks would try real hard to avoid.

And good for us! We had all just spent the entire day rooting in the ground trying to find some minerals, old and young alike. I admit we probably would have had a hard time blending in with even the local Wal-Mart, but we were part of an exclusive club none the less. If wealth was judged by the width of a smile then our pockets were full of gold. The young'ens were priceless. Sure they looked as if they had been gnawing on pine sap but they were very excited to show me what they had found and you could tell they had fun. For the second time in a week I was thanked for sharing in good, quality family fun and it felt great.

The Deep Purple Pocket is still producing. I think it will kind of blend in with another pocket and became one. There should be enough material to get in several outings with my new digging partners. I'll post up a few pictures as digging continues. I can't wait to do it again, Woody.

This cyrstal came from that pocket and has yet to be cleaned. It is about the size of a Mason Jar.

Woody,
They sure are hooked now. They ask me daily when we are going to head back up. I am hoping to get them back up friday. The big crystal actually has three points to it. I still havent got it cleaned up yet as I have been stuck with work. I will post pics soon of others that I have pulled out of this pocket. Last week I found two that were double terminated.

We cant thank you enough Woody.

Chris

[Crusty]

Woody,
They sure are hooked now. They ask me daily when we are going to head back up. I am hoping to get them back up friday. The big crystal actually has three points to it. I still havent got it cleaned up yet as I have been stuck with work. I will post pics soon of others that I have pulled out of this pocket. Last week I found two that were double terminated.

We cant thank you enough Woody.

Chris

That's awesome; great finds!!

[Woody]

Here is a progress report on the Deep Purple pocket.

It has produced a wide variety of Crystals. While some are as big as a football, others are smaller than a pea. It has produced some nice platelets as well. Most of the material is not very clear with only one or two sides looking glossy at best. Interesting to the person that pulled them out of the ground but nothing a person could sell anywhere. The hole has not completely dried up yet, however I think the best is behind us now and what remains has become difficult to get at. It should still have a few items left for the next person but soon it will require a lot of work to gain access to the pay zone. And with that zone producing very little I think it would be safe to say it is soon over with.

Here is a picture of a platelet that came from that pocket. Have a good one, Woody.

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[swizz]

Woody, that's another spectacular piece! Have you ID'd all of the crystals on that plate? Interesting that they're sprawled in all directions too.... that one could tell a story.

[lostnewb]

That's a nice piece Woody. Figured I would add a couple more pics of some finds from the deep purple pocket.

Thanks again Woody this has been a great learning experience for the whole family.

Chris

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[Crusty]

awesome looking stuff!

[Caveman]

Woody - I have a spot here in the Sangre's - open to entry, would you be interested in helping me investigate it?

[lostnewb]

Got some time off this week. Hoping to head up at least twice this week. Maybe once to Devils head and a re-visit to the deep purple pocket. Wish me luck I will be sure to post picks of anything I find.

Chris

[NewRockHounder]

Just a quick question... Are you guys hard-rock mining for these?

I've never seen anything like this before, really peaked my interests.

[Woody]

First a little "catch-Up"

- Sorry for not responding sooner Caveman. I ment to take you up on your offer and then time got ahead of me and I could not plan it in. I'd love to go up there with you just have to make time.

- No NewRockhounder, almost all of my diggs are in the dirt. Very little Hard rock mining.

[Woody]

Here is a video that I promised some people I’d make like 6 months back. I did not include all the shots I wanted but I think it does the job. Fluorite is a very common collectable mineral in Colorado and a lot of new rockhounds are always asking how to tell the difference. I can remember in my younger years even I tossed some over my shoulder before I learned. Hope you enjoy the video, Woody.

http://youtu.be/zuYChrJEW-o

[NewRockHounder]

The link didn't work, Woody. Said to be the owner of the video or something.

[MikeS]

Here is a video that I promised

It is showing the video as "private" and won't let me see it even when I am logged in to YT. Maybe the privacy setting?

[MikeS]

I can remember in my younger years even I tossed some over my shoulder before I learned.

My first Fluorite was eyeballed first and I didn't see any structure so I tossed it over my shoulder. It cut my finger as it left my hand so I went and grabbed it and found a crystal on the side of this rusty lookin rock. The rock was almost as big as my head and this crystal was the size of a nickel. So I took my rock hammer and smashed it into several pieces with one blow. Purple, blue and green went flying everywhere and I realized I just destroyed the coolest thing I had ever found a that point. Since then I have learned to take it easy, slow and take a second look. I still throw stuff over my shoulders sometimes.

[Caveman]

Woody, I will get it set up and then we can get together on a time. It is about a 20 minute drive south of here, and there's a little hiking involved that you should thoroughly enjoy! It's a little placer stream, and there's also some interesting rock around, according to the guy I talked with. Talk equipment later.