Dying to get out Rockhounding Again!

I  have been cooped up in this house for weeks now, and I am ready to get going again!  I have several northwest places in mind, but lucky for me, soon we will be traveling back to our home state of New Mexico for a family reunion and hopefully some successful rockhounding!

I have only been out a couple of times recently, and one trip was to Greenwater where half the gates were still closed, and up to the Carbon River mining district down the road.  We did find a few OK rocks and one awesome rock!

Those of you who know rocks and the areas I am referring to will know where I got this rock.  It is amazing!  I hate to say it, but I have kept some of our best locations secret, well, for obvious reasons. Duh!

Tourmaline Crystals, Malachite, Azurite

Now the big question is; sell this stone as a specimen or keep it and pass it on to my family.  Huh!  Good question.  I will have to think about it.

I am in particular looking forward to my trip to get back to NM and collect some great petrified wood!  It is everywhere!  I remember a Girl Scout hike into the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, and when we stopped to eat lunch, I was sitting beneath a juniper and picked up a large chunk of what I thought was wood.  Lo and behold, it was petrified wood.  Who knew!  It may be at that point that a rockhound was born.  I still have many pieces that my Dad collected over his lifetime.  One of the things I did when we had to move my parents out of their home of 50 years, was scour the rocks in their yard.  My brother and sister thought I was crazy!

Anyway in NM we have one wonderful spot where petrified wood is everywhere and free to collect.  It comes in all shapes and sizes, some is agatized, some is crystal lined, some looks like plain sandstone.  It's amazing!

One of My Last Rockhounding Trips with my Parents

Seriously this wood is laying everywhere.  And some of it is large!

Petrified Tree Trunk

Pieces of Petrified Wood and a Cactus

Some people may wonder why I like New Mexico.  There is something really beautiful about the blue skies and being able to see forever.  I love the desert.  It is awesome.  I even love the cactus, particularly after a recent rain, when they bloom!  I don't particularly like the heat sometimes, but in the spring and fall, it is wonderful!  I also miss the feeling of history that surrounds you there.  Here in Washington it seems like everything melts back into the forest.

Old Adobe - Big Skies

Cactus After Rain in New Mexico

A Different Color

Did I forget to mention New Mexico has lots of rocks?  I must also mention the neat Pecos Diamonds we will be searching for!

Pecos Diamonds

Anyway, to make ends meet since I had to quit my job to help care for my parents, I have been selling some of my wonderful finds on Etsy.  You might want to check it out  And keep checking back.  I am going to have some great things coming back with me from NM.

Check out my minerals for sale on my Etsy shop, SouthPrairieHandmade!

Large Crystalized Petrified Wood Half Round