Fieldtrip Report:

JXR Five Dollar Dig
October 15th, 2006

Written by Steve Barr
Photos provided by Steve Barr, Becky Rodgers and
Rodney Moore

Another pocket in the wall. Note the amethyst beginning to be exposed in the white clay. The white clay is a major sign that you are getting close to gems at this location.

Another nice specimen. Note the white clay on this digger's hands. The white clay on your hands is a major sign that you've just hit paydirt!

This is a pretty little shelf specimen that I'm sure will be proudly displayed in Becky's house.

Here are two beautiful pieces that made the trip home with Marcy. She and Becky impressed everyone with how hard they dug, how determined they were and how big their smiles were when they pulled these crystals out of the ground.

Speaking of impressive, this incredible specimen was unearthed by a woman who was on her first gem hunting trip! She found this beauty in the dump piles, and I'm guessing she will be hooked on rockhounding for the rest of her life.

Many, many more nice gems were found all over the property. Some, like this one, were in matrix. Others were just loose floaters found in clumps
of clay.

Some MAGMA finds.

A nice cluster of amethyst waiting to
be cleaned up properly and proudly displayed.

Small drusie cluster with light amethyst.

One of Becky's favorites.

As the sun begins to dip below the horizon, Kyle and Gene get ready to say goodbye and head for home.

All in all, it was an incredible weekend adventure, spent with good old friends and many new ones. Leah and her daughters drove all the way from Alabama and went home with so many boulders stuffed into the back of their vehicle that I couldn't help laughing when I saw them. I watched another family back their pickup truck onto the property at the end of the day and take turns loading rocks with nice clusters into the bed. They all drove off smiling. So did I. It was a nearly perfect day. Great weather. Great friends. Great finds. It doesn't get much better than that!

 

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