Fieldtrip Report:

JXR Fieldtrip Report

Written by Steve Barr

Photos by Don Aldridge, Mark Randle, Jorie Billingsley
and Mrs. Painter

The huge three-day machine dig at JXR was a roaring success. I drove down to Georgia on Thursday night to set up camp and prepare for the hoards of people I knew would descend on the site early the next morning. Sitting around the campfire with Ed that night, I was treated to a spectacular meteor shower and watched shooting stars streak from one side of the sky to the other.

Amethyst in wall.

On Friday morning, folks began to arrive and immediately set to work rummaging through all of the old dump piles while we waited for the gigantic earth moving equipment to arrive. As soon as it got there, Rodney fired that bad baby up and got right to work. He moved massive piles of earth and rock, building up an assortment of fresh tailing piles for everyone to sift through. It wasn't long before you could hear screams coming from all directions as those infamous purple crystals began popping out of the ground.

Amethyst smiles.

Vein of amethyst.

I have never seen as much amethyst found at JXR as I did during those three days.

Bailey Painter

On Saturday, the film crew from the Travel Channel showed up. They were taping a new episode of the "America's Best Places to Find Cash and Treasures" show. Rodney took the crew down into the pit and showed them how to work JXR. Within just minutes, the hostess of the show found her own amethyst.

Travel channel hostess.

Hostess in the pit with Rodney.

The entire film crew had such a great time that they stayed for hours after they finished filming, frantically searching for purple. Just like the rest of us, they ended up covered head-to-toe in dirt and mud and dripping with sweat. As usual, Don and Marie served up fabulous free meals to keep us all full of energy, and spent hours grinding homemade ice cream to cool us off.

Marie and crystal.

Marie was rewarded for her efforts by finding some nice specimens of her own. Don spent most of his time following the blonde host of the TV show around, clicking pictures until Marie finally had to take his camera away, give it to Romare and send Don back to the grill to keep him out of trouble!

M.A.G.M.A. member Ed Cansler being interviewed by the Travel Channel.

Nancy and Ed, both members of MAGMA, were interviewed for the show. They brought along some of their great finds from the past to show to the viewers, and Nancy literally glowed as she exhibited that incredible amethyst necklace she found on her first gem hunt she ever went on. As we all know, she is now known as "The Chunkfinder", and she continued finding big stuff during the RoundUp this past weekend.

Bailey and a nice crystal.

Bailey and another find.

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