In June the Mineral Collectors of Utah (M.C.U.) club members, myself included, had the great opportunity to tour the personal and privately held collection of Dr. William B. Wray Jr.'s rocks, minerals, gems and fossils - of which, can be most definitely called world class. !!!
We started out early to see the museum in Milford, Utah, stopping along the way to sight-see and collect rocks in several areas. It really was a perfect day for our field trip - white clouds, blue sky and not too hot.
The following photos are just some, about half, of Dr. Bill Wray's collection. If my camera's battery hadn't run out, or I would have taken photos of the whole shebang.
The enormity of the collection is astounding. Each piece is pristine and absolutely gorgeous! To accurately describe what we saw is impossible - you REALLY have to SEE IT to believe it. It's quite overwhelming and left me in a state of "awe."
Please note: Taking photos of items that are inside of glass cases is difficult. I did my best. To "bigify" just click the pic.
Thank you for looking. Enjoy. :)
The Museum of Dr. William B. Wray Jr. ~ his personal collection of rocks, minerals, gems, and fossils fill this two story building, wall to wall.
Some of many, many lighted, glass enclosed cabinets.
Huge pieces of deep colored tanzanite.
Deep, rich amethyst geode, over 3 foot high.
Close to 5 feet! Speaking of feet, those are club member Curt Forrester's toesies!
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The colors.......Wow. Just......WOW
"Two Iguanas" carved of Serpentine.
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Can there be a more perfect blue?
Amethyst geode with Calcite center.
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Natural Citrine geodes - 5 foot, plus!
Giant crystals!
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Here we have the biggest pieces of my favorite -
Verdelite & Rubellite together....
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...which is Watermelon Tourmaline, right?
Wowie, wow, wow, WOW! ~ Rubellite
I swear, some rocks look good enough to eat!
You know, that pink-peachy one.... yummm
Much bigger and more impressive in person!
Enormous piece of carved Rhodochrosite - absolutely stunning!
Spodumene Kunzite - trust me, this piece is as big as a fireplace log!
OK, that's all the photos I have of Bill's museum, but remember that is only HALF of what there is to see!
And of course I couldn't take any photos of his fluorescent collection, either.
I'm so glad I didn't miss seeing this! - - - even though it makes my own rock collection look like pea gravel. :(
Please
Thank you!
COOLNESS!
ReplyDeleteYou owe me a new jaw cuz mine just dropped! WOW
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you'll get this, but it's worth a shot...Just discovered (7/7/2018)your site while trying to figure out what the great old building in Milford was that I photographed during my recent road trip...it was Dr. Wray's museum!! Wish I had known, though it seems like it's now closed? I'm writing to say it was delightful to scroll through the AMAZING images you posted here, and your passion ("Wowie, wow, wow!") is infectious, for sure. Thanks for the awesome eye treats!
ReplyDeleteRecently had an opportunity to spend a couple of hours here as well. The collection is stunning! Took many pictures. Bill is an amazing individual who has dedicated his life to this collection. I could have spent days there! Have good pics of the fluorescent stuff too. If you want any of the pics let me know.
ReplyDeleteHi Bill, Trying to reach you by phone, text, or email. Carol and I just missed you at Mineral City according to Dave Bunk. I believe that was on February 5, 2024.
ReplyDelete