Rockin' Adventures

Field Trip, 07/22/14

Little Cottonwood Canyon, Utah

While on an outing to see the wildflowers.....

.....I found a treasure!  A granite rock with lots of lovely colorful minerals on it!  Ain't that a beaut?

My 1st self-collected specimen of any consequence!  wooHOO!
(click the pics for larger view)

At first when I saw it I thought the rock had debris on it (pine needles, dirt) and I thought the green stuff may be moss - - thank goodness I was wrong!

The minerals have been identified and they are: 

* Aikinite, bladed

* Epidote crystals

* Chrysocolla

* Chalcopyrite

Closeup of one of the areas with Epidote crystals.

Another area with Epidote crystals.  I couldn't get a very good closeup of this section of crystals, sorry.

The other side.

And here is two more gratuitous photos.....  ;)

The rock in these photos is dry, so imagine how gorgeous it is when wet!  Sorry I didn't show you the rock wet, but I don't think you could handle the beauty of it.   ;)    <wink wink>

COOL!  yah? 

More of the rocks that I found that day:

Chalcopyrite on Granite 

Left: Granite.  Center & right: Chalcopyrite on Granite.

Closeup of the center rock in the previous photo.

Closeup of the rock on the right.

Closeup of the rock on the left.

I love this rock!  No idea what it is, 

but isn't it awesome-wild ? !!!

Every angle is awesome!

I don't know what this is either but I think it's pretty and there is a perfect place for it in my rock garden.   :)

(other side)

And these are some of the wildflowers that I found ;)

I kinda think that the scenery is one of the best things

about a rock-hunting field trip.  You?

   Thanks for looking!

Milford, Utah ~ MCU Field Trip, 06/14/14

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!

The colors.......Wow.  Just......WOW

"Two Iguanas"  carved of Serpentine.

Can there be a more perfect blue?

Amethyst geode with Calcite center.

Natural Citrine geodes - 5 foot, plus!

Giant crystals!

Here we have the biggest pieces of my favorite -

Verdelite & Rubellite together....

...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!