There was a beautiful one-mile trip hike each way to and from the quartz-rich area.
When we first arrived, we got Shakedown settled in. Notice his reflective vest - safety first!
Here's an example of what we were looking for. We found gorgeous smoky quartz points "in matrix" (in their host rock, see below), and loose crystals as well.
The location was really lovely, and we were disappointed to only have two days there!
Most of the time, we just "surface-collected", or looked at the gravel lying on the surface, trying to find smokey quartz. Sometimes, we investigated holes that other people had dug in the past...not the most comfortable position to be in!
Shakedown: the crystal hunting dog!
In two instances, when I was getting Shakedown settled into a new area, I looked around the ground where he was sitting and found beautiful large crystals!
Back at the campsite, we cleaned and sorted our finds. The large crystal on the right is one I found next to Shakedown!
Here are a pair of post earrings, I call Grounding, that I crafted using small smoky quartz crystals we found on this trip, with recycled Argentium sterling silver.
Can't wait to go back again!
I am always impressed by your talent and creativity. It must be fascinating to find hidden gems in the Earth, then to envision their potential, and finally to follow that vision until it leads to an exquisitely finished work of art. Well done!
Laurie Lynn Berezin
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