Post by Michael John on Mar 31, 2009 1:24:48 GMT -5
Okay, so yesterday I headed-out to "Agate Road" , which Steve and I discovered when he was here. Remembering that the agate was littering the ground out there, I left after noon, figuring I could get plenty before it got dark. I got there and headed down (what I thought was the right) dirt road. Funny ... I didn't remember driving down a wash.
Well, I was on a "road", but it was obviously sandy/gravely, and my poor old truck was having a bit of a rough time, but it was making it ... then I saw two outcroppings sticking-up in the "road" ahead. I obviously would not make it over them in my truck, so I stopped and was going to turn around. That's when my truck got stuck.
See ... doesn't look THAT stuck, does it?...
With a few choice vulgarities, I put my gloves on so that I could grab the shovel and dig myself out ... been there / done that before in this sand/gravel. I opened my door, looked down, and there was this big agate staring me in the face!
Just then it dawned on me that I was "off the beaten path", as I looked around and saw other agates begging to go home with me. Being a TRUE hound ... screw the truck ... I'll dig it out later ... I'M GOIN HOUNDIN! In less than an hour, I'd filled my pack and my duffle bag, and decided I'd take a few pics of this first haul.
Well, since I already had such a good jump on collecting, and it was starting to get windy, I figured I'd go ahead and dig the truck out. Well, unlike the 10-15 minutes it took me to dig out of similar stuff at Sagenite Canyon, it took me about TWO HOURS to get my poor, old truck out of there. PLUS, like the day I went to Sagenite Canyon, the wind picked-up to ferocious speeds, blowing sand in my eyes the whole time I was digging out.
Once I finally freed my truck, I headed back the way I came and stopped when I finally got back on solid ground. By this time, the sun was almost set. I got out, and sure enough ... agate everywhere! I collected about as much as I'd collected earlier, but it was getting dark, the wind was colder, and this just wasn't fun anymore. I thought about sleeping in the truck and hounding more the next day, but between digging the truck out and battling the wind, I'd had enough and went home.
Although it had been a rough day, when I was driving home I was pretty happy about it. Sometimes things just happen for a reason. Even though my truck got stuck, I DID end-up in an area that was THICK with agate. I didn't get nearly as much as I'd wanted (500+ lbs), but I figured I didn't do bad considering the actual short time spent hounding, and the quality seemed "okay". I chalked it up to experience and just figured it wasn't a totally wasted day. I got home, ate, and crashed, leaving the unloading for the morning.
In the rush, excitement, wind, etc etc etc, I guess I didn't particularly notice what I'd collected, as a whole. When I unloaded the truck today, I found-out that I did a LOT better than I thought I had. Even though I only got about 150 pounds, I got a lot of REAL nice agate, considerably better than Steve and I had found along the sides of the road. I got a lot more big chunks, too. I'll be sorting it all out tomorrow, and I'll take pics to post here.
Thanks for sharing my journey!
Well, I was on a "road", but it was obviously sandy/gravely, and my poor old truck was having a bit of a rough time, but it was making it ... then I saw two outcroppings sticking-up in the "road" ahead. I obviously would not make it over them in my truck, so I stopped and was going to turn around. That's when my truck got stuck.
See ... doesn't look THAT stuck, does it?...
With a few choice vulgarities, I put my gloves on so that I could grab the shovel and dig myself out ... been there / done that before in this sand/gravel. I opened my door, looked down, and there was this big agate staring me in the face!
Just then it dawned on me that I was "off the beaten path", as I looked around and saw other agates begging to go home with me. Being a TRUE hound ... screw the truck ... I'll dig it out later ... I'M GOIN HOUNDIN! In less than an hour, I'd filled my pack and my duffle bag, and decided I'd take a few pics of this first haul.
Well, since I already had such a good jump on collecting, and it was starting to get windy, I figured I'd go ahead and dig the truck out. Well, unlike the 10-15 minutes it took me to dig out of similar stuff at Sagenite Canyon, it took me about TWO HOURS to get my poor, old truck out of there. PLUS, like the day I went to Sagenite Canyon, the wind picked-up to ferocious speeds, blowing sand in my eyes the whole time I was digging out.
Once I finally freed my truck, I headed back the way I came and stopped when I finally got back on solid ground. By this time, the sun was almost set. I got out, and sure enough ... agate everywhere! I collected about as much as I'd collected earlier, but it was getting dark, the wind was colder, and this just wasn't fun anymore. I thought about sleeping in the truck and hounding more the next day, but between digging the truck out and battling the wind, I'd had enough and went home.
Although it had been a rough day, when I was driving home I was pretty happy about it. Sometimes things just happen for a reason. Even though my truck got stuck, I DID end-up in an area that was THICK with agate. I didn't get nearly as much as I'd wanted (500+ lbs), but I figured I didn't do bad considering the actual short time spent hounding, and the quality seemed "okay". I chalked it up to experience and just figured it wasn't a totally wasted day. I got home, ate, and crashed, leaving the unloading for the morning.
In the rush, excitement, wind, etc etc etc, I guess I didn't particularly notice what I'd collected, as a whole. When I unloaded the truck today, I found-out that I did a LOT better than I thought I had. Even though I only got about 150 pounds, I got a lot of REAL nice agate, considerably better than Steve and I had found along the sides of the road. I got a lot more big chunks, too. I'll be sorting it all out tomorrow, and I'll take pics to post here.
Thanks for sharing my journey!