Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 12, 2013 19:36:33 GMT -5
In 2 weeks I will be on a 3 week adventure to MT and ID to hunt rocks and minerals as well as see museums and other fun things. I am going to start in Glendive and work my way west. I am so excited.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 13, 2013 12:41:04 GMT -5
You will still have a great window(weather wise) for Montana anyhow...........In the Sidney area,you have to check out the Harmon agate shop(He is the Montana Moss Agate King).. Sidney,Glendive and all the way to Forsyth is Montana Moss agate country! Thumbs up Glendive is also great fossil and dino bone country!!! I've hunted that area alot! I was raised in Montana and Uncles that were rockhounding freaks-LOL!!!! Museums,there are alot of rock displays in many of them.. Dickenson,North Dakota has a great dino museum,also as does Glendive!!Boseman and Missoula have great museums too at the Universities... Philipsburg,Montana is mineral heaven,lots of rockshops there and friendly people(small town),many places to hunt stuff,just ask..(Walk the Yellowstone and Missouri River gravels,you will find lots of goodies!) The rockhounding in Montana is super great!!!So many places to hound... If your by Virginia City,Montana,stop in and visit my cousin Randys rockshop,tell him Mike sent ya'... As for Idaho,I know its rock heaven too,sounds like a blast and good luck.....Thumbs up
If you get bored on the interstate highway in Montana,cut off by Forsyth,head to Roundup,there is a little museum there(an old school) its full of fossils and rocks!!! Cheap places to stay and eat too..(My home town)...You will drive thru a town called Melstone on the way to Roundup,its fossil country,most of my finds are from that area...
PS:This time of year,watch your step and carry a long stick,because its snake season for them going into hibernation,so they will be den-ing up(Rattlesnakes mostly)...
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 14, 2013 19:08:27 GMT -5
This is one of my annual trips. Most places I am going are familiar to me except for some of the ID spots. Every place you mentioned is familiar to me. Glendive is my first stop. Fossils and agate. I know about Harmon, he is usually a stop too. I am pretty good at finding the agate from a distance. They jump out at me. I will be sifting garnets at Ruby Res and bringing the pre-sort home for mom to sort through as she is greedy for big gem grade garnets to have faceted. I will skip all of the supposed malachite areas because now that I have been in Rockhobbit's area, nothing compares. I can't wait.
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Mark K
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Posts: 2,600
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Post by Mark K on Sept 14, 2013 19:10:41 GMT -5
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Mark K
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Posts: 2,600
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Post by Mark K on Sept 14, 2013 19:12:04 GMT -5
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 15, 2013 10:06:40 GMT -5
Area 69,is that in or around the "Samatra Oilfield" ?Kind of looks like it... As for 44-49-48-47 and 50,thats the area my cousin has his Rock Shop(in the summer Tourist season) and its a great Garnet location-he knows all the hot areas to hunt Garnet... Number 6 in Idaho is a sweet spot for agate and some petwood...
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 15, 2013 14:34:04 GMT -5
Don't know about the oil field. V-City area is going to be hit for garnets for sure. 6 & 37 in ID are going to be skipped this time. I didn't realize which version I had posted until now. ID 32 & 33 are awesome for geodes and agate.
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 18, 2013 11:20:09 GMT -5
I have been watching the weather and I am now worried. I really do not want to fool with night time temps in the 30s and low 40s.
I really want to go to MT/ID, but if the weather does not improve, I might have to do the AZ/CAsouth thing. As much as I love AZ, and I reeeeealy love AZ, I had my heart set on a few spots I wanted to hit with the correct tools this time.
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panamark
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Post by panamark on Sept 18, 2013 15:11:29 GMT -5
Hi Foxtail, Hard to know for sure what the weather will be here in ID/MT. Usually we get some beautiful Indian Summer weather this time of year, but the last week has been rain and wind. Very, very unusual here. As far as you not wanting to deal with night time temps in the 30's and low 40's, that is the way it always is here this time of year. No avoiding it, but usually it is a dry cold . The quaking aspen should be gorgeous and the scenery is unbeatable, so that should make up for the cool nights :-)
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 18, 2013 19:14:44 GMT -5
Daytime temps will still be in the 60's or low 70's-as for night time temps,that not bad-30's to 40's..To Montana and Idaho standards thats T shirt weather(no pun intended)..Great weather for hounding,in my opinion..Any temps over 75 degrees,is to hot to rockhound,also in my opinion... As said the aspens and other fall trees and plants makes for some beautiful scenery,plus the bugling of the bull Elk....
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 18, 2013 21:53:06 GMT -5
The flatlands have the same weather we have here usually. The elevations is where I am concerned. I hate sleeping in the truck to keep warm. If I hadn't gotten both heat stroke and hypothermia in the Army, I might be able to tough it out in a tent, but after traumatic injuries like that, I just have to be warm. The funny thing is that the heat does not really bother me that much. I usually take a May and Sep/Oct trip to MT/ID every year. That is why I know what I am looking forward to. One year I decided that the constant rain in MT was for the birds, so I went to AZ instead. Since I had not met Sheri and Diane yet, I only knew some of the book places. I ran out of places I knew of and headed home and still had 2 week of vacation left so, since the weather was better I went to MT too. It turned out OK except for the lost tools, all of them.
I will find rock, I just really don't know which direction I will be going. Rain all week will make me go south in a hurry.
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grayfingers
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Post by grayfingers on Sept 19, 2013 10:46:10 GMT -5
It snowed last night in the mountains near me here in SW Montana. I can see three mtn. ranges and they all have white tops.
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 19, 2013 21:37:51 GMT -5
Oh joy!
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 19, 2013 21:42:22 GMT -5
I guess it doesn't look too bad.
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grayfingers
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Post by grayfingers on Sept 20, 2013 9:56:19 GMT -5
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 20, 2013 10:44:51 GMT -5
I seen that "Beartooth" around Red Lodge and the mountains around Boseman got whitecapped...The areas with fossils are in the plains and would be great hunting now,might have gotten lucky too,because the rattle snakes might be denned up already......... Wonder if the Crazies got any snow too? (Make for some great Mulie hunting)...
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Mark K
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Post by Mark K on Sept 20, 2013 15:29:25 GMT -5
THAT LOOKS A LOT BETTER THAN THE OUTLOOK i SAW YESTERDAY AND THE DAY BEFORE.
(stupid caplock)
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Mark K
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Member since April 2012
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Post by Mark K on Oct 11, 2013 18:55:24 GMT -5
Well, I went to AZ instead and it was a good thing I did because the weather was not what I would have enjoyed. The weather in AZ was wonderful. I did so well by the time I hit Brenda that I did not even try to go to the CA spots I had planned. I was just too heavy. One spot I went to had the main deposit buried under hundreds of tons of crap. Someone went in with some big explosives and moved part of the mountain. I still got some wonderful stuff from there, just that I had to haul it much further than I prefer. The stuff is the heaviest stuff I have dealt with. A chunk 2 inches thick and roughly 10 x 14 weighs about 50 pounds. I had a great time and found some really nice stuff.
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Fossilman
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Post by Fossilman on Oct 11, 2013 22:20:38 GMT -5
Looks like a nice haul......Thumbs up
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