sford13
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since September 2009
Posts: 119
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Post by sford13 on Sept 14, 2016 17:54:05 GMT -5
We are going to be taking a trip from central IL to Kalamazoo MI in a couple of weeks. Just wondering if there is any rock shops along the way or in the Kzoo area worth going to. Also will be along Lake Michigan for a little bit would be nice to know if there us a good place to rockhound there.
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Post by mohs on Sept 14, 2016 19:15:58 GMT -5
Interesting. lived in Kzoo 40 years ago long before I was into this hobby still I'm surprised I don't have a Kazoo rock story I'll have to make one up ha ha
I'm interested in responses also enjoy Ed
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Sept 14, 2016 19:57:05 GMT -5
We are going to be taking a trip from central IL to Kalamazoo MI in a couple of weeks. Just wondering if there is any rock shops along the way or in the Kzoo area worth going to. Also will be along Lake Michigan for a little bit would be nice to know if there us a good place to rockhound there. 38.5 miles west northwest of Kzoo is an area on Lake Michigan where you can get some nice beach rocks and the occasional Michigan septarian nodule. Using the city of South Haven as the central spot (38.5 miles from Kzoo,) south of the city of South Haven check Van Buren State park which has a huge rock strewn beach, just north of Van Buren is a conservation area called Pilgrim Haven with beach access, but I've never been there and don't know if collecting is even permitted or even if the beach is rocky or sandy. North of that just a little more is a small county operated beach called Deer Lick Creek, and up to the north of South Haven just west of a little village named Ganges are West Side County Park and a little beach called Piers Cove. Pretty beach rocks are prevalent in the southern areas (I found a half geode lined with druzy crystals as well as a Petoskey stone at Deer Lick and there is a limited amount of septarian nodules found there from time to time) and up north of South Haven septarian nodules are fairly common at West Side and Piers Cove. The biggest septarians can be found just off the beach in about two feet of water (might be four feet this year though due to high water levels) and are easy enough to see. Sometimes they seem to disappear entirely from the beach and then come back a few days later and there is a boatload of them right out there in the open up on shore on the beach. Lots of times there are just a few and only can be found in the creek and its outwash to the lake. The beaches at Deer Lick and Piers Cove are in constant change in size and shape with the streams that enter the lake at these places constantly changing routes across the beach and cutting entirely new channels occasionally which along with some violent wave action is also constantly exposing new and different rocks and reshaping the beach. Of the five places mentioned, Deer Lick Creek is the hardest to find as it is basically around fourteen or fifteen country road turns and down at the dead end of the last road on the way. It can be found with persistence. My favorite beach of the ones I have mentioned is Piers Cove due to the high quality and numbers of septarians that can be had there if you get there on a good day. I just call it septarian cove. Both Deer Lick and Piers Cove beaches are VERY SMALL and boundary signs are present and should not be taken lightly. I have been there on occasions at both places when the adjoining property owners have had the county sheriff escort folks off the beach who were not within the beach boundaries. Deer Lick has a very clean porta potty and a medium small parking lot. Dogs are welcome there but owners must pick up after their pets. Piers Cove has minimal parking (maybe 10 spots or less), no facilities, and dogs are not allowed on the beach. Dogs are also not allowed on the beach at West Side or Van Buren. West Side and Van Buren both have restrooms but they are closed in the off season. There might be more rockhounding beaches farther south but I have never ventured beyond Van Buren. I believe Piers Cove is about the northern limit of places to rockhound not on private property. After the city of Holland, there is nothing but sand for miles and miles until you get to Frankfort. Then the hounding continues north from there. I personally live about a mile from Lake Michigan right in the middle of the long sandy zone about thirty miles south of Silver Lake which is dune buggy central so any time I want to go looking for rocks I have at least a 75 mile drive either way. Note: There is a fee to use Michigan's state parks and I believe that West Side also has a small parking fee during the swimming season. The fee booth is probably closed by now there though. Deer Lick and Piers Cove are both free. The water in Lake Michigan is at almost record, if not record, levels and having not visited the beaches I have talked about since early spring, I can not even guarantee that there is any beach left to hound on there, especially Deer Lick and Piers Cove as they are small to begin with. Just one more thing. If you happen to find a "Thunderegg" (any variety at all excluding septarians which sort of resemble thundereggs but aren't) during your Lake Michigan foray, make sure I hear about that one as a form of payment for telling you about these spots. If you don't find a "Thunderegg", well then no payment required at all. Just east of Kzoo in Galesburg is The Rockhound Rock ShopWest Southwest of Kzoo is the Geoscape Rock Shop
Sorry, I don't know if these places are worth a visit or not having never been to either of them personally. Hope this info helps you out some and hope the weather is kind during your visit. It starts to suck badly around there in about a month.
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