Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2007 15:07:53 GMT -5
Howdy folks, Stefan and One woman army commented they wanted to see some dryheads and since my saw is down right now, here are a few pics of some I'd previously slabbed. All self collected back when the Dryhead digs were open for a $25 for 24 hour dig fee. The days are very long that far north too so I dug probably 18 from the 24 hours. hard darn work but man Dryheads are so worth it! Thanks for lookin....Mel Onewomanarmy wanted to see the rough nodules so here's an additional pic. If any of you ever go to buy Dryheads, look for the rough nodules. A fairly high percentage are very smooth on the exterior and those smoothly rounded nodules are most often duds. You want the ones with raised ridges, sharp bumps and knobs because those are indicative of the fortification agate inside. These are about five inches: Three smaller ones in the 2-3" range These are pretty. Larger is 4" or so:
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Post by flintfish on Aug 16, 2007 15:18:36 GMT -5
Cheers Mel!
I'm learning a lot and quickly too, but I've never seen agate like that! it's so incredibly beautiful, what an awesome stash! I've got to head off and find out all about dryheads now!!! - thanks for the pictures - lovely rocks.
Harry
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Post by texaswoodie on Aug 16, 2007 16:07:38 GMT -5
Good grief Mel, that is awesome agate.
Curt
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Post by Lady B on Aug 16, 2007 17:01:58 GMT -5
Wow! These look like something out of an animation where the Earth Goddess is angry and sparks of fiery light are flinging out from her fingers and the rocks capture the fire and the result is these magnificent agates!
Thanks for sharing the pics. Shouldn't say it but I think I'm glad your saw was down.
Lady B
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karenfh
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2006
Posts: 1,495
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Post by karenfh on Aug 16, 2007 17:49:18 GMT -5
Totally amazing! I was waiting for Bugs Bunny to come thru the hole in the first pic; carrot colored, hole.... never mind, LOL. I was going to ask what Dryheads were, but I infer from your post that it is rocks from a specific location, correct?
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Aug 16, 2007 18:26:18 GMT -5
Mel, Incredible Dry Heads. Dryhead Agate is one of my top 5 favs...lots of great banding and the colors are really great. I don't think I could even imagine 25bucks for a full day of digging. I would have loved to have gotten in on that gig. How many full nodules do you have that you have self collected??? Cool Stuff for sure. Steve
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2007 18:44:38 GMT -5
Karen: Yup Dryhead agate is from an area in the Pryor Mountains of southern Montana known as the Dryhead and famous for it's wild horse range. Very high and scenic country and a huge magnet for lightning too. We had a storm while I was digging and it was truly spectacular!
Steve: The Dryhead dig was kind of a strange operation. About five feet of limestone overburdan that the folks said was going to be cleared by a bulldozer. Of course the dozer was broken while we were there or the operator was on an extended beer break, so lots of hard rock mining involved. Folks that were leaving as we arrived and had the dozer working had collected maybe 300-400 pounds. I got maybe a five gallon bucket or so full of mostly smaller nodules, maybe 50 total and I was whipped for days afterward *L* Most of the good nodules were on the bottom of the formation of course, though an occasional large one would be near the top. What breaks my heart now was the waste piles were full of these huge druzy nodules which were kind of like orange crazy lace with smaller scattered lines and fortifications. Our old VW was pretty full so I only took a couple as curiosities and after cleaning they proved to be really nice agate and very unusual too. Shoot! The old coulda, woulda, shoulda thing. There were no bag limits and I could have got a huge pile of that stuff if I'd had half a brain and a larger vehicle...Mel
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Aug 16, 2007 21:17:56 GMT -5
What a great story Mel. That really bites that all the material everyone left laying on the ground was left for notta. So...is the dig still there?? Is it on Private Property?? Is there still Dryhead Nodules to be found?? I still can't believe there were no limits...it must have been huge amounts of stuff lying around. Thanks Mel. Steve
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Post by MrP on Aug 16, 2007 21:37:20 GMT -5
Beautiful rocks. Why is the saw down?.......MrP
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Post by Condor on Aug 16, 2007 21:45:04 GMT -5
Truly awesome agates. The story of how you got them is even better.
Condor
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luv2hound
freely admits to licking rocks
I try & I try, but dang it! Those rocks just keep ending up in my pockets
Member since June 2007
Posts: 890
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Post by luv2hound on Aug 16, 2007 21:52:13 GMT -5
Mel these are beautiful dryheads. The colors are fantastic.
Love the story. Wish there were still places like that to dig. Thanks for sharing.
~~Mitzi~~
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2007 21:54:50 GMT -5
Mrp: No big deal on the saw. had 75 hours on my oil and it was getting pretty heavy with sludge so I drained the saw oil for filtering.
Steve; Actually I understand the Dryhead digs are still there and relatively unworked out as they occur over a large area but I've heard the property is now owned by someone who has no interest (or probably need of the money to be earned from keepin it open) and probably there are insurance concerns as with many ranch properites. Just easier to keep folks out. When I was there, the dirt road ran right by a ranch house so it's easy to regulate who goes in too....Mel
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Post by beefjello on Aug 16, 2007 23:19:17 GMT -5
That stuff is fantastic Mel! The colors and patterns remind me a lot of the stuff Roger finds, the fairburn and teepee agates. I sure wish I coulda tagged along on your old digs
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 16, 2007 23:28:48 GMT -5
Brian: I think Dryheads, Fairburns, and Teepee Canyons are are pretty closely related. Far as I know they're all sedimentary agate nodules that form up in a limestone matrix. I've often wondered if the nodules are formed in voids left by marine fossils as I have seen a pic of a Dryhead with an agatized shell in the cavity....Mel
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Post by parfive on Aug 16, 2007 23:41:17 GMT -5
Ain't no poppies in dem rocks, Mel. They can't be happy in your shed. They'd like it over here, in band camp. ;D ;D
Rich
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adrian65
Cave Dweller
Arch to golden memories and to great friends.
Member since February 2007
Posts: 10,789
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Post by adrian65 on Aug 16, 2007 23:51:03 GMT -5
Those agates are beautiful! Such an orange color! And what interesting patterns, especially on the one in the 2nd photo!
Collecting yourself makes them more interesting. And collecting without the help of the bulldozer makes them even MORE interesting!
Adrian
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onewomanarmy
has rocks in the head
Carpe Silicis!
Member since January 2007
Posts: 645
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Post by onewomanarmy on Aug 17, 2007 10:05:01 GMT -5
WOW - those are amazing! Definitely worth looking at more than once! Just beautiful! Always interesting to hear the back story on pieces too - I can only imagine your pain looking back now and knowing what was laying around up there! At least you came back with a nice haul! Those are absolutely beautiful - very nice work showcasing them - I'm learning that knowing when and where to cut is quite an art in and of itself! Not to be a complete pain, but do you have any of those nodules still whole? I'd love to see a picture of that in the rough. I'm trying to learn what to look for in rocks/geodes in their "natural habitat". Just in case I ever have the opportunity I guess...curiousity otherwise!
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Post by flintfish on Aug 17, 2007 14:27:19 GMT -5
Thanks for the extra information and photos Mel, that's really useful technical info on the nodules, does that translate to other varieties of agate nodule, the ridges and such I swapped over the barrels today, and started a load of laguna's instead of the tigereye I've been running which doesn't look up to much, pretty agates will be better for sure Cheers! Thanks all! Harry p.s onewomanarmy - Carpe Silicis!!! - Brilliant!!! Wish I thought of that!!! pp.s Richard - It was worth a try! Wish I'd thought of that too. Later......
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onewomanarmy
has rocks in the head
Carpe Silicis!
Member since January 2007
Posts: 645
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Post by onewomanarmy on Aug 17, 2007 14:43:40 GMT -5
Thanks Mel! Always good to know what these things look like in the camo of their natural habitat! Just in case I come upon something good - ie something that one of you westerners has collected and left sitting on your bumper and just happens to fall off as you're passing through the bluegrass state. Or hiding in the landscape rock. You just never know. p.s onewomanarmy - Carpe Silicis!!! - Brilliant!!! Wish I thought of that!!! thanks Harry!
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,487
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Post by Sabre52 on Aug 17, 2007 15:30:34 GMT -5
Harry: I guess the short answer to your question is sometimes *L*. Thundereggs often have ridges that indicate a good agate filling but oddly enough, Teepee Canyon nodules which are very similar to Dryheads ( both sedimentary nodules in limestone) are frequently dead smooth on the outside like the dud Dryheads and yet have wonderful fortifications which don't show any exterior indicatons. Pretty much different characteristics for different nodule types but in a way, that's good, because exterior look is a good way to identify many types of nodules....Mel
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