Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 28, 2015 15:56:03 GMT -5
rockpickerforever, you need to traipse the desert with loose shoelaces, need to bend down to retie frequently.
Larry, I think the rangers are on to that one, lol. (Especially if you are wearing flip flops - DOH! What shoelaces?) What you do is, you see something, bend over to pick it up, look at it, pretend to throw it away, then surreptitiously slide it into your pocket. We have had rangers watching us through binocs from a hilltop a mile away. When they drove up to us, they said, "Looking for rocks, huh? Now how did I know that?" (smug bastard). Actually, that guy was pretty cool, he said he didn't care if we picked up some rocks, just told us not to take the whole desert home. It's Ranger Nancy ya gotta watch out for. She'd have you locked up, and throw away the key.
The biggest tip off is the full rock bag slung over your shoulder...
And similar situation with wood carried down from upstream seems to be the best in terms of being well silicified/hard.
The trip knocks all the soft stuff off rockpickerforever.
The scale is some kind of antique market balance, I think originally from Italy?? Bob picked it up at the silent auction held at our club's picnic several years ago. (Picnic held at same friend's house that we went fishing at on Labor Day.) I looked it up, and got some info on it, but didn't save any of it. Last time, I found some info on it on Worthpoint.com. With the exception of the rusty steel beam, the rest is brass. In that pic, it was temporarily hanging from a yellow nylon rope holding the avocado tree away from the shed roof.
James, I wouldn't say the trip downriver knocks all the soft stuff off. More like, if the pet wood/fossil/rock in question wasn't pretty hard and durable, it would just plain not survive the trip. Rocks that have travelled many miles tend not to be real big, don't think I've seen any larger than your fist.
All the ugly brown wood fossilized right there. That's why there is so much of it, also larger pieces.
Somehow rockpickerforever needs to be an indentured servant stationed at Ocotillo Wells collecting this stuff.
Wish there were some big rock bars full of it.
The alien orb eggs turned out fine. Already perfectly egg shaped and hard as a brickbat.
Easy tumble with no sun bleached coating, just waxy rich agate. Tumbler's delight.
Hmmmm, really??? Indentured, huh? Not that I mind walking around out in the desert picking up rocks, but you can bet I'd be collecting it for me (and my bestest friends, lol).