jamest1961
starting to shine!
Member since September 2016
Posts: 33
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Post by jamest1961 on Oct 15, 2016 17:12:50 GMT -5
Where am I ?
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 15, 2016 17:44:22 GMT -5
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 15, 2016 18:59:27 GMT -5
New Hampshire.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,352
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Post by quartz on Oct 16, 2016 1:03:48 GMT -5
X marks the spot.
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Post by braders on Oct 16, 2016 10:54:39 GMT -5
Now that's how ya keep a good spot secret!! But it looks familiar hmmmmmm......
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 16, 2016 13:17:26 GMT -5
Somewhere on Lake Superior. I'm guessing near Copper Harbor. Maybe Hunters Point. Maybe Gratiot River instead.
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jamest1961
starting to shine!
Member since September 2016
Posts: 33
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Post by jamest1961 on Oct 16, 2016 13:43:26 GMT -5
Gratiot River is correct. I have collected on the shore of Lake Superior from Grand Portage MN to Grand Marais MI, plan on going east of Grand Marais to Whitefish Point next summer. Gratiot River has so much variety and there is more than enough for everybody. Have been collecting rocks for over 30 years, just getting into lapidary.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 16, 2016 13:58:03 GMT -5
Gratiot River is correct. I have collected on the shore of Lake Superior from Grand Portage MN to Grand Marais MI, plan on going east of Grand Marais to Whitefish Point next summer. Gratiot River has so much variety and there is more than enough for everybody. Have been collecting rocks for over 30 years, just getting into lapidary. I was just there in august. Beach was jam packed with partiers. Sand was filthy with wood ash from beach bonfires. Road to get there a nightmare. Never found anything there (was looking specifically for agate and prehnite.) Gratiot River was my least favorite beach up there. I figured it was Gratiot River because of the mix of brown and grey rocks, and that puny river coming in from the right that just barely makes it to the lake. Try Muskalonge State park while you're going east of Grand Marais. Probably better than Whitefish. Been to both. If your vehicle can handle rough roads, try the Grand Marais Truck Trail west of the state park proper. Agates can still be found there on occasion. The variety of rocks there is astounding and it has some of the best unakite I've ever seen on any beach. At Whitefish Point, your best bet for something decent is to the west of the actual point and museum. The one time I visited there I was not on a collecting trip and only spent moments on the actual beach with rocks. But, there are rocks worth looking at there I'm sure from what I remember.
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jamest1961
starting to shine!
Member since September 2016
Posts: 33
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Post by jamest1961 on Oct 16, 2016 14:58:16 GMT -5
Both these pics were from 9/1/2016, nobody else in site, however there were several cars in the parking area. I would not take a 2 wheel drive car down there again as I din in 2015. In 2015 the rocks were piled up into 20 foot high "rock dunes" at the tree line, this year, dunes gone. Plenty of beach to explore, miles of public access to get away from other visitors.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 16, 2016 16:06:46 GMT -5
Both these pics were from 9/1/2016, nobody else in site, however there were several cars in the parking area. I would not take a 2 wheel drive car down there again as I din in 2015. In 2015 the rocks were piled up into 20 foot high "rock dunes" at the tree line, this year, dunes gone. Plenty of beach to explore, miles of public access to get away from other visitors. Yeah, we were in our 2 wheel drive Ford Fusion and it was a little tricky in some places. Did you find anything there that day? We were there on August 3rd 2016. The weather was warmer and it looked like the (local?) frat house was taking things over that day. The beach especially near the parking lot was a total mess with beer bottles and aluminum foil laying around.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2016 17:07:42 GMT -5
I love the Gratiot River beach. I always find prehnite there, although it's tiny. I've found agates there too. This summer we went in my sister's Chevy Equinox (2WD) with no problem.
If you're going east of Grand Marais, check out the Mouth of the Two Hearted River and Vemillion Point. Those are my two favorite beaches. You have to take a lot of gravel roads to get to the Two Hearted campground. I was in a Jeep, but I don't remember putting it in four wheel drive. I'm pretty sure they were all solid gravel roads. Vermillion Point is not as easy to get to. The road is very sandy and was torn up from logging trucks a bit. There are a couple spots with deep sand. You could go to Crisp a point light house and walk a couple miles to Vermillion too. I think that road was better.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 16, 2016 17:24:57 GMT -5
I love the Gratiot River beach. I always find prehnite there, although it's tiny. I've found agates there too. This summer we went in my sister's Chevy Equinox (2WD) with no problem. What color of prehnite do you find there? And how tiny is tiny??? Is it big enough to fashion something out of it? By the time we started looking for stuff, we were already put off by the drive there, the beer bottles and trash and the rowdy college kids. I'm sure I didn't give it a fair enough going over, preferring to move on to another spot we had on our map that day. I'm pretty sure your sisters Equinox (an SUV) has at least a couple inches more of ground clearance than my Fusion (a four door sedan) which is what our problems were caused by (our car was full of rough too from earlier stops that day, adding at least another 200 lbs.) not to mention that really sandy area about half way to the beach. I don't really have any feeling of ever needing to go back to that beach.
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2016 17:41:37 GMT -5
Not very big. You couldn't make a pendant out of them.
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 16, 2016 17:45:18 GMT -5
Not very big. You couldn't make a pendant out of them. You still haven't mentioned what color you find there, but it's ok. You sir, may have that beach all to yourself with no fear of sharing it next year with me Hey, you aren't that guy who marathon runs and juggles at the same time on that TV commercial, are you?
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Post by Jugglerguy on Oct 16, 2016 20:16:04 GMT -5
Nope, I do not enjoy running.
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Post by toiv0 on Oct 19, 2016 14:04:28 GMT -5
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ziggy
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2016
Posts: 483
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Post by ziggy on Oct 19, 2016 19:16:39 GMT -5
Yep. Thomsonite is only found in Minnesota mostly at a now closed to the public area of beach near Grand Marais. It is not the same thing as pink prehnite, but some pink prehnite is quite similar in appearance. The pink prehnite found in the U.P. is (improperly) called U.P. Thomsonite. The occasional actual real Thomsonite rock can be picked up on beaches near Grand Marais Minnesota but they are pretty picked over and very rare. There are a few other places where Thomsonite can be found not in Minnesota as well but not too many.
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