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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 14:21:49 GMT -5
I went on a vacation to Westport, on the West side of Washington for a week a a little getaway last week. I've been meaning to post about this for a while but I just got around to it today. The sites I visited will be listed with pictures in chronological order. This is the first place I visited on the way over, the George earth pits for opal. This is a high desert area and one of my favorite places to hound. IMG_20220403_121832745 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220403_121825990 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220403_121829774 by Perkins17, on Flickr This is some of what you might see while hounding. The ground is literally covered in the stuff: IMG_20220403_123016944 by Perkins17, on Flickr This monster is the best find of the entire trip, and maybe the best I've ever found. It is a monstrosity that was pretty difficult to get back to the car. The top of it shows some PRECIOUS OPAL FLASH!!!!! IMG_20220403_122834792 by Perkins17, on Flickr Without light: IMG_20220416_115626444 by Perkins17, on Flickr With light: IMG_20220416_115621855 by Perkins17, on Flickr Next, we stayed in a apartment/vrbo right on the ocean. IMG_20220406_181258837 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220406_181251780 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220407_100248494 by Perkins17, on Flickr This rock reminded me of Mohs' thread "Thaza Gneiss" IMG_20220405_105011604 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220405_104439905 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220406_181456028 by Perkins17, on Flickr The Ginko Petrified Forest was on the way back soooooo.... IMG_20220408_124610158 by Perkins17, on Flickr IMG_20220408_122751156 by Perkins17, on Flickr Alright, now for the not-so-fun part. I read about Hansen Creek in 2 different rockhounding books. I was really interested and excited at the prospect of finding quartz and ametheyst crystals in Washington so I decided to visit it on my last day there. When we first began the drive up the mountain, we saw a sign that was clearly written by someone who had mental problems it said something like," I am an addict. I will steal everything you have, even if it is nailed down, tied down, or locked in your car." and then proceeded to talk about how they had lost a toy car. This sign really freaked me out because I didn't have a gun or any other weapon on me besides bear spray. We kept up the mountain road, which steadily got thinner and more treacherous. We were driving a Nissan Armada that has a great four-wheel-drive function that can handle anything, but as we progressed, we were sliding around to the point that we were in danger. Snow had suddenly showed up in large quantities on the thin road with a cliff with at least a 100 foot dropoff on one side and a steep wall on the other. When it got to the point where we were very close to sliding off or getting stuck, we had to give up and back down the dangerous road backward for probably close to a half-mile before we could turn around. So my big warning is this: do not visit Hansen creek when there is a possibility of snow being on the ground, carry a firearm, and be prepared to stop at the earliest possible parking area to hike up for safety. Thank you for looking and reading. I am sorry I had to put the last part in, I just want to make sure no one else makes the same mistakes I did.
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Post by hummingbirdstones on Apr 16, 2022 14:38:07 GMT -5
Looks like it was a great trip, except for that last part. That opal boulder is freakin' awesome! Thanks for the trip report.
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 14:43:40 GMT -5
Looks like it was a great trip, except for that last part. That opal boulder is freakin' awesome! Thanks for the trip report. Thank you! I kind of felt like a pessimist on that last part, but I don't want anyone to get hurt by making mistakes that I could have helped them avoid. I love the opal boulder! Of course, I've got no clue what to do with it though. I don't think that club has a big enough saw! Maybe I could carve a plate out of it! I'm glad you enjoyed the report.
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Post by Pat on Apr 16, 2022 15:09:48 GMT -5
Thanks for the interesting report and good photos. Maybe opalpyrexia could suggest what to do with your very big opal. Scary drive on the return. Glad you made it!!
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 15:16:15 GMT -5
Thanks for the interesting report and good photos. Maybe opalpyrexia could suggest what to do with your very big opal. Scary drive on the return. Glad you made it!! You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for tagging opalpryrexia. I think they should have a test like that for getting your driver's license! I'm just glad we didn't get stuck, or even worse, fall off. The Nissan is our nicest car and the whole family was in it, so we really avoided a lot a of bad. I guess someone was watching out for us!
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Benathema
has rocks in the head
God chased me down and made sure I knew He was real June 20, 2022. I've been on a Divine Mission.
Member since November 2019
Posts: 703
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Post by Benathema on Apr 16, 2022 15:30:58 GMT -5
I've become less and less enamored by Hansen Creek over the years. The camp sites below are mostly party places. It's right off the interstate. It gets so trashed, it's sad. Lots of reports over the years of people's cars getting broke into at the trailhead.
Yea you can find dinky quartz crystals up there, but all under what's left of the tree canopy looks like a grenade test site. Steep hill, people kicking rocks loose, destabilizing trees. It's not the safest place, but it is popular cause it's got a lot of traction on the net over the years. Anybody can pop out of Seattle on i90 and boom, it's right there.
Last time we went I didn't really dig. I don't know if you missed much. Maybe roll back the clock 10-15 years ago, better luck finding something good.
BUT! That opal... That's what's up!
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Post by Son Of Beach on Apr 16, 2022 15:36:33 GMT -5
Looks like an awesome location Perk, what a find man!
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Post by mohs on Apr 16, 2022 16:04:22 GMT -5
Datiza gneiss green seam Perks! Neat getaway Cool pics
Good ya gotta out of the jam Thanks for the trip along
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 16:29:39 GMT -5
I've become less and less enamored by Hansen Creek over the years. The camp sites below are mostly party places. It's right off the interstate. It gets so trashed, it's sad. Lots of reports over the years of people's cars getting broke into at the trailhead. Yea you can find dinky quartz crystals up there, but all under what's left of the tree canopy looks like a grenade test site. Steep hill, people kicking rocks loose, destabilizing trees. It's not the safest place, but it is popular cause it's got a lot of traction on the net over the years. Anybody can pop out of Seattle on i90 and boom, it's right there. Last time we went I didn't really dig. I don't know if you missed much. Maybe roll back the clock 10-15 years ago, better luck finding something good. BUT! That opal... That's what's up! I can see why. It literally looked like a warzone in what I got to see of it. There were shells lying everywhere. It's too bad it's so close to Seattle. I'll bet if it were in more central WA there would be less damage done there. The pictures I saw of it looked sad. I wish people would be more respectful of nature. I was so excited when I rinsed off the opal! Everyone knew in like 5 seconds!
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 16:30:21 GMT -5
Looks like an awesome location Perk, what a find man! Yeah, it's one of my favorites! I've hit it 3 times so far, each time finding something new and different. Thanks!
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Post by Rockoonz on Apr 16, 2022 16:31:16 GMT -5
Looks like you had a fine trip for the most part. About Hansen Creek. Due to it's proximity to population centers and a subset of the population I call social media site raiders, if you had made it you might have been even less enthusiastic even if you did find crystals. Just about every point of ethical rockhounding has been violated there, it's a dangerous trash dump, basically. And to edit That was unnecessary someone beat me to it.
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 16:32:17 GMT -5
Datiza gneiss green seam Perks! Neat getaway Cool pics Good ya gotta out of the jam Thanks for the trip along Thank you! It was good to get away from life for a while. Living in a big city wears me down, and rocks built me back up!
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 16:37:05 GMT -5
Looks like you had a fine trip for the most part. About Hansen Creek. Due to it's proximity to population centers and a subset of the population I call social media site raiders, if you had made it you might have been even less enthusiastic even if you did find crystals. Just about every point of ethical rockhounding has been violated there, it's a dangerous trash dump, basically. It was a great trip. I kind of hate Seattle considering how many people live there, I can understand why it got hit so hard. I really wish people would just be respectful to the land. To be honest, after safely making it out of Hansen Creek, I was fine with not finding anything. I agree that it is dangerous and gross.
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Post by opalpyrexia on Apr 16, 2022 17:10:42 GMT -5
Thanks for the interesting report and good photos. Maybe opalpyrexia could suggest what to do with your very big opal. Scary drive on the return. Glad you made it!! You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for tagging opalpryrexia. I think they should have a test like that for getting your driver's license! I'm just glad we didn't get stuck, or even worse, fall off. The Nissan is our nicest car and the whole family was in it, so we really avoided a lot a of bad. I guess someone was watching out for us!
I would treat it as if it's just another piece of rough opal, meaning to try to slowly and very carefully remove non-precious material on and around the fire area. That's probably Dremel work. Hopefully that would reveal additional fire and give you clues as to whether it continues farther or it dives deeper into the rough. I'd also what to explore the rest of the rock by simply making some test grinds on a coarse wheel.
Another thought, assuming that what fire you see is all of it, it would make a great specimen or display piece that might bring some $ from a collector. That has to be one very rare find!
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 18:00:58 GMT -5
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for tagging opalpryrexia. I think they should have a test like that for getting your driver's license! I'm just glad we didn't get stuck, or even worse, fall off. The Nissan is our nicest car and the whole family was in it, so we really avoided a lot a of bad. I guess someone was watching out for us!
I would treat it as if it's just another piece of rough opal, meaning to try to slowly and very carefully remove non-precious material on and around the fire area. That's probably Dremel work. Hopefully that would reveal additional fire and give you clues as to whether it continues farther or it dives deeper into the rough. I'd also what to explore the rest of the rock by simply making some test grinds on a coarse wheel.
Another thought, assuming that what fire you see is all of it, it would make a great specimen or display piece that might bring some $ from a collector. That has to be one very rare find!
Thank you for the information. I don't think I have the guts to work it yet so I might just admire it for a while. I have never seen anything like this in person before so I agree it could be/is extremely rare. Thank you so much, -Perkins17
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 16, 2022 19:29:52 GMT -5
Great trip report Perk! Really cool you were able to get out...crappy about the last part...but Holy Shnikees, what a great Opal boulder find! Way to go!!
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 19:40:20 GMT -5
Great trip report Perk! Really cool you were able to get out...crappy about the last part...but Holy Shnikees, what a great Opal boulder find! Way to go!! Thank you! It was super awesome to "get out of dodge" for a change. Yeah, I know where not to ever go again. There was another rockhounding spot literally on top of this one nicknamed dead Rockhound gulch so that should have been a warning. That opal is amazing in person. I still can't believe we found it!
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Post by jasoninsd on Apr 16, 2022 20:25:41 GMT -5
Great trip report Perk! Really cool you were able to get out...crappy about the last part...but Holy Shnikees, what a great Opal boulder find! Way to go!! Thank you! It was super awesome to "get out of dodge" for a change. Yeah, I know where not to ever go again. There was another rockhounding spot literally on top of this one nicknamed dead Rockhound gulch so that should have been a warning. That opal is amazing in person. I still can't believe we found it! It seems like the Universe gave you an early birthday present with that opal!! Happy Birthday tomorrow!!
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,218
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Post by quartzilla on Apr 16, 2022 20:39:08 GMT -5
Good deal Perkins and great report. On a funny but unrelated to rockhounding experience with Ginko trees; which are still around: we had some of these trees at my junior high school. Some kids figured out that if you smash the little yellow berries they produce a horrid smell akin to a outhouse. We would smash the berries in math class every other day and they would evacuate the classroom for about 20 minutes for the smell to go away. We would sit in a circle beneath the trees and revel in our cleverness on getting out of class. Needless to say the following year they removed all the ginko trees from the campus. Sorry for the hijack but I forgot all about that till I read ginko lol. And better safe than sorry for the Quartz location. Everything happens for a reason so you not making there has to be for the better. Stay safe my friend.
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Post by perkins17 on Apr 16, 2022 20:40:36 GMT -5
Thank you! It was super awesome to "get out of dodge" for a change. Yeah, I know where not to ever go again. There was another rockhounding spot literally on top of this one nicknamed dead Rockhound gulch so that should have been a warning. That opal is amazing in person. I still can't believe we found it! It seems like the Universe gave you an early birthday present with that opal!! Happy Birthday tomorrow!! Thank you! I'll say it's an early Birthday gift! It was such a cool find.
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