| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #16 |
I have most of monday off Herb. I don't have to be anywhere till 3pm. Let's keep an eye out on the weather and hopefully we'll find some good stuff. Been some big waves pounding the beach.
Kors
Rob |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #17 |
I have monday off till 3 pm. Be great to get to walk the beach with you Herb.
Rob |
| |
| John Cornish |
|
|
| #18 |
Hi Rob,
I'm not sure how I missed your thread, what a nice read this morning. It sure sounds like your out there having fun! Say, while your kind of in the area, consider visiting the Rice NW Museum of Rocks and Minerals...
http://www.ricenwmuseum.org/
Their NW Gallery, an entire building (!), will have many lapidary treasures which I'm sure you'll enjoy. Heck, there are even a couple of nice crystals there too! (Not to mention the rest of the collection, including the monstrous, finest Petrified Wood Gallery anywhere!!!).
Any way, thanks for sharing your adventures with us, have fun, find treasure and be safe!! All the very best,
John |
| |
| Joe D. |
|
|
| #19 |
Rob,
Thanks for your reports. Your crick walk brought back great memories of our wanderings in that area. Anywhere around the Rogue is great for rock collecting. The Salmon story brings lots of memories to me. My youngest son talks about Carp attacking him when he was in my Canoe in a local lake and he almost jumped right out with them. I used to bring all the new officers we got in our outfit out to see the salmon. The thing was the bears also like salmon more then just about anything, except new second lieutenants. I liked to see how they handled themselves under "fire" of hungry bears.
One of my favorite tools is my old hip boots that just come up about 6 inches over my knees now, through wear and adjustments. I love to wade to places that you need boots to get to. I don't have to worry about bears anymore in this area but the deer like to walk the middle of the crick at times also. Having an Eagle soar over your head while collecting rocks is something special also.
Finding a whole round is always special. Congratulations.
Joe D. |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #20 |
John, Thanks I really enjoy your posts also. I hope to figure out the pic posting thing soon so I can add pics to my stories. The museum is a little too far off for this trip but I took a look at the photo gallery and it looks like a great place to visit. Looks like they have a good bit of everything. Most trips I have a choice of visiting great places like this or going out and looking for my very own treasures, guess witch one wins  ,When possible I do like to visit the museums as they can be a great source of information as well as a visual pleasure. I've visited the Faval, Klamath county, and Crater Rock museums up here and enjoyed each. Now I have another to add to the list of some day visits.
Joe,You and I sound a lot alike. I love the critter and scenic views almost as much as I love the great treasures I get to take home with me. They act as memory triggers to the time and place that I found them. I did see evidence of a bear in the creek that day including a salmon that had been pulled out on the bank with the soft belly and two large lumps of meat on the back of the head eaten. Later while crawling around under the brush and blackberry vines along the bluff banks I found the entrance to a den that looked too big to belong to anything other than a bear, it looked freshly dug also. It didn't take me long to decide to move along the creek and try my luck elsewhere.
Kors
Rob |
| |
| jay bates |
|
|
| #21 |
Hi Rob, I like your reports and style. If you ever get down California way let me know and we can search out some rock and adventures. |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #22 |
Would be my pleasure Jay. I stay in the Bakesfield and Sacremento areas on my way to and from Oregon all the time. Some times we stay for a day or two. I'll be sure to let you know the next time I pass through.
Rob |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #23 |
The Weather Channel got it wrong! go figure! The weather was supposed to be nasty all day and the turn nice tomorrow so I agreed to drive the crew around for shopping and sight seeing. While out and about the weather broke and the sun came out. Ever conduct a tour at mach 3 on wet coastal roads  ."slow this son-of-a- b&*%h down" was muttered at @ 300 decibels more than once on my way back to the hotel to grab my pack and change into my hiking boots. With only 2 1/2 hours of day light left to rockhound I hit the beach at quick march speed and headed south towards Yaquina Bay Bridge. The bridge was completed in 1936 and is a well maintained piece of art deco history. At the north end of the bridge a lot of rock has been hauled in over the years to help slow down erosion but enough local material is mixed in to make it worth the long hike when the beaches are too sanded over to locate the gravel bars. I was able to locate a couple of promising cutter, several colorful jaspers to tumble. and a couple dozen fossil clams that make great gifts for kids. I hope the weather hold good and plan to search another area north of Lincoln City tomorrow so stay tuned for another update.
Kors
Rob |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #24 |
Today was a beautiful day on the Oregon coast. Took a trip up to Lincoln City and searched the beach for agates. I hiked up to the point with the intention of going around to the back side where there is supposed to be a cove famous for it's agates and jaspers. I checked the tide charts to be sure not to be caught on the wrong side of the point when the tides turned. Guess the news channel had it wrong. I made it half way around and went through a real hairy section to reach a small cove at the tip of the point. I decided to check the gravels there before heading on around to the back side. Good thing I did because I noticed the waves were getting bigger and closer. I got good and wet getting back around to the south side of the point,and didn't find a single thing to bring back. I had noticed some tidal pools on the way in that held colorful sea anemones and stopped long enough to take some pics. On my way back up the beach I searched along the bottom of the cliffs for clay concretions that are round and called marbles by the locals. I managed to find a hand full along with some larger concretions to break open and check for fossils. I didn't find any fossils this time but would love to go back with more time to break open the concretions in search of the fossil crabs. I did find a few jaspers and agates along the tide lines on the way back to the drop off point. On the way back to the hotel I got to do something I've wanted to do for years. We stopped at one of the glass studios and I was allowed to make my very own piece of art glass. I chose to make a paper weight and stumped the artist assigned to help me when I said I wanted to make it look like moss agate. He called the other three artist over and a meeting of the minds took place. They asked me several questions trying to figure out what I was talking about before I noticed an underwater picture of sea weed and kelp on the wall and pointed it out to them and informed them that the best moss agate looked just like sea weed floating in crystal clear water. Colored bits of glass was laid out in little piles and a plan of action was made and then I was handed a long bar of steel and the fun began. We dipped molten glass out of a monstrous furnace and commenced to roll pat and re-dip the glass. I was handed an assortment of tools with instructions on how to use them. After 45 minutes of working the glass we separated the glob of glass from the bar smoothed and stamped the bottom with the date and a letter code and deposited it in a kiln to cool over night. The artist and I talked through out the process and the fact that I'm a rockhound, jeweler, and flint knapper came to light. He was very impressed with my idea for the piece and said he wanted to make more of them for his self. I was offered a chance to go through the scrap chunks of glass to get some knapping material and I quickly accepted with a promise to mail back a few of the points when I get them done. All in all I had a good day and hope to find a nice looking piece of glass in the morning.
If the weather holds good and time allows Heb may come out on Monday to hit another beach searching for those elusive beach agates so stay tuned for more updates.
Kors
Rob |
| |
| John Cornish |
|
|
| #25 |
Hi Rob,
Sounds like your having a good time, even if you played chauffeur and, the most confusing point to me, even if your not going for a single crystal locality! Weird!!! 
For giggles, and it's been awhile since I last visited... just south of Lincoln City is a place called Otter Rock and another called the Devil's Punchbowl. There used to be a stair that went down to the beach here where a person could walk south into the Punchbowl. If this stair is still in place, there are nice pyrite groups that can be collected. The best specimens have weathered free of their host rocks and can be found accumulated in the tide pools among all those pretty anemones. The ones you'll find partially weathered in the rock thereabouts are best left alone. If you try to collect them, they break. The natural weathered ones are the best!
Another place is located (probably too far) north of you in Oceanside. Go to the small town beach and walk north to the headland. A tunnel has been carved through the headland that accesses another beach beyond. The holey rock (not a technical term) can contain nice green heulandite and calcite often displaying different colors and forms in each pocket. There is a small cave a hundred or so yards up the beach, I've dug in the floor here and managed some really nice pieces a couple, ten years ago. If your wandering about and are looking for treasure, beside the holey rock clue, look for the holey rock with crystals in them! There is a lot of vesicular rock thereabouts and not all of it is mineral bearing. There is agate about too, just none I've ever thought special.
Any way, just another couple of (crystal) targets while your in the area! I assume you know about Beverly Beach just south of you?
Thanks for sharing the fun and I'm looking forward to your next update. Finger's crossed, say to Herb for us!!! See ya,
John |
| |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #26 |
Hi John, Thanks for the heads up on the pyrite. I'm actually in Newport. I've been to Otter Rock before, neat place. Devil's puncbowl is now called Devil's Lake. I could use a little more info on how to get to the pyrite location. I have found a few crystals, found some water clear quartz under the bay bridge but they were worn and in the fill material brought in to control errosion. I also found a seam of bright red calcite in the host rock at the point I hiked to yesterday. I took a couple of pics and left the calcite insitu.
Kors
Rob |
| |
| John Cornish |
|
|
| #27 |
Hi Rob,
Not much more to say. There is a small beach immiediately north of the punchbowl. The same beach one would walk if walking into the punchbowl. There was a restuarant up on the bluffs, the stair went down to the beach here.
Good luck, I hope you find lots and lots of treasure!!!
All the very best,
John |
| |
| Denise | |
| Rob Townsend |
|
|
| #29 |
Hi Denise
Howdy John, I ran out of time to look for the pyrite at Devil's Punchbowl but I'll remember the spot for my next trip.
I'll be in Witchita Falls Texas for the next couple of days> Anyone know of anything interesting to be found in the area or want to get together for coffee?
Kors
Rob |
| |
