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Post by broseph82 on Sept 5, 2014 15:46:28 GMT -5
Hello rock hounding and polishing enthusiasts! I am Jimi. I've been lurking for a while. I live in Northern Alabama (not too far from the TN line) and my wife and I love to rockhound. We havent in the past month because its been too damn hot here.
We did make a 3000+ round trip journey just to see places and collect rocks back in July. We went up north to Put-in-Bay, OH and found sea glass, natural granite (so my rock club says) and some Lake Eerie agate. We also went mining in Herkimer, NY for their diamonds. I indeed busted open some boulders and found some nice specimens and my wife surfaced hunted a bunch of smaller ones. We found single and double terminated diamonds and all are natually faceted. Since I didnt have small tools to work with there (brought 8lb sledge hammer and pick), I brought a lot of the diamonds in the rough home. On our way back home we stopped by Hiddenite, NC to the Hiddenite mine and after a day there we realized the whole place was "salted". I didnt do any research about them until after our day there and indeed they are a salted tourist trap. Also went into Kentucky and found some red Jasper.
Anyway, we both love finding rocks in the wild and I enjoy slabbing them open. We have been to Diamond Hill mine in SC and Hogg Mine in GA (a few times due to kids). We would love to find people to go surface hunting with as well as digging (field trips). Before I joined the Huntsville Gem and Mineral Society I never knew what was "hiding" inside of rocks out in the open. I always thought stuff just formed crystals and needed an excavator to get the really good stuff (yes I watch Gem Hunters too). Boy was I wrong. I like collecting rock now more than crystals just so I can run the lab's saw to see whats inside (I guess it's the destructive little boy in me).
Well, thats all I have for now. I hope to log in from now on and get to know some people and new places to go.
P.S. We have Paint Rock agate here in my area, but its all kept secret because so many years ago rock collectors emptied out all the public lands (so the story goes).
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Post by snowmom on Sept 5, 2014 15:50:35 GMT -5
oh oh oh, first, welcome to the forum, second, we sure would love to see photos of some of those fantastic finds, some of your slabs, and we all love to hear about trips that other members take. Glad you are with us. welcome from Michigan
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The Dad_Ohs
fully equipped rock polisher
Take me to your Labradorite!!
Member since September 2012
Posts: 1,860
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Post by The Dad_Ohs on Sept 5, 2014 16:53:41 GMT -5
Welcome, from Florida, to the Asylum... you never get cured, but who cares.... it's a too much fun to stop!!!! Would love to see some pics of the painted as well as everything you got going!!!! We live for pics and stories!! Welcome aboard!!
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Post by gingerkid on Sept 5, 2014 16:55:59 GMT -5
Howdee, broseph82, from the home of the Hogg Mine!! Agree with snowmom about pics and hope you'll please post some of your finds. Haven't been to the Hogg yet. Keep hoping they'll have a half-price entry fee for the mine, but it hasn't happened.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 5, 2014 18:03:00 GMT -5
Welcome to the forum, Jimi and wife!
What ↑ they ↑ said. We live for hoarding rocks, and seeing pics of rocks posted by others that confirms the existence of other rock hoarders, lol. And, of course, a whole lot of rock tumbling/slabbing/cabbing/wrapping/jewelry making going on, too. Oh, and don't forget about getting to go on trips vicariously through the well written and illustrated trip reports of fellow RTHers.
In a previous life (1976ish), I lived for one year in Alabama. I lived south of Huntsville, east of Decatur. You could ask why, but I don't think even I know the answer to that question. Too bad I wasn't into rocks back then, I'm sure I missed out on some cool stuff.
Jean (back in California where I belong...)
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,685
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Post by Fossilman on Sept 5, 2014 18:22:25 GMT -5
Howdy and welcome..Bring your boots,because the BS can get as deep as the rocks...LMAO!!!
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Post by fantastic5 on Sept 5, 2014 19:37:41 GMT -5
Hi Neighbor! Chattanooga, TN here. Glad to have another rockhound here in the land of limestone. We haven't done much digging this year either, but hopefully fall. And I second the request for pictures....we all like pictures!
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Post by gingerkid on Sept 5, 2014 22:07:52 GMT -5
Howdy and welcome..Bring your boots,because the BS can get as deep as the rocks...LMAO!!! ROFL, Fossilman!!
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rodeodan
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since January 2010
Posts: 213
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Post by rodeodan on Sept 5, 2014 22:55:05 GMT -5
Welcome from Vancouver
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transcendental
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 459
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Post by transcendental on Sept 6, 2014 6:30:35 GMT -5
Welcome from Connecticut. I've been wanting to do a trip up to herkimer, sounds like you had a good trip
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 6, 2014 11:31:35 GMT -5
Thanks for the warm welcome. I do have an Instagram that has some pictures on it. instagram.com/broseph82Ill try and take some better pics of the Herkimer diamonds because I sure do have some beauties!! I forgot to mention I am working on an old Crown lap machine with 2 expandable drums, 1 diamond wheel, 1 stone wheel, and two polishers on the end. I posted an ad on CL looking for stone and a lady a couple hours away told me she'd sell her dad's old machine and throw some slabs and preforms in with it. I got a stack of books as well. One book is a mineral book of Alabama and it actually has a map in the back with all the regions mapped out and where to find what.
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Post by kap on Sept 6, 2014 13:05:17 GMT -5
Welcome from your neighbor in Ga.! It's been hot over here too! Good luck on the 1/2 price sale at the Hogg I dont think you will ever make it if thats what you are waiting on! They have a dig every two weeks right now. Like everyone said we LOVE pictures!!! Keith
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 6, 2014 15:57:38 GMT -5
Welcome from your neighbor in Ga.! It's been hot over here too! Good luck on the 1/2 price sale at the Hogg I dont think you will ever make it if thats what you are waiting on! They have a dig every two weeks right now. Like everyone said we LOVE pictures!!! Keith We never did the 1/2 price dig in the first place. The first time we went on an open dig and then the second time it was private with the kids. Hogg Mine is somewhat salted too and Chris only machine digs once a year and that's a big disappointment. I don't think I'll be back to Hogg. Don was really nice, but all the quartz and aqua are museum pieces.
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Post by kap on Sept 6, 2014 16:31:39 GMT -5
I'm sorry but the Hogg mine is not salted! So dont start here by putting out bad info when you dont know anything about it! Just because you did not find anything does not mean it's not there. There are a lot of nice Aqua pieces found all the time and some nice stones cut and the Rose cuts nice cabs and stars if you know how to cut it. I have some killer beryl pieces from there I have been going there for years so stop downing a place you know nothing about!
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lparker
fully equipped rock polisher
Still doing too much for being retired!
Member since March 2008
Posts: 1,202
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Post by lparker on Sept 6, 2014 19:43:48 GMT -5
kap, if that's the mine I went to a few years back - the sluicing buckets are salted, the rest of the place is a tailings dump that has been gone over so many times that nothing is there unless someone put it there. You are told not to look in the school dig area or the school creek area. Why? Because it's salted. Now you may be able to get mine run buckets at the sluice. I don't know because I wanted to go home with something.
Lee #1
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Post by kap on Sept 6, 2014 20:40:46 GMT -5
Lee they do NOT sell buckets at the Hogg mine! There are NO creeks and NO sluices No school dig piles so it might be a good idea to check things out before you post! You can dig thru the tailings from when it was mined before or go right into the pit and collect. If you went to a mine like you said it was NOT the Hogg Mine in Lagrange Ga.!
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 7, 2014 16:29:56 GMT -5
I'm sorry but the mine is not salted! So dont start here by putting out bad info when you dont know anything about it! Just because you did not find anything does not mean it's not there. There are a lot of nice Aqua pieces found all the time and some nice stones cut and the Rose cuts nice cabs and stars if you know how to cut it. I have some killer beryl pieces from there I have been going there for years so stop downing a place you know nothing about! I didn't post that to get into a pissing match with anyone. I said "somewhat" and I am entitled to my opinion about a place as much as you are. I never claimed I didn't find anything. I claimed the quartz and aqua were all museum pieces. What made me say that was the first time we went to the open dig the guides were surface hunting as they were giving the tour and finding all sorts of Beryl in the road and nowhere else and freely handing it to us. Also, the tourmaline pit.... We found lots of negative space rocks that at one point had huge tourmaline crystals but were not anywhere to be found in the dirt (not rock wall). Just had me thinking is all. I never totally downed the place. It's great for kids to go and especially look at everything Don has purchased through the years and everything he sells from the table. I also just stated I didn't think I'd be back unless there was a machine dig involved.
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Post by broseph82 on Sept 7, 2014 16:34:29 GMT -5
Lee they do NOT sell buckets at the Hogg mine! There are NO creeks and NO sluices No school dig piles so it might be a good idea to check things out before you post! You can dig thru the tailings from when it was mined before or go right into the pit and collect. If you went to a mine like you said it was NOT the Hogg Mine in Lagrange Ga.! He is referring to the one in North Carolina. It does have a sluice, creek, and school dig area. You're the one jumping to conclusions because if you read my initial post it talked about Hiddenite, NC and that's what the guy above is referring to, not Hogg. Calm down dude, calm down.
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Post by gingerkid on Sept 7, 2014 17:24:10 GMT -5
Welcome from your neighbor in Ga.! It's been hot over here too! Good luck on the 1/2 price sale at the Hogg I dont think you will ever make it if thats what you are waiting on! They have a dig every two weeks right now. Like everyone said we LOVE pictures!!! Keith We never did the 1/2 price dig in the first place. The first time we went on an open dig and then the second time it was private with the kids. Hogg Mine is somewhat salted too and Chris only machine digs once a year and that's a big disappointment. I don't think I'll be back to Hogg. Don was really nice, but all the quartz and aqua are museum pieces. Hi, gentlemen, that's me that is waiting for the 1/2 entry fee for the Hogg mine. Sorry to have caused any confusion. We've been living in LaGrange for about 14 years, and still haven't been out there. If I remember correctly, I believe when Rodney managed the Hogg, there were a couple of times that he let folks in for half price. He also allowed folks to fish free at the lake access. I don't know Rodney, but saw some of his beryl xtals from the Hogg at the Martin Zinn Expos. The beryl xtals were as big as my leg, lol. I wondered if lparker was thinking of the Smiths Crystal field that's here in LaGrange, or he could be talking about one of the sites that broseph82 has visited and not the Hogg?? When a couple of guys came to deliver the cabinet we purchased for specimens, one asked if we had been to Smiths Crystal field. He said he heard it was salted, but that could be heresay. We've been to the store and checked out the stuff at the store, but haven't been to the field to look for rock crystal.
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Post by kap on Sept 7, 2014 19:24:15 GMT -5
The one in N.C. is salted but it is not the Hogg and I think everyone should know it.
If Lee was referring to the N.C. place he should not have addressed the comments toward me since I was talking about the Hogg.
Lee might have been talking about Smiths but he needs to get his facts strait before he starts making statements that could hurt a mine. Chris is a great guy and does not need things posted that are not true!
I was just defending a nice place to dig and wanted to stop lies being told about it. You do have a right to YOUR opinions but when you start posting things that are not true then it is wrong. Just MY opinion!
Sorry but I will NOT be calm and let people start saying things that are NOT true about any Mine or person. X'O' Kap
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