wialleycat
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2018
Posts: 9
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Post by wialleycat on Jul 9, 2018 14:12:43 GMT -5
I will be visiting Lexington, KY for a few days in August. This will be my first trip to the state. Is there anywhere interesting to visit or collect rocks/fossils near Lexington?
Thanks!
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
Posts: 1,630
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Post by NRG on Jul 9, 2018 20:14:48 GMT -5
I will be visiting Lexington, KY for a few days in August. This will be my first trip to the state. Is there anywhere interesting to visit or collect rocks/fossils near Lexington?
Thanks! Garage Rocker's yard
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 10, 2018 8:05:53 GMT -5
I will be visiting Lexington, KY for a few days in August. This will be my first trip to the state. Is there anywhere interesting to visit or collect rocks/fossils near Lexington?
Thanks! Garage Rocker 's yard wialleycat That's about the only place you will find decent rocks in Lexington, home of limestone and bluegrass. All the creeks around here are littered with crinoid fossil plates, so that can be found easily. For rocks worth picking up, you have to drive 30 minutes to an hour south. Then you can collect geodes, fossil coral, chalcedony and possibly (but probably not) the elusive, rare KY agate. The tricky part is finding public land or obtaining permission from a land owner where the hounding is good. We all struggle with that part though. If you want to look at rock formations and arches, you can visit Natural Bridge State Park. There aren't any good lapidary rocks to pick up there, so you wouldn't be tempted to break any rules. It's some nice scenery though. Just be ready for our Summer heat and humidity. ETA - If you do happen to make it to Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge, you should definitely stop off at Miguels Pizza on the way out. Yummm.
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Post by rockjunquie on Jul 10, 2018 9:32:33 GMT -5
FAYETTE COUNTY LEXINGTON: area minesBarite; vicinity of Morton’s Mill, mineFluorite; area of Elk Lick Falls (Petrified Falls), a large depositcave onyx (banded in brown and yellows). www.missourigeologists.org/BobBeste'sMineralLocationGuide/Min%20Loc2_2014.pdf
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wialleycat
off to a rocking start
Member since June 2018
Posts: 9
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Post by wialleycat on Jul 10, 2018 14:11:33 GMT -5
Thank you all for the info, not looking forward to the 8 hour drive, but excited to see the scenery and maybe stop at a couple different parks. Are there any good rock/mineral stores in the area? If I don't have the chance to look for any I would like to at least bring back something. Also hoping to visit Hardin County and maybe pick up some Fluorite if I can find it cheap enough.
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Post by Garage Rocker on Jul 11, 2018 13:02:52 GMT -5
Thank you all for the info, not looking forward to the 8 hour drive, but excited to see the scenery and maybe stop at a couple different parks. Are there any good rock/mineral stores in the area? If I don't have the chance to look for any I would like to at least bring back something. Also hoping to visit Hardin County and maybe pick up some Fluorite if I can find it cheap enough. When in Hardin County, you will be close(ish) to Mammoth Cave National Park. The cave tours are great and there are a few rock shops around the entrance to the park. Those are the only rock shops I have been to in Kentucky. They are touristy and not necessarily for the lapidary crowd, but they have the requisite amethyst geodes, spheres and such. The mass produced, dyed tumbles we bought the kids there sparked an interest in my son and gave me the idea to buy a tumbler for a Christmas present. Two short years and three tumblers later, I'm glad we stopped off at that rock shop.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,663
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Post by Tommy on Jul 11, 2018 19:14:52 GMT -5
Two short years and three tumblers later, I'm glad we stopped off at that rock shop. Not to mention a bazillian new friends you have now
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QuailRiver
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since May 2008
Posts: 1,623
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Post by QuailRiver on Jul 12, 2018 2:22:19 GMT -5
If interested in Kentucky Agates John Leeds of Leeds Jewelry in Richmond, KY (about a half hour SE of Lexington) usually has some slabs or rough of Ky Agate stashed back that he might sell you if you ask nicely! Or perhaps drive even a little further south to the Irvine/Ravenna area and look up Lamon Flynn or Roland McIntosh.
Larry C.
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Post by adam on Jul 12, 2018 6:22:11 GMT -5
wialleycat That's about the only place you will find decent rocks in Lexington, home of limestone and bluegrass. All the creeks around here are littered with crinoid fossil plates, so that can be found easily. For rocks worth picking up, you have to drive 30 minutes to an hour south. Then you can collect geodes, fossil coral, chalcedony and possibly (but probably not) the elusive, rare KY agate. The tricky part is finding public land or obtaining permission from a land owner where the hounding is good. We all struggle with that part though. If you want to look at rock formations and arches, you can visit Natural Bridge State Park. There aren't any good lapidary rocks to pick up there, so you wouldn't be tempted to break any rules. It's some nice scenery though. Just be ready for our Summer heat and humidity. ETA - If you do happen to make it to Red River Gorge/Natural Bridge, you should definitely stop off at Miguels Pizza on the way out. Yummm. My back porch, as well. Just kidding--I put all my "meh" rocks there. Garage Rocker didn't mention Cumberland Falls State Resort Park. I think it should be open in the summer. The Cumberland River created the falls I don't know how many millions of years ago, but it's true spectacle, and it has nice big boulders at the bottom of the falls where people can climb up on and other cool formations, all surrounded by forest. They also have a gift shop where they sell rocks and other knick-knacks and ice-cream, too. You can find the falls in Whitley County, you can get there from I-75 and from other routes. Here's a link: www.parks.ky.gov/parks/resortparks/cumberland-falls/things_to_do.aspxAlso, in Rockcastle County is the Kentucky Country Music Hall of Fame and the famous Renfro Valley, a quaint little place on the edge of the Appalachian Mountains, is a nice tourist spot , and they both sit adjacent to each other, and are easily accessible from I-75. You won't see no falls here, but they do have country music performed by local musicians at Renfro Valley and some small gift shops, and Lake Linville, man-made lake, is less than half a mile away from that. Laurel County is also nice, the city of London, KY has Levi Jackson State Park, but no rocks there, and is more civilized than either Rockcastle and Whitley Counties. Levi Jackson State Park is lesser than some other state parks, but still, it's a cool spot with more than a few ponds where anyone can feed the ducks, with woods around the park and gazebos to camp at/barbecue/relax at. All these places are in the Appalachian Mountains region. I gotta go for now. Hope I gave you some ideas.
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