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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 26, 2017 15:02:31 GMT -5
Thanks for the ID help, Mel! I've heard the term paint wood, but never seen examples, very cool. I've got a piece of #7 left, so I'll cut the other direction and see what it looks like. There's a ton of different material there! I've got a bunch of bigger pieces I'm really excited to cut. Hoping to get over to HankRocks tomorrow, so he can cut them on the big saw. I'll post some pics when we're done. Looking forward to the answer, of Bob's definition question.
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 26, 2017 13:05:55 GMT -5
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 23, 2017 10:13:27 GMT -5
Great looking batch, with good mix of colors! Curious about where in West Texas the rocks are from? I've collected in some different areas out there and found some great material! Keep'em rollimg and can't wait to see them finished up!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 22, 2017 18:49:25 GMT -5
So let me get this straight. You picked this stuff on county roads? Wife and I are talking about maybe going to Tucson for a couple of days and this looks like good side trip on the way home. Thanks for posting pics. It's really not too far from I-10. If you have the time, I'd highly recomend it! Let us know if you make it down there.
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 21, 2017 17:27:20 GMT -5
Great shape and polish! I'd say the experiment was successful!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 21, 2017 13:04:12 GMT -5
Excellent points, Mel! I went back on Tuesday and probably drove / walked 10-15 miles of CR's, filling 3, 5 gallon buckets. I ended up culling out 2-3 gallons, that looked better with mud on them (that's why Mel recommends chipping and spraying with water). I was very lucky, because a hard rain, Monday night, helped expose some new material, even on the same road I hunted last week (another great point, if you can make it work out. Just make sure you have the right vehicle to get through the mud). I did take some pictures, that give a better idea of what Mel is talking about. Finding sloped roads with bar ditches was a big plus after the rain.
This was one of the better roads I found and did very well on it.
Roads like this, with little or no ditch and a lot of vegetation are the ones to keep driving away from.
Example of what I was looking for and should be a good one. it's about 4" long and should have some good color inside (should have put something down to scale it by).
Another one about the same size. Notice the Chert right below it? It looks a lot like a nice agate that I would pick up in other areas, but it's not! One of Nature's little jokes!
This is some of the earth toned wood that Mel mentioned (notice the thorns on top of it).
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 18, 2017 17:00:22 GMT -5
Yeah, the second one probably is rhyolite but could be a limestone material being partly converted to chert by added silica. The first one is something I've seen before. I'm thinking it's palm or fern that has pretty much been decomposed before it was infused with silica, sort of a limb cast. We found quite a lot of wood casts in the area. Many you'd never guess had been wood except for the exterior. Outside, like wood. Inside, all agate with plumy stuff, moss, tubes, little globules or orbs, even fortifications. Part of the fun of the hunt there is man, you never know what you will find. The frustrating part is, no one has done a book on wood identifications from down there and all those wild type woods are a booger to ID. Me being a real label guy, that just abut drives me nuts. Wish I was close to the Ginko Petrified Forest museum. They have the finest collection of identified and polished wood specimens I've ever seen. Would love to compare some of my Texas stuff to what they have on hand.....Mel Thanks for the ID help. It's funny that you mentioned Ginko Petrified Forest. I was trying to do some research and it popped up in just about every query I ran. I've never heard of it, before today. I think Matt Dillon has the most extensive library of LOC specimens. But like you said, there isn't any definitive ID's for any of them, mostly marketing type descriptions. I'm heading back down tomorrow and I'll try to take some photos of the roads. Any suggestions on other starting points?
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 18, 2017 11:22:26 GMT -5
I love the way those corals turned out! That Rio had to sound like an unbalanced load in the spin cycle! Don't see many tumbles that big! Nice work!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 18, 2017 9:36:05 GMT -5
Question for you Jeremy. Last time we went down, we noticed the oil men are caliche covering a lot of the good roads rendering them not so good for collecting as the caliche even gets into the bar ditches covering the good gravel. I don't think we got quite over to the roads you checked out though. Were the roads in that area still the original old gravel and pet wood topped roads or are they getting covered up with the ugly white stuff over there too?.....Mel The 1st road I hunted, CR 441, was chewed up asphalt and gravel. The good collecting was between the bar ditch and the fence. The 2nd road, CR 443, was all caliche. The bar ditches and the areas between them and the fences were still good for collecting. There had been enough erosion to expose some of the bigger pieces. You could see the pet wood showing through the caliche packed roads. There's no reason to spend any time trying to get it out, without power tools! Too bad about your neighbor not wanting any rock hunters! I'd bet you could find some monster pieces, that haven't been beat up by a backhoe! I'll keep looking for a property connection down there. Quick question for you. Can you help with ID of the following pieces? At 1st glance, I thought it was more chert. But, after looking closer, it looks like there is vascular material inside. Wouldn't be the first time I have been fooled by the many forms of chert!
This one looks kind of like rhyolite. It's solid, but not sure if it will take much of a polish. I found a few pieces like it, but it didn't seem to fit the rest of the geology.
Thanks again, Mel!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 17, 2017 19:01:14 GMT -5
Jeremy, that is great looking material. I have family in the Dallas/FW area, and it would be great to hook up with you on a hounding trip if you're up for it. Heck, we could even do camera stuff if that worked out. Truth be told, I'm not too concerned about the family there (it's a long story). But, I'm more than willing to hit the road and head out there. Just let me know if you're willing to guide a Tx newbie. Best regards. Dave Heck, yah! Henry, Hanksrocks, is close by as well! He's got a lot more experience than I do, so we should be able to hook you up with something worthwhile! The good thing about collecting rocks, is that It's usually in an area that's great for photography! Just let me know what time frame you're thinking about!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 17, 2017 17:22:06 GMT -5
The pinnacle of rock tumbling! Great roll/vibe! Hey slacker, where have your tumbles gone ? I am a slacker.... I've got 4-5 batches that I need to photograph. Might have to do a best of, or something. In the meantime, I'm really enjoying your Rio shows! BTW, go check out the George West Thread, under locations. Might be a good starting point for your next Zapata trip.
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 17, 2017 17:07:30 GMT -5
He's not low maintenance, I have seen him in action and he fill buckets with agate like a Trackhoe Shhhh, don't ruin it for me!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 17, 2017 0:29:50 GMT -5
MIL coming in January/February, need to figure out some place (warmish) to go for a couple weeks! Way to plan ahead! Hey, if you and jamesp go back to Zapata, maybe you would let me tag along for a couple days?! Not sure how much value I'd add, but I'm pretty low maintenance.
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 16, 2017 0:49:14 GMT -5
The pinnacle of rock tumbling! Great roll/vibe!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 16, 2017 0:26:30 GMT -5
Great finds. If I ever escape Oregon, I'm going to go raid Texas. Not that Oregon is lacking in good material, but if you can get away, bring a big truck!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 16, 2017 0:22:18 GMT -5
Man, ain't that an area to hunt in that is just too fun? Easy hunting too. Looks like you got you some nice palm or fern examples too...Mel It was a blast! So many County Roads to hunt and so easy to pick up some great material, quickly! The hardest part was trying to identify the chert, that was disguised as petrified wood. Thanks for posting information on the area!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 15, 2017 23:52:19 GMT -5
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 15, 2017 23:07:13 GMT -5
Right on the way to Zapata! What's the weather like 'round there end of January? If you guys are heading down for another round of rio's, this might be a good way to get the trip kicked off. January temps should be in the mid 60's.
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 15, 2017 23:03:09 GMT -5
Nice haul Jeremy, #19 has definitely been worked as it shows a lot of flaking on the edges. I can be in that area in about 3 and half hours, let me know next time. Thanks, Hank! This was a spur of the moment road trip. The fish were biting and we limited out by 8:15, giving me a small window to get over there. Next time I'll plan it out better and get you down there. It's better than I thought it would be!
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Post by txrockhunter on Dec 15, 2017 16:54:46 GMT -5
And the rich get richer. That's a good looking bucket full of material. I've enjoyed tumbling the George West stuff...that I had to buy. One day, Jeremy, one day. I'll need a guide, of course. Thanks, Randy! Did you post any photos of your GW tumbles? Just curious how they came out..... Some of the really colorful wood looks like it could have some vugs. My guide services are cheap, fun, and always available . Get something on the calendar!
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