Nydegger plume agate

[realrockhound]

I’ve currently been digging new stock material of the old nydegger plume agate out of post Oregon. Rhoden was the original person to dig it. I’m just curious if any old timers here know more details about the original vug it was dug from? I've been fining pockets in the host material and pulling out of there wher clay and minerals filled voids. But I'm curious if anyone knows if it was one big vug/vein when it was originally dug with a cat. Any info helps.

[rockjunquie]

Wow!

[MsAli]

Cannot help you with your questions but it's really nice seeing this material.. I have two slabs of this that I have stashed away somewhere. Would love to see what you do with it

[hummingbirdstones2]

You sure are posting some nice photos! It must be fun to find the kind of rough you're showing here.

This Nydegger rough reminds me of some unidentified rough we got a few years ago from an old collection someone was selling off.

Our first guess was Graveyard Point area for what we got - but we were just guessing. I guess there can be similarities between the two types, even though they are about 175 miles apart as the crow flies.

The amount and variety of lapidary rough in the Northwest just boggles my mind.

[hummingbirdstones]

I haven't heard the name Nydegger Plume in years!   Great finds.  Wish I could help you out with your questions.  Maybe Rockoonz or one of the other folks familiar with the Northwest will chime in.

[realrockhound]

Nov 2, 2021 9:48:31 GMT -5 hummingbirdstones2 said:

You sure are posting some nice photos! It must be fun to find the kind of rough you're showing here.

This Nydegger rough reminds me of some unidentified rough we got a few years ago from an old collection someone was selling off.

Our first guess was Graveyard Point area for what we got - but we were just guessing. I guess there can be similarities between the two types, even though they are about 175 miles apart as the crow flies.

The amount and variety of lapidary rough in the Northwest just boggles my mind.

Long story short, I acquired access to the old dig site due to family owning that land now. But yeah, some of the similarities of material throughout the region is pretty crazy. Like I have some Powellbutte plume that you would think was old Woodward ranch plume if you didn’t know any better. And that material is days apart

[Rockoonz]

Nov 2, 2021 10:25:18 GMT -5 realrockhound said:

Long story short, I acquired access to the old dig site due to family owning that land now. But yeah, some of the similarities of material throughout the region is pretty crazy. Like I have some Powellbutte plume that you would think was old Woodward ranch plume if you didn’t know any better. And that material is days apart

Who owns the ranch now?
Any chance of them opening up for field trip groups from the Mt Hood club or Prineville during the show? If it's possible and you have contact info PM me. The Mt Hood group is also happy to help with reclamation and clean up from past digs if needed.

[Rockoonz]

Nov 2, 2021 9:56:55 GMT -5 hummingbirdstones said:

I haven't heard the name Nydegger Plume in years!   Great finds.  Wish I could help you out with your questions.  Maybe Rockoonz or one of the other folks familiar with the Northwest will chime in.

I'm honored, but roy and catmandewe know about 100x what I do when it comes to dig sites, and I'm sure many more of our NW folks may be able to help. I saw some in an estate I helped with some years ago of labeled materials. As an aside the slang term used in the labeling was a well known racial epithet that deserves no mention except to say that one of the older folks helping with that sale said that it was in common use for that material at the time.

[realrockhound]

Nov 2, 2021 12:29:35 GMT -5 Rockoonz said:

Nov 2, 2021 10:25:18 GMT -5 realrockhound said:

Long story short, I acquired access to the old dig site due to family owning that land now. But yeah, some of the similarities of material throughout the region is pretty crazy. Like I have some Powellbutte plume that you would think was old Woodward ranch plume if you didn’t know any better. And that material is days apart

Who owns the ranch now?
Any chance of them opening up for field trip groups from the Mt Hood club or Prineville during the show? If it's possible and you have contact info PM me. The Mt Hood group is also happy to help with reclamation and clean up from past digs if needed.

Due to anonymity and respect to the current owner, I’m not at liberty to say or willing to say who owns it. It was also made pretty clear to me that I’m the only one in there. They run cattle on the ranch and hunt it. They don’t want a bunch of people in there, if ya see where I’m coming from. But in the future maybe we can link up and trade some material

[catmandewe]

Cool, keep digging it, you are bound to find another vug or two.

Tony

[roy]

Nov 2, 2021 13:21:00 GMT -5 realrockhound said:

Nov 2, 2021 12:29:35 GMT -5 Rockoonz said:

Who owns the ranch now?
Any chance of them opening up for field trip groups from the Mt Hood club or Prineville during the show? If it's possible and you have contact info PM me. The Mt Hood group is also happy to help with reclamation and clean up from past digs if needed.

Due to anonymity and respect to the current owner, I’m not at liberty to say or willing to say who owns it. It was also made pretty clear to me that I’m the only one in there. They run cattle on the ranch and hunt it. They don’t want a bunch of people in there, if ya see where I’m coming from. But in the future maybe we can link up and trade some material

Thats most understanding and your lucky to be in there so i would keep it that way !

[realrockhound]

Nov 3, 2021 13:37:12 GMT -5 roy said:

Nov 2, 2021 13:21:00 GMT -5 realrockhound said:

Due to anonymity and respect to the current owner, I’m not at liberty to say or willing to say who owns it. It was also made pretty clear to me that I’m the only one in there. They run cattle on the ranch and hunt it. They don’t want a bunch of people in there, if ya see where I’m coming from. But in the future maybe we can link up and trade some material

Thats most understanding and your lucky to be in there so i would keep it that way !

As of now, I have roughly a 55 gallon drum full of rough, couple 5 gallon buckets full of slabs, and a milk crate full of various angel wing. I’m hoping that I can get a booth at the Prineville powwow and get some material back in circulation.

[roy]

Nov 3, 2021 13:47:43 GMT -5 realrockhound said:

Nov 3, 2021 13:37:12 GMT -5 roy said:

Thats most understanding and your lucky to be in there so i would keep it that way !

As of now, I have roughly a 55 gallon drum full of rough, couple 5 gallon buckets full of slabs, and a milk crate full of various angel wing. I’m hoping that I can get a booth at the Prineville powwow and get some material back in circulation.

how much for a box

[realrockhound]

Can't sleep, so thought it would be fun to add some more pics to this thread of stuff I've personally dug out within the last 6 months and show you all the main dig site as well as a little history on the dig. A feller by the last name of Rhoden was one of the originals to find and dig the site with a cat. They cut and pushed all the way around the rock cone in the middle. Pushing clay/soil to expose the plume hidden within. 


So here is the spot where all of the material came out of (Or most of it). What most don't know is that there is actually another dig site just down the hill that only produces white plumes. I've found two other deposits that produce plumes. Another that produces white moss, which I will show down the line. 






Couple slabs I cut within the last year. Referring back to the first pic of the main dig. Since my first post, i'v found that the material actually formed in a vug that ran the length of that rock face. Thats where most (not all) of the nice angel wing pieces formed. However.... inside that rock face, there are still mini vugs/pockets where material can still be extracted. 






Chunks/nodules like these tend to be found more in the soft soil surrounding. The colors are less common, however they can be found.












Various slabs from main site. The stuff that looks like stinking water is actually from site #2 just down the hill. That site is actually hidden back in the trees and not overly worked. Just one hill cut and thats it. 


This is the white "moss" I was mentioning earlier. This comes from a spot far away from the main dig. I've picked up quite a bit, and hoping maybe get the chance to get a cat in there one day to see what I can expose. Hope you all enjoy and got to learn a little history in the process. 

[fernwood]

Beautiful material. I like the history behind the material.

[Son Of Beach]

Thanks for sharing, for someone who doesn't get to dig, it's always cool to see what the sites look like.

[Sabre52]

Wow, I love it when someone rediscovers old dig sites that can still yield beautiful specimens. Wonderful pics!

[rocket]

Thanks for all the great pics…and the story

[hummingbirdstones]

That is some amazingly beautiful stuff you are finding.  Thanks for sharing the pics of the rock and the dig site.

[rockjunquie]

I really appreciate the back story. Thanks. These are really interesting type posts. It's nice to see the origins of the rocks we love and to see what goes into bringing them to us to enjoy.