More Succor Creek Jasper

Succor Creek Picture Jasper

I've been home from Owyhee country for two weeks, and am starting to get some of this material polished. These are probably not the most dramatic picture jasper pieces I've ever seen, but they have a wonderful variety of color and pattern.  I am also very pleased with some of the petrified wood that came from the trip.

I have much, much more to go through - and some will be reserved for the day - one day - when I actually buy a saw, and cut some slabs. I have hesitated to invest in a saw up until now because 1) they are expensive and 2) because I have no interest in making jewelry. I really only do this for the pleasure of discovery and the beauty of what emerges after simple tumbling. In every hobby there is the inevitable choice - do I keep this casual, or invest in more equipment with some larger goal.  Frankly, I'm not there yet.  But as I find larger, better pieces, I will be tempted to cut slabs from them - if only to enjoy the larger canvas for the art of the stone.

Surprises

By now, you will realize that my idea of heaven is to wander along local beaches picking up interesting stones and trying to piece together the stories behind them. I often fill a bag within an hour or so, and only weeks, if not months, later get to polishing them. So I can maybe be forgiven for not exactly remembering where I found this one, which emerged from the tumbler today. It is of a free-form yellow jasper together with what looks like a pinkish agate. Pink agate?  Never heard of it before - and as always, I have no idea where this rock originated, thousands of years before it landed on the beach where I found it. Yes, it would be nice to know: I'm guessing there are more like it...

Buying vs. Finding

Kaleidoscope Jasper

 So, here's the question: is there a difference between finding and buying a rock?  Quick answer: I'd rather find my own. For me, a big part of the pleasure of rockhounding is the hounding itself -- the research, the hunt, the sudden thrill of discovery. The intensity of this pleasure is reflected in the vast boxes and bins filled with rocks waiting to be polished or sawn, or somehow dealt with. I collect WAY more than I will ever find a use, or a place, for.. .

This doesn't mean I haven't spent an embarrassing amount of time on eBay, drooling over gorgeous pieces of stone that someone else has found and offered up for sale. I have even bought a few. But there is no comparison between finding one in a Priority Mail box and finding one on a gravel bar, beach or cliffside.  I can admire the rocks I buy, but lost are the memories, the stories, the sense of accomplishment.  To me it's the difference between catching a salmon, and buying one at the market for dinner. (OK, there are weaknesses to that comparison - rocks stay with you long after the salmon dinner is done)

I suspect everyone's a little different on that score. I can fully understand the value of wanting to collect the most beautiful specimens in the world. After all, it is the extraordinary beauty, and astonishing diversity, of rocks that attracts us to this hobby in the first place. Want to see an amazing collection of jasper?

Go to Hans Gamma's site here

or be blown away by the Morrisonite slabs here

Yes, I would be happy to own any of those. But I would be even happier if I'd FOUND one of those. 

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Note : the piece pictured above is from a box of Kaleidoscope Jasper rough I ordered last year. Polished, it is a thing of beauty - but does it compare with some far less exotic things I have found myself? Not even close.

Poppies Transformed

A few months ago, a reader was kind enough to share with me his location for Olympic Poppy Jasper. He  generously took time out of his day not only to lead me to the outcrop, and but to help search for specimens on my behalf. I came home with a boxload  of rough - and only now have started polishing it.  This two-inch piece is small, but with a brilliant color, and striking, naturalistic shape. Needless to say, I'm thrilled.
To be honest, none of the material looked that impressive when I got it home. These scarlet poppies do not normally form massive  blocks: most of what we found were modest little clusters in otherwise rather uninteresting basalt. But trimmed and tumbled, they really pop.
But the best thing about the day was the unselfish attitude of my host. I will remember that every time I look at these handsome stones.

Succor Success

Succor Creek Jasper

I'm home and have had a chance to clean up some of my rocks from Succor Creek.  Wow!  I am delighted to have hundreds of pieces of every size and shape. Some I will save for slicing, but I have loads of tumbler material of very high-quality - much better than I got last year.  I am particularly happy to get so much of the Succor Blue Jasper, which I think it stunning.
I haven't shown any here, but I also got some very nice petrified wood fragments - including one very dramatic chunk of swirling black wood. (I'll try and post it later)
I also did some poking around some other areas in SW Idaho, and found a small creek in the foothills around Boise with some stunning football-sized chunks of Yellow/Orange Jasper.  It looks like it may have cracking problems, but I will have to cut into it to see how it holds together. But it has the potential to be stunning.  Two sample pieces below.

Idaho Jasper

All in all, a VERY successful trip. But as I mentioned in my earlier post, next time I go back, I really have to explore some more. There must be vast quantities of hi-grade jasper in those mountains...

Return to Succor Creek

Succor Creek Canyon,  E. Oregon

I've come out to eastern Oregon/Idaho for a few days to do some photography - and also to do some rockhounding in one of my favorite locations - Succor Creek in the Owyhee Mountains.  It is a beautiful place, and a terrific location for jasper, agate and petrified wood. I have done well with all three, simply by poking around the extensive gravel bars along Succor Creek.
Last time I was here it was a month or two earlier in the year, and the water was much higher, faster and colder - so getting to any gravel was hard. But now the river has dropped - but the fierce summer heat hasn't hit yet.
I spent 4 hours out there today, and came back with about 100 pounds of tumbler material. Most was found just along about 200 yards of overflow river bed - see photo below. I am really pleased with some of the picture jasper pieces and some large chunks of wood.
Every time I come here, I plan to explore the hills around the creek, which is presumably where all this stuff comes from - but I do so well just scavenging the river bed that I've never gone much farther afield.
I'll post pictures of some of my better finds when I get home this weekend.

Gravel beds, Succor Creek

California Treasures

Cayucos Jasper, California

In a post a few weeks ago, I reported that I spent a wonderful few hours exploring the beaches near Cayucos, California, in what turned out to be a mother lode of jasper of every pattern and description. Many were so beautifully rounded that they needed little tumbling, and just the addition of a polish to make them stand out. Well, I finished a batch today - and they are beauties.

There are brecciated jaspers (apparently common along in coast range in this area) and a variety of other colors and patterns. It was probably the single most productive few hours I've ever spent chasing rocks.

Having said that, the beach is NOT the best place for collectors looking for slab-worthy chunks of the stuff - these are all small, and really only fit for those who are content with tumblers. I am one of those, and I am delighted with what I found.  Too bad it's a thousand miles south of here!