And the January 2018 Rockhunt Schedule is… Blank.

Happy Holidays to all my rockhound friends!  As many of you know, John and I sold the Antelope Lodge, effective December 18th.

We’ve owned the lodge for the 22 years we’ve been in Alpine.  We basically raised the kids there, and most of our friends are former employees or guests.  We customized the Lodge so it looked and ran like we wanted it to.

So the first thing I need to do in 2018 is to remove my shop and museum from the Lodge, and clean up and out all my personal stuff that’s out there, so that the new owners can mold the Lodge so it matches their vision of it.  And there are things we need to do in order to close the books for the business, as well.

I’ve been trying to come up with a rockhunt schedule for January and February that will allow me to get done what I need to do an the Lodge, and lead rockhunts as well, and I just can’t figure out how I can do it.  Even with help (our son Austin on his break from college, and some friends, plus a bit of hired muscle), it’s probably going to take me being out at the Lodge every day in order to get this done by the deadline set in the purchase agreement.

So, for January and the first half of February, I’m not scheduling any rockhunts at all.  I’m sorry if this is a disappointment to anyone.  After the middle of February, when my contractual obligations are completed, I hope to be able to finish the rockhunting season as usual, with a couple of weekends a month given over to hunts.

But there are a couple of other options for rockhunts here that are still going strong:  Jean Larremore and her cousin Tommy Vick can lead hunts to the South Larremore Ranch upon occasion, and you can go to the Stillwell Ranch and hunt without a guide.

For the Larremore Ranch, email me and I’ll work with Jean to set up dates based on your availability, starting on January 5th.

The Stillwell Ranch is open 7 days a week, but just to be sure I’d suggest you call them the day before you plan to go at (432) 376-2244.   There’s plenty of area to hunt in and lots of good stuff to find, and it’s only 50 cents per pound for what you take with you.

Thank you for your understanding.

Teri

Smiths sell the Antelope Lodge!

John & Teri Smith wish to announce that we’ve sold the Antelope Lodge as of today, and that it will be under new management as of tomorrow. Many thanks to all our guests and friends for 22 great years!

My rockhunts will continue as before, meeting in front of the Antelope Lodge office. However, I won’t have a key to the office, and my museum and shop will be closed for the time being.  So we’ll have to find a restroom to use someplace else!

Stay tuned!

Ritchie Ranch (12/8) & South Larremore (12/9) hunts cancelled.

No one has signed up for the Ritchie Ranch rockhunt tomorrow, or the South Larremore Ranch rockhunt this Saturday, 12/9/17, so I’ve cancelled the hunts.  It’s also snowing, with about a 5″ accumulation so far, so we wouldn’t be able to see the rocks on the ground anyhow.

Tomorrow I’ll take a look at the weather in Terlingua and see if we can still try for East Needle Peak on Sunday.  I’ll post my information here.

 

Rockhunt Schedule from Thanksgiving to New Years’

Below is a schedule of rockhunts for Thanksgiving week and December, 2017.

Please email me at agatehunter@sbcglobal.net if you wish to sign up. If no one has signed up for a rockhunt 48 hours before it is to start, it will be cancelled, and can’t be “uncancelled”.

All rockhunts start at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine.   Note that not all rockhunts start at the same time in the morning. Those that are farther away from Alpine begin earlier, so we’ll still get in a full day’s rockhunting even after traveling.

Another requirement for my trips is that you need to join the Rollin’ Rock Club.   Membership is $10 for a single person, $16 for a couple, and the membership will run throughout 2018.

For information about the different rockhunting sites and photos of what can be found, please look at the “locations” section under the “For Rockhunters” tab on my website, www.terismithrockhunts.com.

Date Time Trip Location Leader Cost
Monday, 11/20 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb
Tuesday 11/21 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Jean Larremore $50
Wednesday 11/22 7:00 a.m. East Needle Peak Teri Smith $40
Friday, 12/8 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb
Saturday, 12/9 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Sunday, 12/10 7:00 a.m. East Needle Peak Teri Smith $40
Friday, 12/15 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb
Saturday, 12/16 7:00 a.m. East Needle Peak Teri Smith $40
Sunday, 12/17 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Wednesday, 12/20 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb
Thursday 12/21 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Friday, 12/22 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb
Saturday, 12/23 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Sunday, 12/24 7:00 a.m. East Needle Peak Teri Smith $40
Monday, 12/25 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Friday, 12/29 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Saturday, 12/30 7:00 a.m. East Needle Peak Teri Smith $40
Sunday, 12/31 8:00 a.m. South Larremore Ranch Teri Smith $50
Monday, 1/1/18 9:00 a.m. Ritchie Ranch Teri Smith $10 each + $1 per lb

 

Regards,

Teri

 

Calendar for Spring 2016

Wow! Something has happened to my calendar, and it’s not showing up. So here’s the schedule through the end of April. I apologize if this has inconvenienced anyone.

Below the schedule is the information about each ranch and the fees involved.

Tuesday, Feb 7: S. LARREMORE
Wednesday, Feb 8: EAST NEEDLE PEAK
Tuesday, Feb 14: SINGLETON
Wednesday, Feb 15: SINGLETON
Thursday, Feb 16: STILLWELL
Friday, Feb 17: RITCHIE
Monday, Mar 6: RITCHIE
Tuesday, Mar 7: S LARREMORE
Wednesday, Mar 8: E NEEDLE PEAK
Thursday, Mar 9: RITCHIE
Friday, Mar 10: S. LARREMORE
Saturday, Mar 11: SINGLETON
Sunday, Mar 12: E NEEDLE PEAK
Monday, Mar 13: RITCHIE
Tuesday, Mar 14: S LARREMORE
Wednesday, Mar 15: E NEEDLE PEAK
Thursday, Mar 16: RITCHIE
Friday, Mar 17: S. LARREMORE
Saturday, Mar 18: SINGLETON
Sunday, Mar 19: Cancelled: no one signed up.
Monday, Mar 20: E NEEDLE PEAK
Tuesday, Mar 21: S LARREMORE
Wednesday, Mar 22: SINGLETON
Thursday, Mar 23: E NEEDLE PEAK
Friday, Mar 24: SINGLETON
Saturday, Mar 25: SINGLETON
Sunday, Mar 26: SINGLETON
Monday, Mar 27: S. LARREMORE
Monday, Apr 10: RITCHIE
Tuesday, Apr 11: S. LARREMORE
Wednesday, Apr 12: E NEEDLE PEAK
Tuesday, Apr 18: S LARREMORE
Wednesday, Apr 19: SINGLETON
ALTERNATE FOR WEDNESDAY, April 19: S LARREMORE
Thursday, Apr 20: SINGLETON
Friday, Apr 21: SINGLETON
Saturday, Apr 22: SINGLETON
Sunday, Apr 23: RITCHIE
Monday, Apr 24: S. LARREMORE

East Needle Peak Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Cost: $40 per person, cash or check. No credit cards.
Details: About 100 miles south of Alpine. High clearance vehicle required, 4wd recommended. Some hiking and climbing required to reach agate areas. Finds can include agate, jasper, flint, quartz crystals, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and aquatic fossils. No collecting of live plants.

Ritchie Ranch Start Time: 9:00 a.m.
Cost: $10 entrance fee per person and $1 per lb. for the agate you take. Cash or check, no credit cards.
Details: Extremely close to Alpine. Accessible in most vehicles. Terrain is rolling hills: very little climbing involved. Great for families with kids, new rockhounds, or those with limited mobility. Finds can include agate, jasper, and quartz crystals. No collecting of live plants.

Singleton Ranch Start Time: 8:00 a.m.
Cost: $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments). Cash only.
Details: About 25 miles south of Marfa (50 miles from Alpine). Four major hunting locations on one ranch. Terrain goes from flat to rolling hills. Two locations accessible by passenger car, but high clearance vehicle recommended. The other two require high clearance vehicles, and 4wd recommended. All areas are accessible by those with limited mobility. Finds can include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, calcite and aragonite. No collecting of Native American artifacts or live plants.

South Larremore Ranch Start Time: 8:00 a.m.
Cost: $40 per person if I lead the trip, and $50 per person if Jean Larremore leads the trip. Trips marked with an asterisk (*) are led by Jean Larremore. Cash or check, no credit cards.
Details: About 40 miles south of Alpine. Terrain in many areas is flat, but hunting in the creek beds can be steep and difficult. Some areas accessible by passenger car, but high clearance vehicle is recommended. Finds include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, flint, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and an occasional fossil.

Stillwell Ranch Start Time: 7:00 a.m.
Cost: No entrance fee, 50¢ per lb. for what you take.
Details: About 45 miles south of Marathon, which is 30 miles east of Alpine. Roads rough in many places. High clearance vehicle recommended. Finds include agate, jasper, quartz crystals, flint, petrified wood, calcite, aragonite, selenite, and an occasional fossil.