It has been pointed out to me that there were some major holes in my last email.

The cost of the trip is $50 per person per day, and that includes the first 5 gallon bucket of agate.  Additional buckets of agate are $40 each, measured in ¼ bucket increments.

The Singleton Ranch is located south of Marfa on Highway 169. For two of the four hunting locations,a high-clearance vehicle and confidence in your driving skills are absolutely necessary to get to the collecting sites, and a 4wd vehicle will make your trip much easier.  If you don’t have that type of vehicle, there are places where you can park just off of the main ranch road, and we’ll find someone you can carpool in with.  I can usually fit 1 or 2 people in with me, if I know in advance that I need to get my jeep cleaned up so you’ll have a place to sit.

If you haven’t hunted at the Singleton Ranch before, it’s an amazing experience.  There is so much agate out there that in some places you can’t walk without stepping on agate.  Not all of it is agate you’ll want to cut or collect for specimens, but there’s enough incredible bouquet, plume, water-level, moss, and fortification agate out there that you will no doubt find something spectacular.  The bouquet agate is a plume agate where the colors of the plume are pastels, including yellows, oranges, pinks, peaches, reds, and occasional lavenders.   What I’m calling plume is the same stuff, but in the more conventional plume colors of black, grey and white.   Both Matt Dillon and Steve Ivie have great photos of Singleton Ranch agate.  Matt’s is on Flickr at http://www.flickr.com/photos/97769244@N00/sets/72157594503307829/, and Steve’s is at http://www.rockhoundingusa.com/rough/marfa/index.html.  Of course the photos are of the best agates, and they’ve been cut and some have been polished before being photographed.  Still, they do represent what can be found with a little luck and determination.

All of my field trips are Rollin’ Rock Club trips.  Those that aren’t members can join at the time of the trip.  the cost is $16 per couple and $10 single, and the membership is good throughout 2014.

Regards,
Teri