The spring rockhunting season has been quite good, with many lovely cutting agate pieces found on all 3 ranches I lead trips on. The most surprising finds have been fortification agates with unusual colors from the Ritchie Ranch. With just a couple of exceptions, I’m finished with leading field trips for the spring.   It’s been warm to hot on the ranches, and of course the farther south you go the hotter it gets. Even if it’s too hot for rockhunting out in West Texas, you can still buy great rough agate from me to cut and polish all summer in your ocean-front condo, air-conditioned treehouse, houseboat on the lake, or the back porch and garage.

I’m still selling some of the best agates from my collection in the ½ bucket size, or approx. 2.5 gallons.  This is enough agate to completely fill a USPS large sized priority box.  It should weigh between 25 and 35 pounds, depending upon the sizes and shapes of the stones included. 

These boxes of agate will contain all cutting and tumbling pieces, with the specimen pieces removed.   You can specify tumbling or cutting and I’ll try to get you the right sizes for your projects.  Quantities are limited, so order now.  I’ll be leaving for California in mid-May, so if you haven’t ordered by then, you won’t get your rocks til Fall.

Walker Ranch $150 plus $25 shipping.  May contain the following types of agate: red plume, black plume, flower garden, peanut, moss, fortification banded, tube, lace, and mixtures of those types.  The agate occurs in many different bright colors, from red and yellow to purple and green. The Walker Ranch has been closed to hunting for many years now.  I gather the material for each bucket and half-bucket when it’s ordered, so it may take a few days for me to fill your request.  Eventually I’ll run out of the good stuff,  and after that there will be no more available.

Singleton Ranch $150 plus $25 shipping. May contain the following types of agate: bouquet (plume agate in pastel colors), black plume, moss, water-level banded, fortification banded, brecciated opal (common, opaque opal in beiges, pinks and oranges, in a translucent background of black, blue, or white agate), and mixtures of those types. The agate occurs in many different pastel colors, from pink and yellow to white and green. The Singleton Ranch has been closed to hunting for many years now.

South Larremore Ranch $110 plus $25 shipping.  May contain the following types of agate: plume in various colors, moss, peanut, tube, flower garden, fortification (some with bands so close together that they can exhibit an iris effect when sliced thin), and petrified wood.  The agate occurs in many bright colors and some pastel colors as well.  The South Larremore Ranch is currently open for guided rockhunts that I lead in the Fall and Spring.

East Needle Peak $110 plus $25 shipping.  May contain the following types of agate: PomPom (a rare pseudomorph of agate after aragonite), moss, peanut, fortification, banded, tube, lace, and agatized petrified wood.  The agate occurs in many colors, but much of it is red, orange, or yellow, occasionally with areas of green.  East Needle Peak is currently open for guided rockhunts that I lead in the Fall and Spring.

Ritchie Ranch $60 plus $25 shipping. May contain the following types of agate: Moss, banded, fortification, tube, plume, translucent chalcedony, and a lovely unnamed type of agate that has irregular blobs of opaque agate in a translucent background.  The agate grew in two different occurrences, each with its characteristic color sets:  translucent chalcedony in blues, greys, and carnelian, and a more opaque, complexly patterned agate and jasper in bright red, orange, and yellow.  The Ritchie Ranch is currently open for guided rockhunts that I lead in the Fall and Spring.

Labradorite from the Walker Ranch.  This labradorite is not like the specimens you see where the background of blue and grey has a chatoyance or cat’s-eye effect.   At its best, Walker Ranch labradorite is bright yellow and almost transparent.  It’s great for faceting and makes cool specimens.  I’m selling it in 100 gram parcels for $25.00.  Not all of the pieces are the same size, however, and those who order earlier will get the parcels with the bigger pieces in them.  Shipping is $10, which seems awfully expensive, but you can ship several parcels in one small flat-rate box.

I will still also have full buckets for sale, and a few additional categories of cutting agate and specimens.  I will be keeping my website current as to what’s available.  You can find that information at http://terismithrockhunts.com/rocks-for-sale/.

You can order from me via phone, email or text.  I will take checks, PayPal and Zelle for distance payments, and cash also for purchases when you’re here in Alpine.  Twice a year I drive from Texas to California and back, so if you’re near I-10 in West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and parts of California, I can possibly deliver rocks to you if it works with your schedule.

Phone and text number: (432) 386-3431

Email: agatehunter@sbcglobal.net

Regards,

Teri