Spring 2024 Rockhunts Start SOOOOON

Hi y’all! Spring rockhunting season is here, and it’s time to round up the rock bags and oil up the wheelbarrow for some great rockhunting adventures.

This Spring my schedule will be more flexible than it has been in the recent past. Aaron Thomas has said he’s not leading field trips this spring, so I have no reason to just schedule hunts for Thursdays, Fridays, and Mondays. I’ve waited til now to send out my schedule because I’ve been trying to make contact with the 06 Ranch to see whether anyone else would be leading hunts on the 06 this Spring, but I haven’t been successful, so I’m assuming that there will be no hunts there at all. If that changes, I’ll let you know ASAP.

Instead of scheduling rockhunts now and hoping those days work for rockhounds, I’ll tell you when I can lead rockhunts, and you pick the days that work best for you and let me know. It only takes one person to sign up for a rockhunt to happen, and I love to go on rockhunts, so I will be glad to lead a trip for one person. And if you’ve got a group, so much the better. I’ve had up to 30 people with me on hunts, and everyone had a good time and found great rocks!

I’ll still be leading rockhunts on the Ritchie Ranch, the South Larremore Ranch, and East Needle Peak. Jean and Bryan Larremore will also be leading trips to the South Larremore Ranch when they can.

For further information on the ranches I lead rockhunts on, and what you’ll need to do to prepare, follow this link: http://terismithrockhunts.com/for-rockhunters/ To sign up for one of my rockhunts, send me an email at agatehunter@sbcglobal.net or text me at (432) 386-3431. Please include a phone number so I can call you if necessary. I’d prefer not to have you call me because I’m forgetful, and having a text or email that I can refer to will ensure I remember the right dates and other information.

The only requirement for my hunts in addition to the fees stated below is that you need to join the Rollin’ Rock Club. This club costs $10 per year for a single membership ($16 dual membership), and provides insurance that protects the landowner from any damage we may accidentally cause.

So without further ado, here’s my schedule:

Green= Ought to be available
Yellow=Probably not available, but it doesn’t hurt to ask.

Once again, the hunts will begin highway 118 south.in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza in Alpine, at the corner of Holland Avenue and Highway 118 south.

East Needle Peak S. Larremore Ranch Ritchie Ranch
Meets at 8 am in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza in Alpine Meets at 8 am in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza in Alpine Meets at 9 am in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza in Alpine
Cost:  $50 per day.  First bucket of rocks you collect is included in cost. Cost:  $60 per day.  First bucket of rocks you collect is included in cost. Cost: $20 entrance fee and $1 per lb for cutting material and crystals.
Leader:  Teri Smith (432) 386-3431 Leader:  Teri Smith (432) 386-3431 Leader:  Teri Smith (432) 386-3431

Regards,
Teri

P.S. I’ve still got great rocks for sale. I‘ll be cataloging what I’ve got starting next week when I’m back in Texas, and I’ll send out an email about that as soon as I have an idea what I have.

Field Trip Report: 06 Ranch (also called Winn VI Ranch)

Note: For details about attending one of these incredible hunts, see the note at the end of this post.

The hunt at the 06 was amazing.  We drove north of Alpine on 118 for a ways, out onto the flat valley.  We turned right into a dirt road, and drove east on dirt roads for about half an hour.  We stopped at a huge valley with a pipe-and-wire corral in the middle of a lovely set of mountains.  This was a new place Aaron and James had only hunted once before.  The hills were similar in height to the bluffs at the Walker Ranch, and of course steeper in some places than others.  There were outcroppings of basalt here and there.  
 
There were 9 or so rockhunters on the trip (I believe 10 is the limit) and  we were pointed to a hillside about half a mile long.  We could fan out enough that we would have not been able to see each another.  Aaron & James handed each of us a walkie-talkie to use, and since it’s deer season, we were loaned bright fluorescent vests to wear.
 
At the bottom of the hills, there was a field of rocks about grapefruit to football size.  There were agate and quartz crystal pieces in those fields, partly buried in many cases.  As you went up the hills, they got rockier, and in some places there was grass stubble between  the rocks.    Now and then you’d find a patch that had several good sized agates on the surface, and more partially buried.   In between those patches were smaller sized agate and quartz crystal pieces and some small nodules that were interestingly colored and otherwise marked on the outside.  There were lots of worked pieces and evidence of a native American campsite.  We had been advised to go around the campsites when we found them, and although the one I saw was full of broken agate and jasper pieces, there was enough good stuff all over the hills to make it easy to bypass the camp sites.
 
Some of the agate and jasper there looked like material from the Ritchie.  The dominant agate was yellow/gold/brown moss in a background of cream, white, or blue chalcedony. 

The moss patterns varied from filaments of gold in lacy patterns, to larger patches and islands of moss, to patterns as dense as the flower garden moss from the Walker Ranch. There was enough of it on the surface of the part of that hillside where I was hunting  to fill up the beds of several pickups.  And the gold moss was ubiquitous:  you would go into and out of areas with other types of  agate, but you never got far away from the moss agate.
Along with the gold moss on that hillside there was red moss, black plume in cream and blue backgrounds, occasional pieces of red and gold moss, and some really neat stuff that they call “crayola”.  It looks like the opalized agate that we found on the Ritchie, with much smaller opalized bits in a chalcedony background, often in a regular pattern.  There were small and big pieces of that, some partly buried and a lot on the surface.  Many had surface pits that were in a regular pattern, as if there had been filaments of aragonite or another material in the cavity as the agate formed.  Some of the prettiest colors were lavender, maroon and mauve.  I didn’t seen any ‘rind’ on any of the pieces, so they probably came from a large seam somewhere up the mountain.
 
We had 3 hours there and I probably picked up 100 lbs of what I thought was good material.  Aaron wandered around collecting full bags and buckets, which he carried back down to the cars for us.  Since I don’t carry a rock hammer, he helped me get a couple of large pieces of the ‘crayola’ agate out of the ground, then  carried them down for me.  On the way back down to the cars, I followed Aaron to another part of the hill, which was covered with beautiful quartz crystal specimens.  I picked up some individual crystals that were at least 3” long, by far the biggest I’ve found on any of the ranches.  There were lovely crystal on agate specimens sticking out of the ground everywhere!  This was one place where I didn’t mind picking up gold moss agate!
 
I didn’t get to see what everyone else found, so I have no idea what was on the rest of the hill.  We got back to the car a bit late, with Aaron carrying all sorts of nice things for me.  Everyone else on the trip were people I had taken on fieldtrips, and everyone was excited by what they had found.  Some of them were making their second special trip to Alpine from Houston, Schertz and San Antonio to hunt for one exciting day.
 
Then we drove back the way we’d come for a while, and took a different branch of one of the roads.  In about 20 minutes we were at an area that was the other side of the mountain we had hunted before.  The valley we were in now was not very wide, and there was supposed to be good agate basically everywhere. 
 
There was a dry creek in the bottom of the valley, and since I was looking for the ladies’ room, I wandered into the brush in the creekbed.  There were a lot of large pieces of blue chalcedony, some quite vivid, with gold moss or plume in them.   There were different colors of blue and grey in fortification patterns or bands, and one had a red coating inside, all over the botryoidal surface, but only on the surface.  I found several  nice pieces of tube agate:  one was blue with blue quartz crystals on the outside of the tubes, another was blue with black and grey fortification lines at the ends of tubes and then around several tubes.  That one had gold moss that looked like it was in the middle of the tubes on one side that was broken obliquely to the pattern. There were also several small pieces that were spectacular!

Although there was supposed to be agate up on both hillsides of the little valley, I never got very far up the hills.  I stayed in the creek bed for a while, then ventured only a little ways up each hillside.  On one hillside I found several large nodules (the size of one of Johnny’s croissant sandwiches) that were orange or yellow chalcedony throughout  and really big compared to the ones I found at the Ritchie and the Walker.  I also found some pieces off a large seam agate that had a dense pattern that included red, blue, black grey and gold, and appears to have some plume in it. 

It was there that I came across the only annoyance of the day, in the form of an individual bee that wanted me to turn around and leave.  The bee hovered around my face and hands for several minutes until I got the hint.  Since I’m really allergic to bee stings, I took his advice and wandered away from there.   Full grown human:  0, Bee: 1.

The other hillside had some blue botryoidal pieces with crystals, a couple of nice red moss pieces, and my trip rock:  a long, narrow nodule of tube agate with the edges broken off in several places.  The chalcedony at the outer edge of the nodule was stained yellow and orange., and only part of the nodule was filled in around the tubes.  In the lower part of the nodule, which was solid, there were filaments of pink that went to maroon and gold.  The other end of the nodule was quartz crystal covered tubes. 

We hunted there for another 3 hours, got back to the cars at 5 p.m., and the rocks were weighed up.  I had 153 lbs., which included a very large piece of gold moss that was covered on one side with quartz crystals.  If it weren’t for the help of Aaron and James in carrying my rocks back to the vehicle, I wouldn’t have gotten a third as much.

Today as I was washing the rocks and sorting them, I’ve found about 10 lbs. that, in retrospect, I should have left there.  But first thing in the morning you don’t know what you’ll find later, and when you’re finding good stuff and having it carried back to the car for you, you don’t take much time to high grade. 

My total adventure cost $213:  $60 entrance fee and $153 for rocks.  Was it worth it?  Oh yes!  It was exhilarating, hunting on ground that had not been hunted much before.   It will be years before that particular hill runs out of large pieces, and there are hundreds and hundreds of hills on that ranch.  Aaron and James and the other guys that were there to help dig and carry were helpful and nice.  Aaron explained a bit of the geology to us before we started in the morning, and told us where we should find better material.  I’ll admit I didn’t understand much of the geological information he was telling us, but his advice on where to find the good stuff was similar to what we had been practicing on the Walker, Singleton and other ranches.  And the good stuff was indeed there.  I’ve been on a lot of field trips (over 1000 when I quit counting), and this is one I’ll remember for many years.  I’m going back again in 2 weeks.

Regards,
Teri

Note: The rockhunts on the 06 Ranch are being led by Aaron Thomas and James Winn VI. They begin at the Tri-La-Bite food trucks in Alpine. They currently happen only on Sundays, and are limited to 10 rockhounds per hunt. As of publication time, all hunts scheduled through 1/31/21 are full, and a new schedule for the Spring will be published in February. Once that schedule is published, I will try to schedule my rockhunts to other ranches (if indeed I am leading any) around the 06 hunts so you can come out to the Big Bend and go on hunts ion 4 different ranches in 4 days. If you have any questions about the hunts, you can reach Aaron Thomas at noraathomas@msn.com or roadcutgeology@yahoo.com

COVID Protocols for Rock Hunts

Hi y’all! I’m back in Alpine, Texas, in time to start field trips next week. Before the fieldtrips start, there are a couple of things I’d like to tell y’all about.First, I’ve added a new hunt on Sunday, 11/15 to East Needle Peak. Starts at 8 a.m. at Tri-la-Bite, and is $40 per person. Email me if you wish to attend.Second, for all hunts, COVID protocols will be in place: wear a mask when people are gathered, or when you are carpooling with someone you don’t live with. Wash hands with hand sanitizer (bring your own), and social distance at least 6 feet. I’m afraid that means no hugs! Mask wearing is required for the fieldtrips: you must wear a mask or you don’t go on the field trip. I’m in a high-risk group (age 65, moderate emphysema), and I really want to live through all this so I can have another 35 years or so to rockhunt. Aaron’s a bit younger than I am, so he will have another 60 years of rockhunting ahead of him, which y’all don’t want to miss!

Regards,

Teri and Aaron

Rockhunts this Fall, and Rocks For Sale Now

Hi Y’all!  June is upon us, and with it the hot weather.  I’m working on my plan for going to California at the end of June.  My current thought is that I will indeed come back to Texas this Fall to lead more field trips, probably from Mid-October through Thanksgiving, or perhaps all the way til the middle of December.  You can look for a schedule from Aaron and me sometime near the end of August or beginning of September. 

As you know, mandates from the government to ‘shelter in place’ or not travel can indeed cause me to change my plans, but barring something like that, I want to lead trips this Fall to get to see everyone I didn’t get to see this Spring, and have lots of fun picking up agates and other goodies.

Also, I’m still selling rocks by the bucket, and shipping them out.  I’ve sent over 100 boxes of agate and other materials to rockhounds across the country via USPS, and every box has gotten there safely. I still have agate available from the Singleton Ranch ($125 for an unsorted bucket, $250 for a bucket where I’ve sorted two or more buckets together and removed everything that isn’t cutting material). There are a few buckets left of Stillwell Ranch material ($250 per bucket), South Larremore Ranch rocks ($200 per bucket), East Needle Peak rocks ($200 per bucket) and Ritchie Ranch agate ($200 per bucket).  I have mixed agate ($150 per bucket), Agate from Mexico ($175 a bucket) and all kinds of other goodies.  You can look at a complete list of what’s available on my website, at www.terismithrockhunts.com/rocks-for-sale/.   I hope to add selected specimens to the list of things for sale, but I don’t know when I’ll get that done.

If you wish to get your rocks before I head west for the summer, you need to order them by June 15th.  You can either have me save your rocks until you can get out here this Fall, or you can have me pack and mail them to you at the cost of $50 per bucket.

I hope y’all have a good summer and stay well.  See you in the Fall!

Regards,

Teri

All Rockhunts in March and April CANCELLED.

The remaining rockhunts for March and April, 2020, have been cancelled because of the public health directives issued by the Brewster County Judge.

The County Judge in Brewster County, TX (location of all three ranches that I lead field trips on) has expanded the recent Disaster Declaration to include the closure of restaurants, bars, hotels, motels, RV Parks and campgrounds.  Since these necessary services for rockhounds won’t be available, it seemed prudent to cancel the remaining rockhunts for the season at this point.  I had hoped we could avoid this, and if the restrictions are lifted in time, we can reinstate whatever rockhunts are remaining.

I will keep you posted about changes to the existing Declarations.  In the meantime I’m still selling rock buckets.  An inventory of the buckets for sale can be found at http://terismithrockhunts.com/rocks-for-sale/.

For those of you who have at least one bucket of rock reserved in your name, I’m still looking for the least expensive method of shipping the buckets to you.  Will let you know when I find it!

Regards,

Teri Smith

P.S.  If you have a hotel reservation here, you’ve probably heard from your hotel already.  If not, I’d consider calling them.

Winter/Spring 2020 Rockhunt Schedule

Aaron Thomas and I are happy to present the Big Bend rockhunt schedule for Winter and Spring, 2020.

Aaron has added a new ranch:  The Stieg Ranch, near Balmorhea. The Stieg Ranch is an alluvial fan, which is relatively flat terrain, with a creek bed running through it.  Both the alluvial fan and the creek bed have every type of agate that eroded out of the surrounding hills.  You can find the Balmorhea Blue agate, banded agate, jasper, petrified wood, chert and artifacts.  The fee will be $50 per person, and that will entitle you to a 5-gallon bucket full of collectible rocks.

Aaron will be leading field trips every weekend from January 4th through the end of April. I will be gone for January, February, and the beginning of March, and will begin my weekday hunts on Monday, March 16.  I’ll have hunts every weekday during the two weeks that constitute spring break for most Texas schools, so there will be hunts each day from Saturday, March 14 through Sunday, March 29.  Then there will be rockhunts Thursdays through Mondays for the next several weeks until  Monday, April 27.  This will give y’all the longest possible time for rockhunting on your trip out to the Big Bend, and you can pick and choose which days you’d like to hunt.  You can sign up for Aaron’s field trips the same way you sign up for mine:  send me an email with the days you wish to attend, and make sure to include the phone number for a cell phone you’ll have with you.  Both Aaron and I will be leading trips to the South Larremore Ranch.   All of Aaron’s field trips will be limited to 12 people, and there’s still no limit to the number than can attend my field trips.

All field trips this year will begin at Tri-la-Bite, which is at the corner of Holland Avenue and Garnett Street in Alpine.  It’s on the left side of the street, across from the Sonic Drive-In.

So here’s the schedule.  Be sure to look at the start time for your field trip because they vary depending upon the ranch. I love y’all, but I’m tired of getting emails and calls for questions that are answered in this email, and available on my website.

Regards,

Teri and Aaron

Date Location Leader Cost Start Time Requirements
Sat. 12/28 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sun. 12/29 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 1/4 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 1/5 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat. 1/11 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 1/12 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 1/18 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 1/19 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat. 1/25 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 1/26 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 2/1 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 2/2 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat. 2/8 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 2/9 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 2/15 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 2/16 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat. 2/21 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 2/22 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 2/29 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 3/1 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat. 3/7 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 3/8 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sat. 3/14 South Larremore Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun.3/15 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon. 3/16 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Tue. 3/17 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Wed 3/18 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Thu 3/19 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Fri 3/20 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 3/21 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 3/22 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon. 3/23 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Tue. 3/24 Ritchie Ranch Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Wed 3/25 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Thu 3/26 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Fri 3/27 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Sat. 3/28 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people.  Cash only
Sun. 3/29 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people Cash or check
Thurs  4/2 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Fri 4/3 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 4/4 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 4/5 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon 4/6 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Thurs 4/9 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Fri 4/10 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 4/11 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 4/12 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon 4/13 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Thurs 4/16 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Fri 4/17 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 4/18 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sun. 4/19 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Mon 4/20 Ritchie Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Thurs 4/21 South Larremore Ranch Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Fri 4/24 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 4/25 Stieg Ranch Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 4/26 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon 4/27 Ritchie Ranch Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check

Rockhunts for November and December 2019

I’ve finally got a rockhunt schedule for the rest of November and December, and there are some very exciting developments for y’all!

I’m now working with Aaron Thomas, who is a degreed mineralogist and geologist, and a full time Alpine resident.  He and his wife Katrina run a food truck  business in Alpine called Tri-la-Bite, so he’s only free to lead field trips on Saturdays and Sundays.  He has been rockhunting in the Big Bend for most of his life, and has several ranches available for field trips on an occasional basis and a couple he can go to all the time.  Aaron’s very enthusiastic as well as knowledgeable, has more stamina than all of us put together, and is lots of fun to be around.

Because of Aaron’s schedule, I’ll be moving my field trips to the weekdays before and after the weekends when Aaron can lead trips.  This will give y’all the longest possible time for rockhunting on your trip out to the Big Bend, and you can pick and choose which days you’d like to hunt.  You can sign up for Aaron’s field trips the same way you sign up for mine:  send me an email with the days you wish to attend, and make sure to include the phone number for a cell phone you’ll have with you.  Both Aaron and I will be leading trips to the South Larremore Ranch.   All of Aaron’s field trips will be limited to 12 people, and there’s still no limit to the number than can attend my field trips.

For this set of rockhunts, the new ranch Aaron has available each weekend is the Needle Peak property owned by Jan Woodward.  This is the traditional Needle Peak site which has produced great pompom and moss agates and for the past 60 or so years. It’s west of the East Needle Peak property we’ve been hunting on for years, and if you wish to climb up to where the agate is coming out of the mountain, it’s rather steep.  But there is plenty of agate to be found on the flat area below the mountains and above the creekbed.  I was there last weekend and there are spectacular things to be found!  And Jan Woodward is donating all proceeds from the hunts to the local animal shelter in the name of her late husband Trey Woodward.

All field trips this year will begin at Tri-la-Bite, which is at the corner of Holland Avenue and Garnett Street in Alpine.  It’s on the left side of the street, across from the Sonic Drive-In.

So here’s the schedule.  Be sure to look at the start time for your field trip because they vary depending upon the ranch. I love y’all, but I’m tired of getting emails and calls for questions that are answered in this email, and available on my website.

Date Location Leader Cost Start Time Requirements
Thurs. 11/14 Ritchie Ranch Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Fri. 11/15 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 11/16 South Larremore Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people.  Cash or check
Sun. 11/17 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Mon. 11/18 South Larremore Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Thurs. 11/28 South Larremore Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Fri. 11/29 Ritchie Ranch Teri $10 entrance + $1/lb 9:00 Cash or check
Sat. 11/30 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sun. 12/1 South Larremore Teri $50 8:00 Cash or check
Mon 12/2 East Needle Peak Teri $40 8:00 Cash or check
Sat. 12/7 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sun 12/8 South Larremore Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people Cash or check
Sat 12/14 South Larremore Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people Cash or check
Sun 12/15 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sat 12/21 Needle Peak Aaron $50 6:30 Limit of 12 people Cash only
Sun 12/22 South Larremore Aaron $50 8:00 Limit of 12 people Cash or check

Rollin’ Rock Club membership is still required for my field trips.  Cost is $10 single and $16 for a dual membership.  Membership will run through the year 2020.

Regards,

Teri

News, both Good and Bad

The last of the old-time rockhunting ranches has been closed.  The wonderful Stillwell Ranch has been divided and much of it has been sold.  Included in the sale is the old primitive campground and the hills in which we used to find marvelous agate.  The black tank area to the north of the big wash has been sold as well.

The Stillwell Ranch is still open as a place to stay, with RV hookups, primitive camping, and the store.  There is another ranch in the area that has expressed an interest in hosting rockhunters, and I intend to talk to them soon.   I’ll let you know as things progress.

As for me, I’m in California for a while, but I may  be coming back to Texas to lead field trips in Fall 2019 as well as in Spring 2020.  Some of that depends on y’all.  Please let me know if you’d be interested in Fall field trips, and when you’d like them.  I don’t know yet if I’ll be able to do Fall trips, but if I do, I’d like to do them when as many as possible can attend.  So send me an email that indicates when you’d consider coming out for hunts, and how many people would be in your group.  I realize that this is all incredibly iffy, but the more I know about when y’all would come out if  every thing falls together, the better I can plan.

My husband John is not doing all that well right now, but I believe the doctors are getting a handle on it and he’ll be feeling better soon.  The lower elevation seems to be helping him breathe better, and his medicines need to be tweaked to what his current condition is.

Since I don’t think that I’ll be able to reopen my  museum soon, I am offering for sale some of the exhibit material, including the plume agate ‘windows”.  The windows are $2500.00 each, or $4500 for both.  I also have two other panels that have never been displayed, one of which is composed of mostly local material, and the other of which is mostly Brazilian.

I’ve also still got agate buckets for the Walker and Singleton ranches, and Stillwell, Ritchie, Larremore, East Needle Peak and other material as well.  Nothing will happen on that until I’m back in Texas, but the more I know about what you want to purchase, the better I can accommodate you.

I hope y’all are having a wonderful summer!  If you’re rockhunting, or cutting previous finds, I’d love to see photos of your rocks!

Regards,
Teri

Rockhunts Start at New Location

Starting immediately, Teri Smith and Teri Smith Rockhunts will no longer be associated in any way with the Antelope Lodge.  Instead, we will start our rockhunts in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza, which is as the corner of Holland Avenue and Highway 118 (in town it’s called Cockrell St.) in Alpine.
 
The reason for this change is that a current member of the Antelope Lodge’s staff accosted me in the parking lot of the grocery store, and in the ensuing confrontation said he didn’t want us to meet there anymore, and called me a name I don’t believe I deserved.
 
This individual’s behavior was upsetting and frightening, and I don’t want any of you to be subjected to the same thing.  Because of this treatment, I ask you NOT to stay at the Antelope Lodge when you come to Alpine for rockhunts.   After we sold the Lodge in December 2017, I continued to start my rockhunts at the Lodge and recommend the Lodge as a place to stay as a courtesy to the new owner, even though rates had been raised quite a bit.  Apparently the new owner does not need or want the revenue generated by rockhounds.
 
If the staff of the Lodge doesn’t want rockhunters on their property, as I was told, then we ought to take them at their word and go someplace else.
 
Regards,
Teri
  P.S. Before you cancel any reservations at the Antelope Lodge, make sure you have reservations at another hotel.  April is very busy in the Big Bend, and I wouldn’t want you to cancel your reservation at the Lodge and not be able to find another suitable room.

Finally!  Teri’s Spring 2019 Agate Sale Begins Now

Well, spring is coming, and it’s time for me to start selling my agate collection.  I have not even gotten halfway through a detailed inventory of the whole collection, but I know enough of what’s there to begin selling what I would consider to be some of the most desirable agates in the collection:  those from the ranches now closed to rockhunting.  This means cutting material and specimens from the Walker and Singleton Ranches.

In the Fall, I sent out an email asking those on my email list how they would like to purchase the agates, and almost half of those who responded said they would like to purchase the agate in 5-gallon buckets, unsearched since the time I filled them.  So that’s what I’m going to start with.

Full 5-gallon buckets of Walker Ranch or Singleton Ranch agate will be $250.00 each.  These buckets will contain a mix of cutting material and specimens, but most of the material will be for cabbing or tumbling.  When I filled the buckets, I packed them, so most of them will weigh about 50 lbs., and have a mix of larger and smaller pieces.  If you only want larger pieces that you can slab, these buckets are not for you, since I filled in the spaces left between bigger pieces with tiny ones.  My philosophy is that if you can make a nice cab or tumbled stone out of it, it’s a keeper.  The Walker buckets can also contain a few Native American artifacts or reduction chips, including scrapers of various sizes and materials.

Many of these rocks were collected quite a while ago, while others came from the most recent years when the Singleton and Walker Ranches were open.  Most of the buckets are not marked as to date collected and packed, but some are.  In general, those collected earlier may have bigger pieces in them, since there were more big pieces easily available in the first seasons the ranches were open.  But agates collected later may be of a generally better quality since I learned as I went along and only picked up the best things I found every time I collected.  If you have a desire for material collected early or late, let me know and I’ll try to get you buckets from the time frame you wish.  I can generally tell when things were collected by their location in my yard, even if they don’t have dates on them.

Right now I probably have 30 – 40 buckets from each ranch ready for pickup, out of a total of over 150 buckets from each ranch.  And I still have over 150 buckets where the identifying paint has faded and I’ll have to open them in order to determine what they are. 


I also have buckets available of specimen material from the Walker and Singleton Ranches.  These buckets can contain quartz and calcite crystals, in small and medium pieces, or geodes, saginite and calcite pseudomorphs, tube agates, botryoidal pieces, and pieces of plume or bouquet agate where the background has not yet filled in.  Walker Ranch buckets can also include pieces of a flint-like material that is often pastel and can have very interesting shapes, and perhaps a bit of amethyst. Singleton Ranch buckets may also contain brecciated opal pieces that can be spectacular, and an occasional piece of basalt with tiny bits of moonstone in it.  Specimen buckets are $150.00 each.  

I have one huge specimen lot that came from Telephone Hill on the Singleton Ranch.  It’s a huge botryoidal geode in at least ten major pieces and more than 4 5-gallon buckets of minor ones.  After you put it back together, it will be spectacular!  I’ve figured out how seven of the major pieces go together, basically, and it will have a curved bottom and a diameter of probably 3 to 4 feet.  The colors are blues, grey and white.  The whole thing would make a great display either as separate pieces or put together.  All of it is for sale together for $750.00.


I have also had many requests for geodes, and I have probably 30 5-gallon buckets full of Mexican geodes that I purchased over the years.   They are in sizes ranging from a chicken egg to bigger than an emu egg.   I’m willing to offer these by the pound as well as by the bucket, since not everyone wants a whole bucket of geodes.  But the general consensus was that grandkids loved geodes, so it’s good to always have some around.  I’ll sell any quantity of a pound or more at $3 per lb., no matter what size they are.  Buckets will generally weigh light, because geodes leave a lot of air space, so I’ll just weigh the full buckets and sell the whole bucket at $2.75 per lb. 
 
I’ve got lots of other categories of agate and other materials in my collection, but I needed to start somewhere.  While the rest of my collection will be available once I have finished my inventory, some other things can perhaps be made available this spring if you let me know in advance so I have time to locate and pack them for sale.   These other things include: agate from all the ranches I currently lead field trips on, and miscellaneous U.S. agate for $200.00 per 5 gallon bucket; agate from Mexico either organized by what it is or where I got it at anywhere from $200 to $600 for a 5-gallon bucket; and large agate and petrified wood pieces (from about 10 lbs to over 400 lbs) at $2 per lb.


And there’s also over a ton of beautiful slag glass in all colors at $6/lb for up to 20 lbs, $5/lb for 21-100 lbs, and $4/lb for 101 lbs and more.   The sooner you let me know what you want, the more likely you are to get it this spring.  Send me an email stating your name, cell number, what you want, and when you are going to come to get it.  I’ll reply letting you know the agate is being saved for you.  You can either pay in advance or when you pick it up.  I’ll accept both cash and checks.
 
Now, as for delivery:  right now I’m hoping that y’all will come out for rockhunts this spring and pick up your purchases then.   If you can’t do that, please still let me know what you want to purchase, and I’ll put it aside for you.  Perhaps we can make some arrangements for delivery.  My son lives in Kerrville, and he could probably take a bucket or two home with him when he comes to visit, so that might be an option if you live near the Hill Country.  I’m not able to lift a 50-lb bucket, so if y’all need help with moving them, perhaps we can split them into more than one container to lift.
 
If you have any questions or comments, please email me. 
 
Regards,
Teri