Finally!  I’m ready to provide details for the rockhunts coming up in April.  I apologize to all who have emailed and called asking for these details, but I needed to take some time and explore the South Larremore Ranch before I could tell you what is to be found there, and before the Larremores could set a price for the rockhunts.  I was out at the South Larremore Ranch last Saturday, Thursday and today, and I found quite a variety of agates and other goodies.  I’ll include details about the South Larremore Ranch at the end of this email.

The schedule is:
Tuesday, April 14, 2015:  Ritchie Ranch
Wednesday, April 15, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Thursday, April 16, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Friday, April 17, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Saturday, April 18, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Sunday, April 19, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Monday, April 20, 2015:  Walker Ranch
Tuesday, April 21, 2015:  South Larremore Ranch
Wednesday, April 22, 2015:  East Needle Peak
Thursday, April 23, 2015:  Singleton Ranch
Friday, April 24, 2015:  Singleton Ranch
Saturday, April 25, 2015:  Singleton Ranch
Sunday, April 26, 2015:  Singleton Ranch
Monday, April 27, 2015:  South Larremore Ranch

The prices for the ranches vary as shown below:
The Ritchie Ranch is $10 per person entrance fee, and $1 per lb. for the agate and quartz crystals you take with you.  I’ve found a new agate piece at the top of the hill where my “big rock” came from, and I have no idea how big it is.  If you want it, you just have to dig it out and pay for it!  Payment can be by cash or check.

The Walker Ranch is again offering a spectacular deal on their rockhunts:  if you pay in full by March 15, you get a free day.  This is on top of the free day you get already when you pay for two days at full price.   The first two days are at $75 per day, the next two at $37.50 per day.  So the fee schedule is:
1 day $75
2 days $150 ($75 if you pay by March 15th)
3 days $150
4 days $187.50 ($150 if you pay by March 15th)
5 days $225.00 ($187.50 if you pay by March 15)
6 days $262.50 ($225 if you pay by March 15)

In order to get on the list for this trip, you need to send a deposit of at least half of the fee.  Of course, if you send the whole fee by March 15, you get an extra day of rockhunting for free!  We need 20 paid attendees for this trip to happen.  The check should be made out to Bryan Crumpton, and you can send it to me at:
Teri Smith
509 N. 8th Street
Alpine, TX  79830

South Larremore Ranch is about 45 miles south of Alpine on Highway 118.  It’s 2,500 acres that was once part of Rex Ivey’s ranch, which is now subdivided and called East Rim Ranch.   The ranch is flat, and consists of alluvial deposits containing many types of quartz stones.  I have wandered around on this ranch for three days, and have found agate, including moss agates, fortification agates, and plume agates; petrified wood, some of which is completely agatized in beautiful colors; jasper in all colors of red from orange to purple, along with yellow, orange, and green;  and flint and/or chert in nodules of different colors.  There are also some shell fossils, and some interesting things I call “Terlingua Nodules” that appear to be at least partly agatized on the outside, and often are filled with calciferous mud on the inside.  The cost for this ranch will be $40 per person.

East Needle Peak is $40 per person per day.  On my last trip down there, a couple of months ago, I found a 16 lb. chunk of green moss with pompoms in it, and a 5 lb chunk of clear petrified wood with yellow and orange inclusions.  The only reason I could identify it as wood is because the exterior of the piece showed the rings and bark of the original wood.

The Singleton Ranch is $50 per person per day, cash only.  More details can be found on my website.

All of my field trips require that you join the Rollin’ Rock Club.  The fee for that is $10 single or $16 dual membership for the calendar year 2015.

To summarize:  I need at least half your fee for the Walker Ranch hunts to secure your place.  And I will need 20 participants to ensure that the hunts occur (we’ve never had a problem with getting 20 people!)  If you want to get an extra “free” day, send your entire fee to me by March 15.

You don’t need to send me a deposit on the other ranches.  Simply send me an email telling me which days/ranches you wish to hunt on, and I’ll put you on the list.

All hunts begin at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine.  Specifics about each hunt’s starting time will be sent in an email in about a week or so.

Regards,
Teri