Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:52 pm Posts: 576 Location: N Dakota
Timur, let me know when you plan to visit Crane. I have 4 kayaks for river access if you want to look for agates on the gravel bars of the Yellowstone river. I also can use my sons 20ft flat bottom boat if the water is up. Right now it is still very low better for kayaks.
We will be in Crane on 22 of May 2016. We got in touch with local guy who did Montana agates for all his life. He will show us couple of gravel pits with good agates where owners let him come. he said we will get a lot of good staff. We will come just for one day, i dont think we will have time for kayaks. Lets do kayaks another time.
If your family and your work schedule let you come, we will be very happy to see you!
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:52 pm Posts: 576 Location: N Dakota
Looks like rain moving through the area the next few days. Should be mostly gone by Sunday. Always better to hunt when the dust is freshly washed off. Colors show up much better
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:52 pm Posts: 1131 Location: Central Queensland, Australia
Yep, rain during your scheduled fossicking time is not good but just before is great - whenever there has been some solid rain on the field, you see people out specking everywhere.
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:52 pm Posts: 576 Location: N Dakota
Once again the weather man lied to us. Not much if any rain with the front but certainly plenty of sunshine. Timur was a bright shade of pink by the end of the day. Agates did their best to hide from us but we managed a few that will slab nicely. A couple of smaller pieces with dendrite inclusions for cabs. Not quite what we had hoped for but a good day just the same. Angelina and Sally were glad to have each other for company and found their share of rocks as well. Next trip we will run the boat down the river and hunt gravel bars for agates.
Just came back from the field... We found some really nice staff but not too much. A one can not make living picking up montana agates and selling it as raw material, now i understand why they are sold at Tuson show per slab and are not cheap. ( i am talkng about really nice ones). Sally and Dan will follow up with some with some photos soon. We had a really great time. Dan and Sally are really nice guys. Than you very much for dinner and fish from Alaska.
Now i am still in williston at my friends place, i will need another 8 hours of driving tomorow to get back home to Manitoba, Canada. I hope crossing the border will go smooth. We spent 1 hour on the border on the way here, those guys are very strict. US officer asked my wife "Have you been involved in prostitiution in the last 10 years" and she joked back "not in the last 10 years" and they got really mad.
P.S. Now I am a big fan of pulsating jig for prospecting
If everything goes well next time we will try to find some Ammolite fossils in Alberta in July, do some gold panning in Manitoba in August and as Dan said we will do a travel along the river by boat for agate collecting in Montana in September.
I am thinking about bringing my friend expierienced geologist from russia, to take a trip in remote areas of Northen Manitoba to look for any deposits of valubal staff. like nickel, rare earth metals, gold etc... those i will not mine myself but i will be able to selll claims
Joined: Wed Sep 02, 2015 10:52 pm Posts: 1131 Location: Central Queensland, Australia
Sounds like a fun trip was had by all! Can't wait to see the agates.
I would definately bring your geologist friend for a look. For a very long time we made the regular 6-hour drive out to the Anakie gemfields because we didn't think that anything worth digging for existed between our area and there (except gold). But gaining a little basic geological understanding - in no small part from this forum - has led me to realize that I am in fact surrounded by gemmy potential, I was simply ignorant of the relationship between gemstones and other minerals and the geology itself. Since then, I have found agates, jaspers, petrified wood, all colour varieties of quartz crystal, pyrope garnets and sapphires, all within an easy drive for a dig on a Saturday. Zircons and topaz are also confirmed in my area, though I'm yet to find them. There are simply endless numbers of places where gemmy things could be hiding in my area, just getting access takes some time.
Joined: Wed Jan 14, 2015 3:52 pm Posts: 576 Location: N Dakota
It just so happens Lefty they will be traveling your way very soon. I split the few I brought home into 3 groups. 1 stone Sally wants to keep and 2 groups for you and Pete. Not many or very large but they do contain dendrites. Perhaps they will make an interesting cab or 2.
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