April 20th, 2024 Biggs, Oregon Field Trip Report

Field trip reports

On Sat. April 20th we had a field trip to a private quarry near Biggs Junction, Oregon for Biggs Jasper and Agate. Jay Carlson of Sherman County Rocks in Rufus, OR, manages the operation and is doing field trips for rock clubs only. We had a beautiful clear day and started out by picking through the piles of material at his shop – Wascoite, Grainite, China Hollow, and Biggs Jasper/agate. Jay also has some beautiful finished material inside his shop. There were 20 people in 12 vehicles that went up to Beers Mtn. A few things I picked up from Jay’s explanation last year of the material is that it’s a mudstone formation formed millenia ago by thick mudpools under and over basalt lava flows. There were gas bubbles burping through the thick goo causing the intricate patterns to form as it was going through a hardening process. Bands of limonite (a type of iron) form the intricate patterns. It’s highly metamorphed and over time some agate and jasper formed in seams and pockets in the stone. The material takes a great polish. Mostly in brown tones, there are some hints of bluish and greenish coloration and pockets/seams of druzy crystal. The sites were easy to pick. A few people chiseled out chunks from the hard rock, but mostly it’s walking around and collecting loose material. The hardest part is deciding what to take home. The Beers Mtn material as well as the Wascoite and Grainite was $5/lb and the China Hollow material was $2/lb. We started out at 8:45 AM and finished by 12:00.
Afterwards some of us went to the Polka Dot Agate mine and others went to Richardson’s Rock Ranch. Both of those are about 80 miles further south via Hwy 97. At Polka Dot we chiseled beautiful blue agate from a large deposit that they’ve unearthed on the property. It’s very hard and dense and difficult to get chunks out, and one has to make a time slot reservation to work in the pit, but they also have a pile that you can pick from which is much easier.

Members who joined me were:
Scott & Laurie M., Christina L, John & Dave C. & friend Mike, Kari C., Scott M., Marion R., Michelle & Jerry M., Noelle B., Pete A., Jarrod D., Chris W. +2, Arlea W. +1.
Submitted by Roger Danneman Field Trip Guide

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: April 27, 2024 — 11:40 am

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  September is here, and it looks like a wonderful month so far for getting together and getting out in the field. First, thank you to everyone who helped make our August picnic and club auction such a success. The delicious food, generous donations, volunteer help and spirited bidding made it a great afternoon, and the auction raised $750 for the club. We return to our regular meeting schedule on Thursday, September 10, at 7:00 p.m. at the American Legion Hall in Kent. Our program is all about YOU: Show, Tell & Transform, where you get to briefly present …

Meeting Announcements

  • This program is all about YOU. Bring a rock, mineral, fossil, or other field find that you would like to turn into something. It might become a cabochon, carving, display specimen, jewelry piece, slab, polished piece, or something entirely different. Bring your item and share: Where and how you found or acquired it What interests you about the material What you’re considering making from it Any questions or challenges you would like help thinking through Then we’ll open the conversation to our knowledgeable and curious club members. Together, we can discuss the material, possible designs, cutting or finishing approaches, and other ideas that might help you take the piece from field find to finished project. You do not need to have a complete plan or any special expertise. That’s part of the fun. Bring the piece itself if possible, along with any sketches, inspiration photos, or examples that might help explain your idea.

  • Noelle Barnes will present Using Gaia for Rockhounding, an overview of the features and tricks associated with the app Gaia and how you can use it for GPS, saving waypoints, navigation, photo tagging, trail recording and more. Show and Tell: Bring the rock(s) that have the best “story” – and tell everyone how you found them and where!

  • Club board member Paul Ahnberg will talk to us about the impact of wildfires on our lives – from protecting your home to staying safe while out rockhounding – and what we can do today to help mitigate our risk. Paul will combine his knowledge gained from learning at both the WSU Green School (Master Gardener) and WSU Climate Steward programs. Show and Tell: Bring something you found, from a place that you know has since been impacted by floods or wildfires – or was impacted shortly before you arrived. Tell your story!

  • December’s date and time is coming soon. We will update this page as soon as we know more.

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