Aug 15th, 2026, Annual Picnic and Club Auction

Field trip reports
August 15th was our summer picnic and auction.  This year we held it at Coulon Park on the south shore of Lake WA.  It was a gorgeous day.  Lots of good food.  Beautiful view of the lake. Our club auction had precious opal, fossils, AZ petrified wood, crystals, various agates and jaspers rough and semi polished, amber, a carved wood bowl, a faceted gemstone necklace, and 6 buckets of mixed jasper/agate/mineral-specimens.  Great deals for club members.
Attendees:  Michele M. & Gerry P., Kat K.& Mike B., Becky P., Teri G., Vanessa L. & hubby, Jeff C., Karen J. & Carrie L., Roxanne & Wayne O., Jim G., Rich R., Pete & Bev W., Phillip & Becky T., Keith M., Scott & Lauri M. & friend Casey, Blossom & Ruby & June S., Linda J. & 2 granddaughters, Jeanie L., Olivia H., Aubrey S., and me.
Special thanks to:
Kat for reserving the Coulon Park gazebo
Mike B. for the grilled hot dogs and rock donations
Rich for doing the auction and the pendant donation
Pete and Bev for their accounting skills
Angie for donating 6 buckets of rocks from a friend’s collection
Lauri for taking good pictures
Everyone for bringing good food and making generous purchases.  The club auction raised $750.
Our next fieldtrip is scheduled for Sept. 12th at Frost Mtn.  Details will be sent via e-mail one week prior, along with weather and air quality assessment.
Our annual campout will be the weekend of Sept. 25-27 at Teanaway Campground with rockhounding at Redtop.  Again, details sent via e-mail.
Our annual Holiday Party is being planned for Sat. Dec. 5th at our usual meeting location – American Legion Hall in Kent.
                             by Roger Danneman

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: August 18, 2026 — 9:05 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  I hope you’ve all had a chance to get out and look for rocks during the lovely weather we enjoyed in July – it’s been mostly perfect rockhounding weather. And for those of you who were able to come on the field trips led by our fearless wagon master Roger Danneman, I hope you found some good material. Big thanks to Roger for getting us all out there and helping us find beautiful rocks! August is a bit of a break from the usual club meeting cadence – instead of having our club meeting on the second Thursday …

Meeting Announcements

  • Our August meeting will not be happening at the American Legion – instead, this month’s meeting is our annual club potluck and picnic on Saturday, August 15. Join us from 12-4 at Gene Coulon Park, South Shelter 2 – setup begins at 10:30am. Bring something you want to share and/or donate to the club auction, also happening during the picnic. 

  • September’s program is coming soon. We will update this page as soon as we know more.

  • 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!

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