On Sat. July.18th we went to Crystal Mountain north of Ellensburg for geodes, crystal plates, jasper, and agate. A beautiful clear day and clear air with temps in the mid-70’s up at 4500 feet. We went to Geode Hill first It takes a lot out of a person to sit and bust through the soft basalt under the hot sun. Breezy, dusty, and no canopy there but very nice views. I only collected some surface agate there. After about 2 1/2 hours we went to the 2nd site to dig for agate/jasper/crystal. That site yielded some nice material with colors of dark blue, green, red, and orange. The road going in has a couple of spots that when muddy make it impassable, so I’m not sure if we’ll get in there next Oct. Might have to substitute another location.
The group consisted of 25 people in 13 vehicles:
Annie S. and dog Tess, Venessa L., Nicole A. family of 4, Jeanie L., Blossom S. family of 4, Jeramy P., Matt C., Arleaha W. group of 4, John M., Alexis W. & David B., Chris V., Zach S. +1, Martha C., and me.
Remember our CMS summer picnic this year is at Renton Coulon Park South Shelter on Saturday Aug. 15th. Details came out by e-mail on July 13th. Set-up is at 10:30 with Potluck at 12:00 and auction of club donated rocks and items to follow. It’s a popular park on summer weekends, so best to get there early for parking.
Other than the picnic, there are no scheduled trips in August. If a trip should arise, I’ll send out an announcement.
Submitted by Roger Danneman CMS Field Trip Guide
