Mar 19th, 2022, Swift Creek / Baker Lake Field Trip Report

Turned out to be a pretty nice outing at Swift Creek / Baker Lake on Sat. It rained on the drive there and rained slush on my drive out at 3:30, but the 4+ hours we were collecting only had a few sprinkles. The hills in the area were covered with new snow above about 1500 feet. The creek is at 800 foot elevation. We had 16 people in 9 vehicles on this trip. A pair of large down trees challenged our access to the downstream part of the river, but we all managed to either climb over them or go around them through the brush. There was a lot of storm and winter damage in the area judging by the trees and branches that were down. The stream has had some high flow turbulent activity that has stirred up the gravel this winter and quite a few nice large agates were found by the group from just surface collecting. I only have pictures of the material I collected, but it’s typical of what the group found. I had never heard the term Baker Blues before, but a couple of members asked if the agates were Baker Blues. If there is such a thing, then the found agates are them.

Our next trip is to Saddle Mtn on Sat April 23rd for petrified wood with a bonus trip the next day to an area by the Columbia River near Pasco for Carnelian agate. The Pasco site is surface collecting and not a dig. I’ve booked myself a hotel room at the Baymont in Kennewick, but I’m letting everyone that wants to make it an overnight trip take care of their own accommodations. I’ll set a time and rendezvous point near the site for us to meet.

Submitted by Roger Danneman Field Trip Guide (roger.danneman@gmail.com)
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Updated: March 20, 2022 — 7:25 pm

Presidents Message

  • From the Top of the Rock Pile Our annual club picnic went off great. The grass and Arboretum area was not wet or muddy, plus it didn’t rain while we were there. We had the usual club members attend, plus a few new faces. I forgot to count how many people attended, but I estimate around 40. Thank you, Angie and Brian, for shopping for the food and setting everything up. Thumbler’s Tumblers donated a tumbler for our picnic auction and another one for our holiday auction in December. The new double-barreled 15# tumbler sold for $120, approximately one-third the

Meeting Announcements

  • We are going to show a video of the most unusual and amazing things found in Amber. It isn’t just insects. We are also going to have a recap of how our Gem Show did last month. Show ‘n Tell: An item that has something trapped inside or a picture rock, thunder egg, or geode that looks like it has an insect, animal, or face inside.

  • Maureen will speak on the geology and the movement of the Washington coastline over millions of years. Show ‘n Tell: Favorite rock or mineral from Washington

  • Glen Ripper is a leading authority on Obsidian. He is a walking encyclopedia which should make this an interesting and educational meeting. Show ‘n Tell: Obsidian – let’s see your colors.

  •   We start the day off with a potluck holiday meal. The club provides roasted turkey and ham. Members fill in with their favorite holiday potluck dish. We follow our meal with the election of officers for the coming year. Our final activity is our club auction. It is a great time to pick up great bargains on rough rocks, polished rocks, slabs, fossils, opal, etc. Our Young Tumblers can use their Rock Bucks to purchase auction items. This meeting is also our semi-annual food drive for the Kent Food Bank. Please remember to bring something. The Food Bank has informed us that they need feminine hygiene products and grape or strawberry jelly. People donate loads of peanut butter but never jelly. They also receive very few donations of feminine hygiene products.

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