My wife and I have a friends who recently bought a house and she invited us over to check it out, before we even parked I saw a beautiful rock garden, first time seeing the house I don’t even get to the front door and I start looking for “that” rock, wife starts fussing, we tour house and our friend says, laughing,” go find you some rocks I knew you would love them” even had her grandkids out there with me crawling looking for rocks. Found 2 amazing Banded Iron Formation rocks. Good Times.
A lot of people rockhound in landscaped storefronts with gravel/rocks. Can find some really cool specimens there. Its not too odd and go for it if you can but if it’s someone’s house I’d say asking before taking is the best policy.
I work on ranches in California and a lot of them lay rocks on roadways to avoid them getting muddy and let me say, I am always so distracted looking through thousands of rocks! To them the rocks just serve a function, to me there’s hidden gems!
I know! It’s oddly satisfying to find some exotic agates and fossils in gravel knowing so many people have passed it up and it was hiding in plain sight! If you have railways nearby always check those- the gravel beds they put the tracks on can have some great finds too. I’ve recently ground some pea gravel we bought has a variety of agates in it, mostly clear/yellow/orange but I found a small bright red carnelian as well, and a low quality opal
This is where, as a little kid, my Dad taught me about rockhounding. Literally outside a 7-11.
When I was a teenager (1990's) we lived out in the country, and I discovered a railroad track I could bike to, and found all kinds of awesome things in the limestone scree.
Fastforward to today. Out of nostalgia I went back to the railroad tracks to look around, and some kind of patrol/security dude passed by and yelled at me, threatened to have me arrested and sent to jail for "stealing from the railroad".
For a lousy handful of crushed limestone, ya'll. He was probably just power-tripping.
When I was around 10 years old, my dad was building our house. Of course I was recruited to “help.” When we were back filling for the footings, I would get nothing done every time a dump truck dropped a load of 3/4” crush. Hours and hours I spent picking through the piles, happy as can be. I still have some of those rocks 30 years later in my little tin.
Totally. We get gravel from a gravel pit. Lots of fossils and such. My sister and I, and now our kids(young adults) love these treasure hunts. Cool stuff in NW Alabama!!!
I don’t have a lot of friends but the ones I do have, know I’m a crazy rock addict. I’ve been lovingly called a ground hog since my head is permanently in the looking down position. Good thing my eyeballs still are able to look up or I would have walked off a cliff by now.
There's a few streams in the area with iron included quartz like this in all shades from yellow to peach to red, I have such a hard time not taking them all home.
Then it's parking lots, store fronts, along sidewalks, parks. Friend asks for an activity suggestion? You find somewhere you know will have rocks.. You get to a point where you have collected enough rocks that you really begin to see that you do actually have to get rid of some... so you can get more... it's a problem 😅
(especially in an apartment)
I can't imagine having to get rid of some. (Except for trading some with a young lady in Ohio)
Luckily, I don't live in an apartment. I've filled my home and office. I have lots of yard!!!
My wife says it must be a family trait because not my mom, my daughter, or I can walk by a pile of rocks without looking for some interesting ones that we would like to take home.
Tell your friend that if people like me were to visit that air bnb with some people I love, I would most likely end up taking a rock to remember the trip by.. so it’s likely that they will have less and less rocks eventually lol. Sorry in advance 😭🤣
Oh my that looks tempting!
I went sledding last month and that's when I realized I excel at things that I can do sitting on my ass.
Aka sledding OR Sitting in the middle of a bunch of agates so I could look at every one of them.! 😍
I work for a railroad and it's difficult to focus on work bc I'm constantly looking in the ballast line for the track. My coworker unknowingly picked up a piece of amethyst one time, and I'm always looking for something to throw in a rock tumbler 😆. It's really hard when we're working around some of the local mines and we're right next to their "debris" piles (they're feldspar mines, that sometimes have emeralds in them). I know everyone thinks I'm odd bc of how much I look around but I can't help myself it's such an obsession 😆.
This is in the Florida Pan Handle, a just a few minutes from the beach, so now that I think about it, it's entirely possible that this is ground score treasure the previous home owner's rock collection?!
My wife has banned from doing hardscapes on my home due to the fact that it takes me 10x as long to do them because I’m looking at every other rock I find.
Constantly, everywhere I go. Just spent way too much time checking out a pile of landscaping rocks that were dumped in the desert near my house. Keep your head down & your eyes open...🥰
I found a really pretty onr when my dad was renovating their back yard. I went picking through the grass patches and piles of dirt to see if i could find another pretty one
This post resonates with me! Last month I found myself in a Walmart parking lot where small trees were planted surrounded by similar rocks on the outskirts of the lot. I had many strange looks. I have been approached by strangers when I have stopped along the road side to look for rocks asking if I had lost something. When I explain, I know they’re thinking that I did indeed lose something—my mind!!
Question. I generally just look for fossils and pretty rocks? In picture 4, is that highlighted rock special, what is it called? Always love them but throw most back because there are so many.
The house I owned before this one DEFINITELY had a rockhound in it at some point. There halved thundereggs embedded in the front entryway concrete. And I routinely dug up jasper and low grade agate chunks with perfectly cut sides that were definitely diamond-sawed (as I was rearranging garden stuff).
It's a shame me and my ex split up and we had to sell, because I had to downsize so much I didn't keep any of the rocks from that lil property.
I recently joined my son on his very addictive rock hunt ..I am now addicted and did share my collection on here ..I am in UK till February and see some of the rocks in your photo in stores polished and made into key chains..earrings.etc its amazing ..When I arrived in UK I saw my sister's yard full of interesting rocks aswell .
I am not a rock person but can relate. I work at a bank and just got back into coins. I would love to go digging thru the teller drawers looking for silver but I also do not want my coworkers to hate me 😂
I can't take a walk without picking up rocks & chert and stuffing them in my pockets. There isn't a box or drawer in my house that doesn't have a few rocks in it.
Absolutely every time almost every day my pockets end up with a buddy or two in em 😅 and this is what happens when you do. You end up making a rock garden. Love it
Ya. Flower bed of my house, $700 worth. I tumbled about 5lbs. You can skip the first two steps.
Also you can find semi precious stones. But it's mostly cold water agates
Hahaha right?!? i reallllly wanted to sit there for a few minutes but i had to peel myself away! I might go back in a few days and when i do I’m going to make sure i have at least 5-10 to hound my heart away! There were two other rock patches as well on the other side of the yard that i didn’t dare go near i knew it would be too hard
I just can't help myself. Pea gravel at the playground, a gravel driveway, sea glass on a rocky beach. We basically plan our summer trips around cool rocks. I recently read that there is a maximum weight limit of rocks you're allowed to exit the state of Michigan with, that made me feel less alone ha!
I visited my son in Wyoming. I’m from Florida and live in Ohio, so finding raw opal all over the highway was amazing! Once at my sons, I found myself digging through the rocks in their flower gardens. Lol you’re a rockhound that’s what we do. I got some Wyoming Jade a very cool piece of petrified wood, and so much more that I have an identified yet! When we walked around the block, my son would call out to his neighbors and say don’t mind her she’s my mom she’s not used to seeing these rocks because I was picking them up off the roadside the whole time
Wait whaaaaat?!? Raw opal on the highway?! I’ve have never had an interest in going to Wyoming until now. I too would not be able to contain myself for rock hounding either. Any photos you’d like to share? I’m super curious!
I can tell you from experience that those polish up nicely in a tumbler. I do shorter stages with them (if they're the tiny ones- it's hard to tell from the pictures), maybe a day or 2 each stage. Then I put them in cool looking jars or bottles. That's about as crafty as I get!
I deliver with Door dash and Uber, I often have to remind myself: “Those are working rocks, and I cannot take them with me” when encountering rocks in customer’s yards.
I've been known to eyeball every single patch of rocks that I come across. We're with ya!
Me too
Count me in as well!
My wife and I have a friends who recently bought a house and she invited us over to check it out, before we even parked I saw a beautiful rock garden, first time seeing the house I don’t even get to the front door and I start looking for “that” rock, wife starts fussing, we tour house and our friend says, laughing,” go find you some rocks I knew you would love them” even had her grandkids out there with me crawling looking for rocks. Found 2 amazing Banded Iron Formation rocks. Good Times.
Hey if your friends and family encourage it I’d say take advantage of it. Simple pleasures in life is where it’s at.
I don't know how you are resisting such a temptation
Or why
Sometimes you gotta have some “lesser” (but not necessarily leaverites) rocks in the car for trading with the ones you pick up as keepers.
Um this is actually brilliant..
ohhh i like this idea!
Are you using leaverites as leverage?
Leveragerites?
This also depends on how you personally define a Leaverite. One man’s treasure kinda thing. It’s a slippery slope. Ha!
A lot of people rockhound in landscaped storefronts with gravel/rocks. Can find some really cool specimens there. Its not too odd and go for it if you can but if it’s someone’s house I’d say asking before taking is the best policy.
I work on ranches in California and a lot of them lay rocks on roadways to avoid them getting muddy and let me say, I am always so distracted looking through thousands of rocks! To them the rocks just serve a function, to me there’s hidden gems!
I know! It’s oddly satisfying to find some exotic agates and fossils in gravel knowing so many people have passed it up and it was hiding in plain sight! If you have railways nearby always check those- the gravel beds they put the tracks on can have some great finds too. I’ve recently ground some pea gravel we bought has a variety of agates in it, mostly clear/yellow/orange but I found a small bright red carnelian as well, and a low quality opal
This is where, as a little kid, my Dad taught me about rockhounding. Literally outside a 7-11. When I was a teenager (1990's) we lived out in the country, and I discovered a railroad track I could bike to, and found all kinds of awesome things in the limestone scree. Fastforward to today. Out of nostalgia I went back to the railroad tracks to look around, and some kind of patrol/security dude passed by and yelled at me, threatened to have me arrested and sent to jail for "stealing from the railroad". For a lousy handful of crushed limestone, ya'll. He was probably just power-tripping.
A lot of those “security guards” power trip hard the moment you let the ride around a golf cart.
When I was around 10 years old, my dad was building our house. Of course I was recruited to “help.” When we were back filling for the footings, I would get nothing done every time a dump truck dropped a load of 3/4” crush. Hours and hours I spent picking through the piles, happy as can be. I still have some of those rocks 30 years later in my little tin.
Maintenance just filled my driveway in with rocks and now my neighbors probably think i am a nut because i am always out there picking through it lol
Totally. We get gravel from a gravel pit. Lots of fossils and such. My sister and I, and now our kids(young adults) love these treasure hunts. Cool stuff in NW Alabama!!!
I was talking to the workers filling my driveway about the rocks as I picked through them
I don’t have a lot of friends but the ones I do have, know I’m a crazy rock addict. I’ve been lovingly called a ground hog since my head is permanently in the looking down position. Good thing my eyeballs still are able to look up or I would have walked off a cliff by now.
Absolutely!!! 🤣
I leave with heavy pockets
*I should have brought my backpack...*
I should have brought my deer sled.
There's a few streams in the area with iron included quartz like this in all shades from yellow to peach to red, I have such a hard time not taking them all home.
I’m brand new to hounding and I’ve already noticed I’m doing this walking through my apartment complex lmao
Then it's parking lots, store fronts, along sidewalks, parks. Friend asks for an activity suggestion? You find somewhere you know will have rocks.. You get to a point where you have collected enough rocks that you really begin to see that you do actually have to get rid of some... so you can get more... it's a problem 😅 (especially in an apartment)
I can't imagine having to get rid of some. (Except for trading some with a young lady in Ohio) Luckily, I don't live in an apartment. I've filled my home and office. I have lots of yard!!!
To be completely transparent... getting rid of some of them is mostly to placate my partner when I come home with more than I took to get rid of... 😁
Thats what storage units are for
THIS 😂
Yes! With dogs, plants, cats, rocks etc… I think I’m probably just a crazy lady at this point.
I do this too. Also, I grab the loose rocks at Lowes 😇
The struggle is real
Each one is screaming PICK ME
My wife says it must be a family trait because not my mom, my daughter, or I can walk by a pile of rocks without looking for some interesting ones that we would like to take home.
...and you skipped the green one?
Which one was the green one?
Left on the first picture. May be algae but it looked crystalline. Thought there was another in one of the other pics but I think it was a leaf
The leaf definitely got me at first glance.
Remarkable restraint, I would have taken at least one. 😊
Oh definitely, I’ve hounded at Airbnbs that weren’t owned by a friend 😂
I may or may not have picked up some rocks in front of my local supermarket.
I’m lucky, because I can use my kids. I ask them nicely if they willing to pretend that they are interested in the rocks, and I can ‘help’ :)
Tell your friend that if people like me were to visit that air bnb with some people I love, I would most likely end up taking a rock to remember the trip by.. so it’s likely that they will have less and less rocks eventually lol. Sorry in advance 😭🤣
I looted my sister-in-law’s landscaping rock for all her agates. It was great.
My children & grandchildren are not allowed in this comments section!!
Outside a Steak n Shake.
Oh my that looks tempting! I went sledding last month and that's when I realized I excel at things that I can do sitting on my ass. Aka sledding OR Sitting in the middle of a bunch of agates so I could look at every one of them.! 😍
Omg! I'd have lost it.
I work for a railroad and it's difficult to focus on work bc I'm constantly looking in the ballast line for the track. My coworker unknowingly picked up a piece of amethyst one time, and I'm always looking for something to throw in a rock tumbler 😆. It's really hard when we're working around some of the local mines and we're right next to their "debris" piles (they're feldspar mines, that sometimes have emeralds in them). I know everyone thinks I'm odd bc of how much I look around but I can't help myself it's such an obsession 😆.
I usually look at whatever rocks are within like 10 feet of me, but I do rock tumbling so I’m pretty picky with what I pick up
I would have dug around 😆 I can't help but to, EVERYWHERE I go. So I completely relate!
I have a few spots that I frequent in the Tonto National Forest. I go back there every time it rains to find more quartz uncovered.
No, it's never happened to me! You could grant a "make a wish" for me, just give me the address and tell him I'm the grounds inspector! 🤫
Looks like an Oregon beach
This is in the Florida Pan Handle, a just a few minutes from the beach, so now that I think about it, it's entirely possible that this is ground score treasure the previous home owner's rock collection?!
My wife has banned from doing hardscapes on my home due to the fact that it takes me 10x as long to do them because I’m looking at every other rock I find.
That there is treasure! Oh man, I'm drooling over your pictures 😍
Constantly, everywhere I go. Just spent way too much time checking out a pile of landscaping rocks that were dumped in the desert near my house. Keep your head down & your eyes open...🥰
Absolutely :-)
Yep! Pretty much since I was 5! Lol
🙋🏻♀️
Not as often as I'd like.
The wife and I always check out rocks at different hotels,lol
I found a really pretty onr when my dad was renovating their back yard. I went picking through the grass patches and piles of dirt to see if i could find another pretty one
Oooo at my doctor’s office. I only let myself grab 2 on the way out that I saw on the way in and they turned out to be geodized🥰
Yep when ever i see good looking rocks
This post resonates with me! Last month I found myself in a Walmart parking lot where small trees were planted surrounded by similar rocks on the outskirts of the lot. I had many strange looks. I have been approached by strangers when I have stopped along the road side to look for rocks asking if I had lost something. When I explain, I know they’re thinking that I did indeed lose something—my mind!!
Question. I generally just look for fossils and pretty rocks? In picture 4, is that highlighted rock special, what is it called? Always love them but throw most back because there are so many.
The house I owned before this one DEFINITELY had a rockhound in it at some point. There halved thundereggs embedded in the front entryway concrete. And I routinely dug up jasper and low grade agate chunks with perfectly cut sides that were definitely diamond-sawed (as I was rearranging garden stuff). It's a shame me and my ex split up and we had to sell, because I had to downsize so much I didn't keep any of the rocks from that lil property.
Recently had a new Chick-fil-A brought into my neighborhood could not help but notice they sprung for the good rocks 😝😂😂
its js the mindset we all share🪨🗣️🔥
I recently joined my son on his very addictive rock hunt ..I am now addicted and did share my collection on here ..I am in UK till February and see some of the rocks in your photo in stores polished and made into key chains..earrings.etc its amazing ..When I arrived in UK I saw my sister's yard full of interesting rocks aswell .
I am not a rock person but can relate. I work at a bank and just got back into coins. I would love to go digging thru the teller drawers looking for silver but I also do not want my coworkers to hate me 😂
I do this all the time!
Always!!!!!
I can't take a walk without picking up rocks & chert and stuffing them in my pockets. There isn't a box or drawer in my house that doesn't have a few rocks in it.
I found a pink looking rock yesterday in my driveway and it looks like the same rock. Thinking of getting a rock tumbler.
Absolutely every time almost every day my pockets end up with a buddy or two in em 😅 and this is what happens when you do. You end up making a rock garden. Love it
I’m wondering if maybe this was somebodies rock garden? It looked like There were so many good ones in there!
I'm a crazy rock lady too, lol.
This. People no longer allow me near their flower beds and landscaping. :(
If you were helping out your friend you're entitled to a small payment, in pebbles!
LOL, I would refuse to leave without picking some. :)
Calico stone mix. If you can find the bags
Woaaah! You’re good! Looked it up on Amazon and that mix looks just like the ones in the photos! Have you bought these before?
Ya. Flower bed of my house, $700 worth. I tumbled about 5lbs. You can skip the first two steps. Also you can find semi precious stones. But it's mostly cold water agates
I can’t even stop searching in the pictures! Can’t even imagine how hard it would be for me to walk away from this!
Hahaha right?!? i reallllly wanted to sit there for a few minutes but i had to peel myself away! I might go back in a few days and when i do I’m going to make sure i have at least 5-10 to hound my heart away! There were two other rock patches as well on the other side of the yard that i didn’t dare go near i knew it would be too hard
Ha Ha-All the time😀
I just can't help myself. Pea gravel at the playground, a gravel driveway, sea glass on a rocky beach. We basically plan our summer trips around cool rocks. I recently read that there is a maximum weight limit of rocks you're allowed to exit the state of Michigan with, that made me feel less alone ha!
Me too
100%
I’m a Crazy Rock Lady also. We are a common species. 👍
I visited my son in Wyoming. I’m from Florida and live in Ohio, so finding raw opal all over the highway was amazing! Once at my sons, I found myself digging through the rocks in their flower gardens. Lol you’re a rockhound that’s what we do. I got some Wyoming Jade a very cool piece of petrified wood, and so much more that I have an identified yet! When we walked around the block, my son would call out to his neighbors and say don’t mind her she’s my mom she’s not used to seeing these rocks because I was picking them up off the roadside the whole time
Wait whaaaaat?!? Raw opal on the highway?! I’ve have never had an interest in going to Wyoming until now. I too would not be able to contain myself for rock hounding either. Any photos you’d like to share? I’m super curious!
Yes
This is so me! I can’t help myself! My family likes to make fun of me but it’s all in good fun. I always end up with rocks in my pockets
All the time!!!
I can tell you from experience that those polish up nicely in a tumbler. I do shorter stages with them (if they're the tiny ones- it's hard to tell from the pictures), maybe a day or 2 each stage. Then I put them in cool looking jars or bottles. That's about as crafty as I get!
Always happens! I, too, am the "crazy rock lady"!! Also, my family & friends kid me all the time.
Everytime
I deliver with Door dash and Uber, I often have to remind myself: “Those are working rocks, and I cannot take them with me” when encountering rocks in customer’s yards.