Field trip leaders Josh Reeves and Kyle Meredith - photo by Roger Dombrowski
October Field Trip Report
by Kyle Meredith, Rolling Stones Field Trip Leader
I didn't expect a huge crowd to show up for the Rabb Park Moonstone field trip after I emphasized the difficulty of the hike. All together eight of us showed up at the meeting place, including two new members—visitors from Florida who joined the Rolling Stones just for the trip. I think in spite of the altitude we'll see them again when they return next summer. We enjoyed having them along.
As we were on the trail, David showed up to lead us to his "secret" location, and he gave us some tips about where to look and what to look for. I have to admit that I found more moonstone than on any of my previous trips, and this time I was (usually) able to tell the difference between that and the quartz. (A bright blue sheen leaves no doubt when you see it. The word of the day was "adularescense.")
In the end, I think everyone would agree that it was a challenging hike. After supper I was barely able to pull my creaky bones up off the couch. If you thought you might not be able to do this hike, you were probably right. Myself, I brought home a mere palmful of tiny moonstones, but Josh found a remarkable stone that David said could facet down to a respectable 1½ carats. Roger tried to photograph it, but the color is elusive in a photo. David and some of the others also found some good stuff, plus it was an excellent day for a hike in the woods, so all in all I'd say it was a successful day rockhounding.
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