Super excited to welcome a whopping FOUR new members to the group! WELCOME FELLOW ROCKHOUNDS @Lisa Miller 🪨 @Mihai Paun 🪨 @Jennifer Gilpin 🪨 @Stephanie Zimmerling 🪨 I’m excited you are here! Would love to hear what started your interest in rocks. I know for a fact both Lisa and Jennifer have a ton of experience with geodes. Can’t wait to hear some cool stories. Thanks for joining everybody. This is some exciting stuff.

I learned about Herkimer diamonds at the Woodstock, NY flea market. There are a couple fantastic gem and rock vendors who travel with their collections to share and sell around the tristate area. This one guy had a table way less polished than the others (I think it was literally set up on the back of his truck) and crystals that looked like they’d been dug up yesterday. “What are these?” I asked. “Diamonds” he said with a wink. He then proceeded to explain the region where they are uniquely bountiful: Herkimer, NY. Still haven’t been, but there are multiple open air “mines” that let you dig for crystals for a small fee. Some have camp grounds. The concept of chipping my own glass like crystal out of the ground sounds like heaven on earth. Can’t wait to go! Ever heard of a Herkimer Diamond?

Have no idea what this is honestly. Seems like it’s got some iron in it because of the reddish tints. I just assume it’s quartz mixed with some iron which probably has a name and special classification, but I’m not a geologist I just LiKe tHe pReTi RoCks. Throwing this one to you guys. What do you think this is?

Not only is it a beautiful crimson, it’s got a cool ass name. Datolite?? Awesome!

I was pleasantly surprised when my wife got excited about taking this one home. We were on a trip to the beach and found this close to the sand. She exuded an excitement I rarely see from her around rocks. Part of the wonder of rocks is how they can magically elevate your mood. Like you’ve discovered something set up for you to find. You will notice that one of a kind rock with your one of a kind brain. It’s like kismet.