While in west Texas for our mule deer hunt (here) we visited the small town of Marfa. That is the town famous for the mysterious Marfa Ghost Lights. We also stayed after dark to see them (here).

As we drove around Marfa we came across an awesome rock shop. If there is anything almost guaranteed to make us stop the truck it is those two words. ROCK SHOP.

Of course we stopped to check things out. Moonlight Gemstones was a great little shop with a large yard full of beautiful rocks. I purchased some rocks and of course Steve picked out some un-cracked geodes. Then we picked the owners brain about places to look. He was extremely helpful and pulled out a map and educated us on the local geology. He even went so far as to give us some pointers on where we might find some of the areas most sought after stones, Texas agates. In addition he had lots of amazing agates on hand that he found himself, both rough and polished. They were awesome!

That was when I learned that the area around Elephant Mountain held some nice deposits of these treasures. He showed us the outcroppings and lava flows which might still contain decent rocks if they weren’t already picked clean by other rock hounds.

A little about that. Yes, we were hunting Elephant Mountain WMA. But taking any rocks from there would be both extremely stupid and highly illegal. Since we LOVE hunting Texas Public land there was no way we would jeopardize our hunting privileges by touching a single stone on State land. But, picking up rocks from state and county road cuts, not interstates, is legal and a time honored tradition among rock enthusiasts. 

Once our deer hunt was over we set aside time to check out the roads and washes in the nearby area. In truth, we would have done that anyway. With our new knowledge about what to look for we were doubly determined to look around. I was still very sick from my allergy attack but resolved to suck it up and do some searching.

The road cuts just outside the area on Hwy 118 provided us with some awesome rocks. We even came across some other rock hounds while searching. Steve was beyond thrilled to find some actual geodes within minutes of our starting our search.

Steve loves geodes. He is incapable of passing them up in shops or at rock shows without getting at least one. That is one of the many things I love about him. However he had never, ever, found a really nice one “in the wild”. To simply pick up a geode from the side of the road was amazing.

We spent a couple of hours driving and searching. Not just Hwy 118 but some of the surrounding roads held some awesome rocks. We came home with a bucket full of beautiful stones. Agates, geodes, calcite, chert, jasper, chalcedony, picture rock and lots of others I don’t know. I will likely be trying to figure out what some of them are for months.

The first stop on our diamond/crystal road trip was actually the Trinity river in Texas where we picked up about 25 pounds of petrified wood. These pieces averaged about 4 inches long.

To top off that stop I found a large piece of fossilized soft-shell turtle shell.

Then it was off the The Crater of Diamonds to try our luck. It turns out that our luck was not that great. Despite digging, sifting and washing a bunch of dirt no diamonds were found.

The next day we headed to Mount Ida to do some quartz crystal hunting. Our luck was much better at this. We chose Crystal Seen as the place to do our digging. The mine was primitive and rough. Just the way we like it.

So far we have made two trips to the site and come away happy both times. On our very first trip Steve found one of the rarest fossils the area is known for. A cuttlefish prong. 

The fossils here are plentiful and beautifully preserved. Most can be picked up by hand or with just a little work.

The banks of the Brazos river are steep with some clay and mud pockets hidden amongst the fine grained fossil bearing layers. Even when the area is dry, boots are recommended as you never know when you might step into a soft spot. The fossils themselves can be found all along the banks but are concentrated in thick bands of shell bearing sediment.

Watch out for the native residents and give them space.

You don’t need big tools or even special knowledge to enjoy Whiskey Bridge. Heck, just wear “working” clothes and bring a small bucket. You won’t be disappointed. Just be sure to pick up your trash and fill in any holes.

Speaking of which, on our first trip Steve came across several large, spherical stones far down the river bank. He was determined to excavate one the next time we were out and see what they were.

Thankfully the river level was down on our next trip and Steve was able to get to the curious orbs.

After much digging he was able to uncover most of it. The river bank at this level held several of these curious stones. The one Steve was working on split open revealing a hollow interior with a fine layer of crystals. The mystery object turned out to be a sandstone concretion.

Pretty cool huh?

Note: The hole was filled in after the video .

So if you are in the area, and the river level isn’t too high, I highly recommend you take a little time to explore this unique and interesting site. Who knows how much longer it will be here and accessible to the public. The next good flood or regulation/statute change might shut everything down.

Here is a gallery of pictures and detailed close-ups of many of our finds.

Stone City Gallery

Many months ago we had gotten a large load of sand for our property which we then left in our pasture until a recent break in the weather allowed us to finally spread it out. Imagine our surprise when we uncovered strange and interesting rocks amongst the sand pile. Being rock hounds we were pretty sure what these rocks actually were but it wasn’t until we uncovered the entire strike that were certain.  We undoubtedly had unearthed lightning made solid, a fulgurite to be precise. And there wasn’t just one either. At least three distinctively different lightning paths had coursed through that single pile of sand. We were thrilled.

Usually, when we want to go rock hounding we have to drive for hours, and sometimes even days, to find likely specimens for our ever growing collection. Our local area only seems to offer clay, mud and sand with the occasional bit of sandstone or calcium nodule thrown in. To find something so down right cool, quite literally in our very backyard, was beyond amazing.

While fulgurites are made of glass it is not the pure, crystal clear material you are used to. Natural sand contains a large amount of impurities. The structures created in such an environment are cloudy, rough and, as you can imagine, coated in a shell of partially fused natural sand. Inside they usually have a hollow core surrounded by a glazed and glassy wall. As the massive electrical output (lightning) tries to seek the path of least resistance through the ground, small pinholes and side pathways can form. To make matters more interesting, sometimes several lightning strikes will occur within fractions of a second in the same area causing some paths to intersect. Nature is awesome!