Rock Nerd

My dad was obsessed with trains. The obsession began in his early years, and it lasted until the day he died. My dad's love of all things train-related led him to research the railroad business and all of it's nooks and crannies. Especially those of the Milwaukee railroad, with the height of it's popularity being the 1930's. His dream was to build a model railroad of the Milwaukee exactly to scale with absolute accuracy. This meant spending lots of time by the railroad tracks, taking pictures, audio recordings and notes.
Of course, my brother and I were forced to participate. He dragged us along as he measured old train depots in the middle of nowhere or interviewed old train conductors in obscure places. The smell of the sun hitting the railroad ties is a comforting smell from my childhood. Derrick and I would spend hours combing through the rocks on the tracks and it was here that my love of rocks was born.

Years later, I understand that the reason I carried a shiny silver Norstrom box with all of my finds, was because these rocks had things to say to me. They would sing little songs encouraging me to take them home with me. The loss of my childhood rock collection still leaves me heavy hearted. I LOVED THOSE ROCKS. I would pass many hours just looking at them, lining them up and listening.
I still can.

I have only one rock left from my childhood. It's a quartz crystal, actually. It was found on a sunny day at my maternal grandmother;s back yard. She had landscaped with bulk river rock, and it was my other favorite place to gather rocks. Grandma Peggy was actually the one who found the crystal. I remember her spotting it and then throwing it to break it into two pieces. She gave me one and she kept the other. I have it sitting on my bookshelf and I pick it up often to marvel at it's beauty and secrets. It is absolutely amazing to me that after all these years I still have it.

My good friend Bekah and I have recently discovered that we are both obsessed with rocks. We share similar childhood stories and philosophies about them. Bekah is so obsessed, she is actually in the process of changing her major to study geology. I can't hold onto the scientific info about most rocks- I glean to more spiritual properties. I do understand her inspiration and admire her for it.

Yesterday, after months of saying how we should go rock hunting- we did. We laughed about how nerdy we were and how exciting it was to be doing this. We stopped first at Ed's House of Gem's in NE Portland, off Sandy Blvd. I bought a lovely rose quartz, carnelian, and sodalite. But it was the lovely sparkly lavender lepidolite that sung to me from behind the glass case. " Take me home!" it sang. It made so incredibly happy and giddy. So I did. I slept with it under my pillow last night, and slept the best I have in weeks.

We continued on to Estacada, and landed at our desired destination of Fish Creek Road. It was gray and drizzly but we weren't letting that discourage us. We enjoyed a picnic in the Mini as the rain poured. It stopped after we had finished, just as I predicted. Then armed with windbreakers, back packs, and plastic baggies, we crossed the road to explore the area under the basalt cliff. This location boasted calcite and crystals, both of which I found plenty. We must have been out for an hour before it started to rain on us again. We took our "specimens" back to the car and decided to head back, stopping first at Mameloose Bridge to try our hand at finding Blue Holly agate. No such luck, but the Clackamas river was nice to see. It began to rain again, this time motivating us back towards Damascas.
We stopped for dinner in Carver. The Carver Hanger to be precise. The food was forgettable. Our server was named Burt, and by the time I had returned back from the bathroom, Bekah was deep in conversation with Burt over rocks. Seems they had struck up conversation when he noticed Bekah's Oregon rock books. Turns out, Burt is an avid Rock Hound. He has just been out over the weekend, in his kayak, which allows access to the islands on the Clackmas- that is where the good stuff is. He gifted us both with lovely agates, (I later christened mine, Burt Carver) form one rock lover or another. We talked shop a bit, and learned about the rock and gem show that happens in July at the ClackamasFairgrounds in Canby. Oh yeah - you KNOW Bekah and I will be attending. Burt also invited us back to his place to "see his collection". Uh-huh. I silently scolded Bekah for instigating conversation in the first place and told her she better finish it, since she started it. She very politely declined and we said our good-byes. Poor Burt. Not just one lovely lady also a lover of rocks- but two! He must have felt like he hit the jackpot! lol!

We returned to my home and washed our findings. Scrubbing with brushes and soaking in sea salt water. The plans for our next rock adventure being discussed over the sounds of the scrubbing. We also rambled on about our gear wish list- ponchos, head lamps, picks, hammers and books. Oh aren't we nerds?

I am loving my rocks. I wanted to include pics in this post- but my camera is having issues and I am too tired to try and figure it out tonigth. Soon I will attach them to this entry. Now I just need to figure out a way to organize and store them. I will be working on that piece. Rock on!