How About A Geode Trip?

[lee]

I have been mentioning to Rick that MAGMA may want to plan a trip to find geodes in Kentucky and Iowa. If we are willing to go to Arkansas for quartz; maybe there would be enough of us who would travel to geode country. I understand that we can visit sites that will charge by the bucket and other sites that you can find geodes in the creeks. Anyone done this before and can make suggestions? We could camp, look geodes and have a lot of fun.

Lee

[damammy]

Hi Lee: I have went to Iowa for geodes and also Mo. in the Warsaw formation in this area. I also walk along the rivers in that area and there are some creeks. It is fun In Mo. there was Schefflers which was closed last year due to MODOT taking their shop and house to make a new road I don't know if they are going to reopen or not. There are a lot of areas and I think some of them are covered in some books about geodes.

I haven't been to Kentucky, so I know nothing about that state.
Donna

[lee]

Donna:

Was the geode trip you went on worth going? Did you find some nice ones with cool crystals? Was it difficult to find the geodes at the various places you visited and did it cost a lot to search for them?

Lee

[rockman1944]

Lee & To All Dirty Rockhound Participants
It appears that Sheffler’s probably will not rebuild at least anytime soon but is is most
definitely in the plans. What a shame to loose a place like that! It was a landmark!
I received that information from my son n law Matt, & our daughter Jenny. Matts grandfather sold a parcel of land years and years ago to Betty Sheffler. Over the years it became a very big part of Shefflers Geode Mine. Matt & Jenny just returned from that area and said it is a very sad situation, all is gone! With tears in her eyes she could not understand how locals every where can loose everything they worked for all their life to a law we call Eminent Domain! All because the State wants to build a new highway. Where is the Justice? Matts grandparents live on the adjoining property. Jenny & Matt was amazed at the size of Geodes his grandparents have about his property that were found nearly 45 years ago. They said several Geodes were nearly 3’ x 3’, + many many other smaller ones. I do not know Betty or Tim, but my feelings of sadness are with them. I just hope and pray that they can come back from this loss.

Bob M.

[maitri]

i've been dying for a geode trip to kentucky or midwest! just swing through here on your way and i'll fall in behind you!

[nancyh]

Geodes sound good. How far away is a geod trip from the Raleigh area? Is this a two day drive? And how much time can I get away from work?

[rdk163]

Lee,

Marcy and I would be interested in a geode trip. What dates are we considering?

Robert

[lee]

Nancy:

The drive time and the needed time away from work is yet to be determined. We first have to determine is there is enough interest in this type of trip and then we have to investigate the sites that we can visit. I'll keep you posted as we continue our discussions.

Robert:

I'm glad to hear that you and Marcy are interested in going on this type of trip. We'll be in touch as our plans evolve.

Lee

[damammy]

Yes I was very sad when they took Betty's house it was built by her husband for her it was a half circle and the outside was a rockhounder's dream it was made of rocks from all over the world there was huge chunks of pink quartz, huge geode halves and it continued on the inside on one wall and the fireplace. I would find myself stand in the yard staring at the walls trying to see how many rocks I could identify. A lot of people e-mailed our government but it didn't do any good. A huge loss our everyone and Betty she was almost blind and sometimes could see a shadow or outline it the light was right, but in her house where she knew every corner she took her wheelchair all around her house and shop. Betty was a wonder she could tell you all about the minerals that was in her beloved geodes and describe them for you, I treasure the time I spend in her rock shop and her son Tim was very nice and helpful but it was her passion.
If you go when it is dry you can find geodes around fox river and the Mississippi. Then a few miles away Iowa has some creeks that contain geodes and there is the one mine that is $20. per 5 gal bucket full that you dig.
MO. is building new roads in that area but you can not hunt around the roads thanks to one stupid person that helped his self to State machines to move material and broke it. They had a dump pile that I found buckets of geodes I was glad I was by myself my van was full. The dump pile was gone when checked later. I might contact MODOT and some government people I know to see if there is a place that they might have dumped that I could get special permission for our group.
The materials in the geodes are interesting even in the same vein the materials will vary. Some are very beautiful quartz and I have some with pink dogtooth calcite and on and on. Donna

[nancyh]

IDEA:(ok, so this may be new for me.) Missourri, Mississippi, Kentucky, and even Iowa could be doable if we rented a van or bus. And motels along the way would probobly love to give us a group rate with a guarantee of 20 or more people. Sure, money would have to be taken ahead of time with names ..etc, but surely someone knows someone to talk to or call.

Call me crazy, but, how much would a private commuter flight cost? Could goedes be considered checked baggage? Would some one like Jet Blue or Hooters Air be willing to make a deal? Does anyone fly?

[damammy]

The part of MO that contains geodes is a stone's throw from Iowa, There is a nice camp ground in KeoKuck Iowa that would do for Iowa and MO. Donna

[pegmatite]

Kentucky's geode area is west of me and I really don't know of a good spot to hit for them presently, but I'll do some checking and see if I can locate some landowners in that area that wouldn't mind some visitors. We probably could make arrangements with the Clement Museum in western Kentucky to visit the museum and possibly some old fluorite mines in that area on the way further west. The Clement Museum has a website if you're interested in checking out some of the specimens there.

Steve

[bobber]

I and my family are planning a trip to Arkansas the end of june and first week of July. I have no more time to take off since i have been out on medical leave since Sept. with a hand that won't heal without getting einfected every time they close it. Just got back from emergency room tonight before i logged in to find that the hand iss infected again. I would be very interested in finding out where i could stop on my way down there to find geodes in Mo.. WE went to a couple mines in Arkansas a few years back and got 3 large bins full of quartz including several small but nice clusters. There is a rock shop in Oden that gets truck loads of tailiings from the mines in the Mt Ida area and found several nice geodes.
Bob

[damammy]

I got a new rock and gem mag. today it has a article on Kentucky potato geodes. It also has another article written by Lori Lamb on collecting in Canada. Donna

[geodepat]

;DHey Bobber, ya know normally one would say don't get your hand dirty if it is prone to getting infections. I for one have cut my fingers on numerous occasions feeling for crystal points in the mud. I always just grab some of that good thick clay mud and shove it into the cut and for some reason it heals really fast and never gets infected. I think it is a sterile type of bandage and it works for me. ::)Sooo.... go dig in some deep dirt and that will cure your hand. 8-)Pat

[lee]

Well, it appears that there may be some interest in a geode trip by our MAGMA members. As soon as Rick gets his computer running again, we should begin to talk with him about setting a date and a location for this dig. Maybe, if we can find sites as close as Kentucky, then we should limit our first trip out to sites we can find there. It would be great if our club members could investigate the sites available to us as close to western North Carolina as possible and let's begin with those sites.

Lee

[bobber]

LOL Pat the problem is i had surgery on the hand. If i had cut it digging i prolly woulda been alright as i too have cut myself numerous times playing in the dirt and never recieved any kind of infection...seems a lil backwards to me but what would a dumb assembly line worker know about that?

[buckeye]

I know this is a little further away, but I have done some geode collecting in and around Oolitic Indiana. Got some great crystalline and chalcedony geodes from that area. The places I collected are normally streambeds, but there is some roadside collecting going on near harrodsburg Indiana. I was gonna get some iron-out today and clean up some of the chapel hill quarry rocks. I'll try and grab a couple Indiana Geodes and post some pictures of them so everyone can see what they look like.

[lee]

Bryce:

How far are the site you know from here? We need to begin to identify sites we can get to.

Lee

[buckeye]

It's near the Bloomington area, which is about 10 hours, 600 miles or so from my front door. If you guys took a trip to kentucky, it would be alot closer. If you guys are collecting geodes in kentucky near Danville, it would be about a three hour, 200 mile drive. As to the locations, there is one road cut that I inquired about collecting at. The Indiana State Patrol recommend that you contact them to collect there. Possibly something about a waiver form and road cones for safety.I never bothered collecting there because of the hassle of hard rock work. Honestly, I believe the more rewarding finds come from the creeks in the area. Instead of being imbedded in the rock wall, geodes in the creek only require a large enough crate to carry them off in. When I went there with my in-laws, we simply asked people if we could collect in their creeks. They didn't seem to mind. I'm not sure how they would respond to a large group though. Between four of us over two days, we came back with around 6 bushels of geodes.
Bryce

[pegmatite]

I will be meeting with some of private lands staff in the area of Kentucky known for geodes next week and am hoping they can steer us to locations with a minimum of hassle. Kentucky has pretty strict trespass laws. Properties do not need to be posted for you to be cited for trespass. Finding locations for a handful of folks will be much easier than for 50-60 or more.

The primary geode area in Kentucky surrounds the Outer Bluegrass Region and extends into Tennessee. So basically you're talking south of Louisville in south central Kentucky. Supposedly the tributaries of the Green River in this area often have geodes. Barren River Lake supposedly has geodes along its shoreline (avoid the state park) and the area around Danville, especially Lincoln County is well known for geodes.

I hope to have some definitive details after next week.

I do have some leads on setting up private digs in the fluospar district around Marion, Kentucky. I'll share those with Rick as soon as his computer situation gets remedied. Hopefully there is some interest in fluorite, calcite, galena, etc.

Steve

[kap]

The March issue of Rock&Gem has a feature on Potato Geodes in Kentucky it gives some ideas. Keith :>}

[jewelonly]

Steve says, Hopefully there is some interest in fluorite, calcite, galena, etc.

AND...geodes!!!

....How soon can we go, Steve?

Leah (smiling)

[pegmatite]

Clement Museum has digs scheduled for April 14, May 12, June 1,2, 3, July 14, August 11, September 11, and October 13. Space is limited to 30 per date. Private digs can be apparently scheduled almost anytime for 10 or more, which I doubt would be a problem for MAGMA. The museum is mailing me applications and additional information. I will probably try to make the April 14th date to scope things out, even though that is the opening of our spring turkey season. Life can be so cruel sometimes!

Steve

[lee]

Steve:

It sounds as though you have a pretty good idea of possible sites in KY. Keep us informed as to your findings. I would like to go on one of the trips you refer to if they are any good and can yield some good geodes.

Thanks for all of your work

Lee

[nancyh]

OK, I did some digging on the net and came up with some info on rockhounding for geods in Kentucky. This information is compiled from several web sites and travel logs of other rock hounds.

Cities are: Danville, Crab Orchard, Halls Gap, McKinney, Green River (or it was along the Green River.)

Estill and Powell Counties

Middlefork Creek in Estill County

I also got the names of two Rock clubs and thought "why not e-mail them and ask about permits, places to collect, and further resources".

[Nick]

just wandered around a bit and found this site with pics of keokuk area geodes....i know i'd be happy to find stuff like this!http://www.geodegallery.com/keokuk.html

[rockboyreturns]

buckeye said:

I... Between four of us over two days, we came back with around 6 bushels of geodes.
Bryce

The thought of six bushels of GEODES (yum) will probably disrupt my sleep for months. ...and you said it so matter of factly.

[lizziebird]

I went geode hunting last summer in IA and IL and had a great time. I went with very little information about where to go and what exactly I was looking for, but here's what I can offer:

The geode is the official state rock of Iowa and you cannot collect geodes at "Geode State Park" (Danville, IA) though they can be found there.

Lots of potential geode locations around Keokuk IA, though most are on private land.

Crystal Glen Park (south of Hamilton IL) - I was told I could find geodes in stream and stream bank but it's VERY overgrown with vegetation and access looks dismal, also seemed to be all private land with "no tresspassing" signs posted all over. It would be very difficult to hunt here w/o really tearing up the stream bank, which is probably why they don't want folks doing it.

Wildcat Park (or something like that) - I was told I could find geodes in the stream/bank here too. Again, you really can't do much finding without really messing up the already highly eroded stream bank. You have to wade in the water (ankle to knee deep) but it's a public park. so you may find a few that have eroded out of the bank in the streambed.

Sheffield geode mine is no longer in action, as another poster mentioned.

The best place by far that we found was called Jacobs Geodes. Call to make an appointment to dig 217-847-3509 He charges by the 5 gallon bucket and you pretty much just hack away at the sides of a fairly large semi-soft pit that he maintains and you can easily find a bucket of rocks in a few hours. I have family in the midwest and we stopped here for about 2 hours along the way and had fun filling our bucket. We were the only people there and Jacob was friendly and helpful, but does ask that people call in advance. Oh, he's just south of Hamilton IL. We didn't find anything really unusual, mostly just clear quartz crystals and little bits of other stuff. Biggest rock we found was large grapefruit size, and lots of smaller ones, golf ball size and smaller. We'll be stopping there again this summer on our annual midwest trip.

I am sure there are other places to find decent geodes.

[damammy]

I have found in my 5 or 6 trips to collect geodes that one thing that can help is to make friends with the locals.
You can find geodes along the banks of the Mississippi and the other rivers and along creek banks.
My best find was a 50 lb geode with huge golden calcite that I found in a creek in Iowa.
when you crack open your geodes try looking at the structure with a magnifying glass you might be surprise at what you missed with the naked eye. Donna