new rocker, first trip

[vangoghnights]

I've just started a love affair with rocks and minerals. I'm planning a trip to North Carolina this weekend, maybe Franklin. I've never done this before and have been reading about places where you buy buckets and would like to know what they mean by "salted mines" or "enriched mines" Since I really have no idea what I'm doing or what to look for I thought the "bucket thing" might be a place to start, but I would also like to go into the creeks and possibly some digging if time allows. Any suggestions for a baby rocker would be great.

thanks a bunch.

[CrossfireBusiness]

Welcome to the hobby !!!

[Ryan]

Welcome aboard! I remember feeling the same when I got started. Im a salesman from PA. that frequently travels through NC. I caught the Rock-Pox about two years ago on a sales call(Ive always had an interest but recently got serious). Heres some answers for ya:
Salted means that a mine is a tourist trap basically. Your "native" bucket will contain stuff like South American Citrine, broken quartz from Maine and in some joints, cut polished stones,
Most people who do this hobby however (from what ive gathered) are really more into the digging and hunting and exploring and discovery aspects of the hobby. So, that said, Theres a place called the Ray Mica Mine about an hour or so from Asheville thats a great place to cut your teeth. Google it. There is beryl there (some aquamarine, some green, and Heliodor (golden)) Theres cool sprays of black tourmaline and a whole list of other neat rocks and crystals. The host rock is bright snow-white making for great shelf pieces. The "dig it yourself" route is really much more fun than simply washing buckets of mud down a flume. there us another place north of Asheville "the little pine garnet mine" where you can pay to actually go inside a garnet mine and collect the crystals like the miners used to.
If youre in the Boone area, check out the roadcut they just widened on the big climb up to Blowing Rock on 321. They dumped the mountain shavings (: over the hill and they are gniess boulders with shiny pyrite cubes and veins of purple flourite in them. One of the founders of this club wrote a book I purchased and read the crap out of. It helps a lot if youre a beginner and have no clue where to look. Its called "Rock Gem and Mineral Collecting Sites in Western North Carolina" by R.Jaquot. Plus the people here are (often times but not always) willing to share collecting site locations. I say not always because one day you might stumble onto that vein of awesome crystals that you take to your grave. Have fun! That book is a good place to start. NC is a great place to be involved in this hobby

[vangoghnights]

Ryan,
Thank you so much for all the info you posted. I kind of figured the flumes were a tourist trap. I will check the places that you mentioned, and I will get the book.

Thanks again!

[stevebarr]

Here are some links that should be helpful for any new rockhounds:

www.wncrocks.com/resources/resources.htm
Check out the Safety First section, Dressing for Success and Tools and Equipment. Then, scroll down and check out the rest of the info.

A wide variety of circumstances can change the accessibility of sites at any point in time, so this is a good link to take a peek at, too:
www.wncrocks.com/pointsofaccess/pointsofaccess.htm

The link above will be very helpful to you if you want to use Rick’s book, and is a nice supplement to it.