Our search for tomorrow's adventure starts today
Tomorrowland Trekkers
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Tomorrowland Trekkers
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Tomorrowland Trekkers The Search for tomorrow's adventure starts today
OUr latest travel adventures have taken us to various mines across the country. Being out in nature with no one around for miles has been a nice way to get some exercise, connect with the outdoors, and find pretty things along the way. Once pandemic restrictions were limited and cases started to fall, we signed up for a group geode hunt near the Fox River in at the Missouri/Iowa line with some fellow rockhounds. We had never done anything like this before so it was quite an adventure. It was a lot more physically and environmentally intense than we would have imagined. It took us a few hours to drive to the location which was surrounded by Mennonite farms and dirt roads. We started our day trudging though poison ivy and slip sliding down steep muddy banks to get to the river below.
One thing I hadn't realized was that every place we go rockhounding, the terrain is very different. Sometimes you are prospecting in "tailings" or digging through mountains of clay and mud, other times you are marching through the woods or wading through a stream, but this time we were swimming in a river that at its steepest was maybe 8 feet deep with sand and rocks covering the bottom surrounded by woods on either side. It was hilarious at times to see our group of heads bobbing in the water with consternated faces like they were having a group poop experience in the river as we all felt for buried geodes with our feet. What are geodes? Geodes are rocks with treasures inside. If you get a good one, they are hallow in the center but filled with crystal quartz, chalcedony, calcite or other minerals. They are usually unusually round and often had little lumpy textures like a brain. To find them, we were told to look for ones that are unnaturally light for their size, which is easier said than done especially when they are large, or to make matters even more confusing if they are filled with water. Sometimes you get one that is completely filled with crystal on the inside called a nodule, but these are much harder to open. Trying to keep your body afloat while lifting giant rocks up with your feet is as difficult as you would imagine. WE combed the banks for fossils and other treasures in the shallows. Then came the challenging part of having to get our treasures back to camp. This meant the arduous task of wading upsteam against the current with large utility buckets filled with rocks. Did you know that buckets of rocks will float in the water? Yeah, me neither. Way cool and so helpful for getting them back to camp. There was a moment when I got lodged in the mud up to my knees and couldn't get unstuck without losing my shoes and I was having a full on Artax in the Swamp of sorrow flashback. My friend kept yelling Atreyu!!! (that's a Never Ending Story reference for those who missed out on a childhood). After we got back to camp we spent the evening cracking our geodes and oohing and ahhing over our finds. The friendly Mennonite neighbors came over in their horse and buggy to share some homemade treats and ice cream with freshmade strawberry syrup. Pumpkin bars and ice cream never tasted so good as they did after just having spent a day on the river. We set up our tents and joined each other around safely distanced around the campfire. There were no facilities so us city slickers scampered back to town to wash up and get a full meal and use the restrooms. The path to camp, which was actually someone's private farm had big friendly dogs trailing us, was surrounded by tractors and dilapidated barns with weeds overgrowing them. I meant to stop and photograph, but was just too tired. The dust and mild road hazards were palpable but added excitement. The next morning we started out fresh when we hit the river again after communing with turtles and doggos. We were more focused on where to target our energies and were much more clear on what our target objects were. We continued the hunt and then had a geode smashing party. We decided rather than haul items that were unnecessary, we would bust them open on the beach and see what we had. Everyone was roaming the beach with their rockhammers or sledgehammers and chisels. Some of us just banged the rocks against others. Kinda cathartic, but also a tad too destructive for my taste. Not so much for Chris who appreciates that kind of thing. What was revealed inside were some amazing sparkles and plenty of duds. Lots we couldn't get open and just tossed back. There were a couple small boats/kayaks to flaot the rocks back if we didn't want to carry them. Then we had to await the 4-wheeler to ship them back to us at camp. It was quite an adventure. We heard there was an annual Geodefest in the area in September. Hoping the pandemic will be kind enough to let us enjoy more rockhunting fun this summer. www.TomorrowlandTrekkers.com
1 Comment
JB
11/20/2020 09:41:01 am
Who are the mennonites that hosted the dig? May I have an introduction for our family to visit? Thanks
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AuthorsChris, lover of food and back alley experiences. Archives
July 2020
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