Mineral collecting is sometimes subject to a bit of adversity. I think that was the theme of this trip. More than one thing went wrong, but we kept at it - and was still a complete blast.

I haven’t spent time in Utah for thirty years. I remember now why I loved it. The space itself is hypnotic, and it’s easy to imagine what it must have been like with Maynard Bixby working the deposits early in the previous century.... and, I suspect, without the aid of explosives and heavy earth moving equipment.

In the end, we didn’t find anything great, but I collected plenty of Topaz, some cool Hematite ps. Garnet replacements, and even made a great side trip to a geode bed Ryan had found himself decades ago.

Once again, I am so impressed with how hard it is to get the earth to yield up these treasures. And so grateful to the three amazing friends that made this experience possible for me. You are awesome!

(I’ll try to add some specimen photos soon!).