Crystaliscious: Douglas Diamonds don't demand Blood

Road Trip!
Off to collect 'field diamonds'

So I heard of a super secret that rock hounds have in the Southeast area of the United States. I heard that there is a place that it accessible only a few months out of the year, where you can walk along the shores and pick up little shiny quartz points. The area is known for its 'beta' shaped quartz- that means they look like octahedron's, and elestial smoky points. Most of the stones found there are smaller than a dime, but beautifully shaped, fantastic clarity and they are found right on top of the ground! No digging required!

Sounds like a rock hounds dream huh? That is exactly what I thought as Joshua and I discussed preparations for our collecting trip. Two years later we finally made it to the super secret spot where the shores sparkle with little 'field diamonds'. You know, if it took two years to build up for us, it had to be one 'hum-dinger' of a road trip, and we weren't disappointed.

After two years of talking about going and hunting these sparkly little 'diamonds', we decided that it was time to bite the bullet, book a room and pack our bags. We left 3 days later. With temperatures in the high 20's to mid 30's we thought we would be smart about this. Cold temperatures are my biggest weakness, I prefer to stay under a heating blanket from the months of October through March, but hey, these are rocks we are talking about right? We made a trip to the Tractor Supply store to buy some warm essentials. First Joshua had to have some long underwear, I of course live in mine all winter. Considering all that was left were the uni body red Santa suit in XL, I think we got a wonderful deal that they were on sale as well. Very auspicious for our trip I thought. The hats were also on sale, nice brown hats with ear flaps and fuzzy lining, that should keep up warm on our rock hunting excursion, smirk.

We packed the essentials, extra socks, extra shirts and pants, gloves, hats, 2 coats each. We gathered buckets, shovels, pick axes and bags. Then came the shoe question. Anyone who knows Joshua and I knows we wear our vibram toe shoes EVERYWHERE. We heard it might be a little muddy, no worries, these toe shoes are state of the art designs to allow our feet to work at maximum capacity, smirk. We packed boots too, I packed my daughters real shoes and her rubber boots that she just had to have and never wore while Joshua packed his handy dandy Doc Martens, but we confidently wore our toe shoes out the door.

Joshua and I are pumped and excited. We haven't been this excited about a road trip in a long time. This was a road trip because we wanted to, not because we had to. Both of us were vibrating with the excitement every rock collector gets when the hunt is on. We could feel the little sparklers calling us. In a hurry and running later than we preferred we raced down the highway with visions of Indiana Jones in our heads and all the treasure we hoped we would have the opportunity to find. Our adventure became daunting when we saw the white car hiding behind the orange barrels that litter the interstate across the nation, we passed by him so quickly we almost didn't see him, but he saw us. The blue lights don't flash as brightly on sunny days, however the effect is the same. Seventy six in a sixty? I thought the speed limit was seventy...yes sir, orange barrels, thank you sir.

Pulling back onto the interstate both Joshua and I were determined to not let this ruin our road trip. After all speeding tickets seem to be the norm for him, right? How could that deter us from having a great time when we are doing something we have been talking about for two years.

After eating in a charming little pancake house owned by Mexican ladies, we found our way to the super secret site without any trouble. We had our map quest directions, two smart phones and exact GPS coordinates of where we wanted to start our hunt. The gravel turnoff behind all the foliage was visible when coming back for the second pass, and in we went!

What we found was rather strange looking for rural Tennessee, the landscape looked bleak, miles and miles of rolling red fields with a small body of water running through the middle of it. The shores look like a nice stroll on sunny afternoon in January. Smooth Red Clay for a far as the eye can see.

The Fields where we found our little treasures of 'beta' quartz

We jumped out of the car, legs stiff from riding so long. The sun was bright, the temps were cold, the wind was blowing. We bundled up in our jackets and toe shoes to 'scout' the area out. We get about 30 feet from the car and spot the area we are interested in, like a school of fish, Joshua and I both moved towards the area to our left, down a steep incline in the direction of the water. Within about 40 feet of the water we noticed it was pretty muddy. The water had not been so low for long, the ground had not dried out well. The toe shoes are hanging in there, we are confident that we can maneuver these fields with our cherished vibrams, as Joshua steps over a small gully and we both hear a strange sucking sound, followed by loud expletives from Joshua. He had sunk in the mud beyond the low ankle of the toe shoe. Raising his foot up for inspection, large clumps of red clay fell to the ground almost as large as the one left hanging on to his foot. As I looked at what was left of the toe shoe in horror, I realized that I was slowly sinking in the mud myself, in my precious toe shoes. With a squeal that is only found within the deepest recesses of our brain, I hurled myself to firmer ground before the mud could devour my cute fuzzy socks that are so warm in the winter. Looking at the water and the still smooth ground in front of us, I decided to head back up the incline and look around on what I thought was firmer ground.

I trekked the hill, gathering more mud as I went. The toe shoes allowed me to get a good traction, when I could get the mud out from between the toes, it wasn't long before I noticed that my feet were no longer in toe shoes- they had become mud shoes, perfectly molded to my foot. So much for the confidence in the toe shoes.

The picture isn't bad for a
camera phone, upper
left had corner is
what they look like
on the shore

We finished out the afternoon, each finding a pocketful of little stones along the shores. The sun would shine brightly and the little stones would wink up from the sands and down we would bend to scratch around and see if there were any more. Most of the time we found them in twos and threes, where there was one, there were others near.I turned around, thinking that my feet were pretty cold with all that mud insulating them, I left the fancy hat in the car, the extra jacket in the car and the gloves too. I saw Joshua crab walking up an incline with his head bent, intent focus on the ground in front of him. I saw him reach for something on the ground, bring it closer to him, look at it and throw it back, again he would repeat this, however this time he put it in his bag, with a slight smile on his face that was quickly replaced with the intent focus of studying the ground while crab walking across the shores.

As the sun began to set we decided we should get our shoes off, find our map quests, phones and hotel. I sure was glad I had raided my daughters closet and grabbed her rubber boots. Joshua only had his Doc Martens, and although they had made it across Israel and back, they really weren't a match for the terrain we had gotten a taste of today. It was a fantastic coincidence to have a Bass Pro Shop just down from the hotel. If you have never been in a Bass Pro Shop in a rural area after driving 4 hours, crab walking across shores and sinking in the mud, you might want to try it. Grand entertainment for the real outdoors man, with boats, fishing supplies, hunting supplies, weapons and dead stuffed animals as the main source of eye candy, this is the kind of dream date any girl would love. The rubber boots at Bass Pro would have blown the budget of the trip- surprise. No worries, if Bass Pro can stay open in this rural area, then there must be a Wal-Mart nearby. We plan on finding it before heading back to the Super Secret Site tomorrow.

When we finally get to the hotel we are wiped, but still excited. We found our own little field diamonds! Our little black bags were tinkling with all the little stones as we poured them out on the table in the room. We perused our finds with a microscope, getting to know the inclusions in the little stones, confirming that some of them are really quartz, and not glass as we had suspected. It didn't take us long to fall out, with our loot spread across the table, our muddy shoes wrapped in kroger bags and dreams of diamond mines dancing in our heads.

Found the Rubber Boots!

Finding the Wal-Mart was easier than we thought- less than 10 miles from us, on a fairly straight stretch. Being in Wal-Mart on a Sunday morning looking for the rubber boots doesn't sound bad, but remember we are dressed for the winds of the red clay shore. I have on 1 pair wool socks, 1 pair cute fuzzy socks, long under wear, pants, two shirts over long underwear, 2 jackets, gloves, scarf and boots. Yes, I have boots on my delicate feet. Joshua is dressed about as heavily, I did notice sweat trickling down his neck in line. There is no restroom at the site, we decide that Wal-Mart bathroom is THE place to undress our layers and relieve ourselves for the last time for several hours. No more coffee.

After a quick stop at a shoreline we saw and stopped at we finally arrive back at our site. Today we are ready. Decked out for the cold, the wind and the mud. Shoreline here we come, be ready to be crystalisciouslized, smirk.

We both head in our own directions, finding them as we moved around the shoreline. Neither of us talking to each other, too far away to hear if we were. There weren't too many others out hunting. A man with his young daughter seemed to be looking at the shoreline, while another young family walked along the mud as if they were enjoying a Sunday afternoon away from the TV. The skies were overcast and the temperature was much colder today, the winds were stronger and I was glad for all my winter gear.

No worries! We have rubber boots!

I followed my eye on on the shore line, never looking up at the majestic views around me. I would see the tiny sparkles as the crystals lay on top of the dirt, waiting to be seen by humans. Some so tiny that we couldn't pick them up, but we could see the structure of the quartz. Some as large as a dime. I followed my eye, Joshua followed his. We met back up in the middle and decided to cross over to the other side of the large bridge that was there. As Joshua led the way I picked up little crystals he was walking over in his quest for 'the big one'. The closer we got to the other side of the bridge, the deeper the mud was getting. This was the area that we learned what that strange sucking sound is. No worries we have rubber boots on today - forge ahead, smirk. Joshua headed toward the stream while I headed for the edges of the shore. I found bright sparkly quartz laying in the mud on the shelf's of the shores. I would wander from one to the next, not really looking up, just keeping my head down watching for the hint of something that looks like glass.

So photoshop can't OPEN your eyes

I wasn't sure how long we had been out there, I was staying warm but noticed my legs were getting a little sore. Bending over for a few miles doesn't sound like it is really all that strenuous, however it was starting to kick my ass. I turned around, lifted my eyes above ground level and saw something magnificent. Joshua was standing in the creek with his hand held up and I could see the crystal from there. Wow! That's a big one! I scrambled to move in the direction he was, which was about 250 yards down the mudslide. Shouldn't be a big deal, it is kind of like roller skating. The less I move my feet the more they move down hill, I should be able to get there in about 3-5 minutes, teleporting by mud takes time.

I finally got downhill in the mud!

I finally arrived at the bottom of the hill! The bottom of the hill is where you must move your feet in order to keep from sinking. Woops! I sank about 1 foot down, quickly lost my balance and found out that this mud is cold on my butt! Very gross, and squishy as well, precious toe shoes my ass, I was now on my backside in this mud. Joshua looked at me from the middle of the stream, a crooked grin on his face and then he looked down at his own feet, which I noticed were about 8 inches deep where he was at. I realized I had to get up on my own. I think Joshua took a lot of pleasure watching that escapade, I was impressed he didn't get a picture. I bet if it had been the other way around I would have gotten a picture. That's why karma bit me in the butt a little later.

Walking the river shores in mud

But back to Joshua's stone, this is a sweet elestiated 1" natural smoky with enough inclusions to keep us busy for many many winter evenings exploring this stone. A magnificent beauty that is very rare, only a few large crystals have been found out here and we are betting this is one of the larger ones. Wow, I wasn't jealous, I was ecstatic! The best memory of the trip was knowing to look up just as he was seeing his find in the sun for the first time. A once in a lifetime kind of sight. The first human eyes touching a stone is as intense as it gets. Especially when you have trekked through a foot of mud in 20 degree temps to get it.

Those are our foot prints- or leg prints

After I freed myself of the mud without losing a boot, I made my way towards Joshua to see the stone up close. As I walked through the water I notice that my boots lost about 10 pounds, as the mud washed away in the fast moving water. The bottom of the water was pure mud, the sinking kind, but there were plenty of rocks lodged around so that I could cross without too much trouble. But once I got out on the little sandbar, wow I had to look around! What an amazing little place in the world! It was so quiet, but so loud at the same time. The mud seemed to absorb sound, like they say owls do when they are near. The running water was so clear, it tinkled loudly but was as delicate sounding as it was clear. I noticed a place where the water was running out of, I wanted to get closer. I made my way upstream towards the area that had some weird colors. Bright yellow, orange and green algae. Keeping my eyes peeled on the floor of the stream and slowly making my way towards my target I noticed that the mud was getting thicker, clinging even in the water. Sucking my foot in and filling in behind it like concrete. I backed up and found some rocks to walk on. I would cross over and come in from the other way.

This is the largest one Joshua found

In order to be able to stay above ground - literally I had to walk back downstream, find a place where the ground looked stable enough to cross and make the leap. The immediate shoreline was some pretty serious mud, the kind that wants to keep your boots. I spotted my target and moved to ground that wasn't as deep in it's sinking - only about 4" down per step. The closer I got to the target the deeper I was sinking. But I had to see what this was. I knew to just keep moving, don't let the mud fill in behind me. But I wasn't ready for what I saw, not only did Karma catch me not looking, there was a little bubbling spring there, water was bubbling out of it pretty fast, and it was warm! I stood still, first mistake. But I had to wonder, is that where these little crystals come from? This little hole of warm water spitting them out? I turned around to yell at Joshua and realized I couldn't turn around. I was very stuck. It felt like concrete blocks on my feet. I tried to lift my right foot, nothing, I tried to wiggle it then lift it, that strange sucking noise and deeper I went. Ok, yes I panicked, but I bet you would have too. I got my left foot out, Joshua watching intently, I would have had the camera out. I dropped my left foot as far out as I could and really screwed myself. Not only was I stuck, I now looked like I was playing twister in the mud. Joshua was about 5" deep, hoping I could get out on my own. I was a foot deep and about to start crying, and I had to pee. After relentless begging and crying, Joshua tried to make his way over to me so he could pull me out of the mud. I would have had the camera out, but that is why it was me in the mud. As he made his way to me, I think I grabbed his belt loop. It felt great to have something to hold onto, because I was in a very extreme position and although I could not fall over because the mud had me held tight, I sure was uncomfortable and I had to pee.After several attempts at pulling me out of the mud, we then try and get my foot out of the boot. First one, then the other. I can only assume that if someone had come by and seen this, it would have kept them amused for decades. I held onto Joshua's belt loop for dear life while the mud was trying to suck my foot to the inner depths of the earth itself. I struggled to free my foot from the boot, we have to remember that there are two pair of socks in there. As my foot found the freedom, the striped fuzzy sock stood out on the landscape as it waved around as high over the mud as possible while Joshua tried to free the boot and I held on, with one foot in the air and one foot stuck in the mud. I don't think Joshua thought it was as funny as I thought it was. It took some real effort to get those boots out of the mud. I was traumatized and quickly moved to higher ground after that episode.

We learned that this is nothing compared
to what the area has to offer

The day continued on, daylight was starting to shine at that strange angle that makes these shores look like they are made of little diamonds. We gathered as many stones as we could find while the light was still good. Joshua staying near the water, out of the mud and myself up on the higher ground on the shores where there was less likely hood of stepping into a pit of quicksand.

This was the first time I had worn "real" shoes all day in quite some time, my feet were noticing and missing the toe shoes. The mud weighed about five pounds, but felt more like fifty. My nose was steadily running, my fingers were numb, and I had to pee, bad. But I wasn't ready to stop just yet. I wouldn't make it back here for a long time, I wanted to make the most of the daylight. There was no way we were going to remove our muddy gear, get in the car, go find a bathroom and come back. There was no way I was going to pee outside, it was really cold out there! I trekked on, focusing on the little shiny stones that sparkle in the sun, some hiding under mud but most of them right on the surface.

The pocket I was putting the stones in was getting heavy. I had found alot of stones, some small, some large, but all Tennessee quartz.

As the sun started to drop Joshua made his way up a ridge of slate, cleaning his boots as he went, only to step onto the plateau and sink about two inches. It was time to head back to the car. Both of us still searching the ground as we make the journey back to the car we talk about all the great stones we saw and found. We laughed about the mud, we talked about coming back. Joshua was excited about some rocks he put by the car, they were a strange blue color, I had picked one up just like it but smaller and it was in my backpack. We bagged up the muddy boots and put "regular" shoes on, and the race was on to find a bathroom, a Denny's, and a place to pour out our bags. We forgot the strange blue stones outside of the car.

It was tasty!

We didn't speak the entire meal

We found the bathroom, then the Denny's and started our trip home. Sarah was in a panic, her hair straightener had died on her, and she has to go back to school from Christmas break now. Please mom, I love you, I need a straightener before tomorrow!
So off to find a place to grab a straightener before they close on Sunday evening in rural Tennessee. Easier than we thought with friendly helpful staff to get us in and get us out and back on the road.We are able to divert a fourteen year old disaster after sliding around in the mud all day. I would say that is a simply crystaliscious task.
Arriving home we are beat. But we have to check out our stones one more time. It's also essential for me to have a hot Epsom salt bath, my whole body hurts from fighting that mud. Joshua has driven the entire trip and I know he is tired and ready for bed. Time to come home, get some sleep and get back to our lives tomorrow. But our lives will be just slightly richer and our memories a little more vivid.

A big sack of little sparkling treasures

We had an overnight adventure. We trekked across the state, fought man eating mud, slid down treacherous hills of slate, almost froze our fingers and toes off, but we found treasure. And any treasure hunter knows, the adventure is the real treasure.

Our treasures from Jefferson County Tennessee

Many of these still have the clay on them
the stones from this area are usually very small
smaller than a dime, and shaped
like herkimer diamonds, many of these are 'beta' shaped