Lapidaryforum.net
Let's Rock => Rough and Slabs => Topic started by: irockhound on June 09, 2016, 06:27:44 PM
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I finally decided to get my saws running and cut some of the material I collected at the end of April in Texas. These are all from the Marfa area. I can't tell you how much fun it is to collect these beauties. I hike all over the place trying to find the special Bouquet Agates among the other agates littering the ground. The ranch is 8,000 acres so plenty of ground to cover and my buddy and I do cover a lot of ground but we almost always find a new spot for the Bouquets. I hope you enjoy the pics, a bit impromptu since I just shot them on my grass so forgive the grass blade shadows on some. I took one pic of an uncut nodule that has the green plumes that should be spectacular when cut.
Thanks, Steve
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Beautiful!
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Really wide assortment of plumes. Very nice material. Thanks for sharing
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Yow wee that's good ones!
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904 is incredible. How big is it?
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Awesome slabs!
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Yeah, 904 is awesome.
Just like being under water in a reef of coral and sea plants.
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Theyre all beautiful.900, 908 are my favorites though.
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Simply breathtaking. Thank you.
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Wow, Steve, fantastic. I need to retire and get out there with you!!
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I'm gobsmacked! I didn't think that kind of material was still available. Those are simply beautiful. That trip's now on my Bucket List but I'd better make it soon!
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904 is incredible. How big is it?
904 is 3" x 2 1/4" Most of the better nodules tend to be about this size or smaller with rare big ones. I attached a better resolution pic since I dumbed down the first pics. I love this one for the plume on plume sort of fountain effect.
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Wow, Steve, fantastic. I need to retire and get out there with you!!
Greg, I told you that you really need to go on these trips. You will be hard pressed to have a better collecting experience as most other places pale in comparison.
@ Gemfeller Don't worry, I have been going there for 6 years and every trip I find better than the trip before. They won't run out of quality material any time soon. The only danger is these ranches go in and out of collecting status all the time. This ranch closed a couple years ago right after we found a killer spot because of some family in-fighting and opened again a year later after we thought we would never see it again thanks to one of the family being pro rockhound and she was put in charge of the ranch - whew! The trip that these were collected on was supposed to be a 2 ranch trip and it was advertised in Rock and Gem (slab in ad is one I collected from a trip a year ago, I'll add that pic in this post). At the last minute the 2nd ranch closed to collecting and hopefully will reopen next year but it is in question at this point.
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These are truly some spectacular plumes! Thanks for sharing.
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Those are utterly fantastic.
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irockhound, I'm LOL. Re: Bucket List, it's a question of which will go extinct first, the plume agates or me. The rocks will easily win out -- I'd better hurry to make that trip!
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whats this one worth?
(http://lapidaryforum.net/group/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1879.0;attach=2784;image)
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love plumes and moss. I like 900 (3rd one) with the dark plumes!!!. you can send it my direction. I would leave it whole and polish as a specimen
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irockhound, I'm LOL. Re: Bucket List, it's a question of which will go extinct first, the plume agates or me. The rocks will easily win out -- I'd better hurry to make that trip!
Lol, totally missed that reference. I hope you stick around to get some of these. The collecting can be real easy with minimum effort as there is so much material. I took a friend there a couple years back and told him how easy the stuff was to find. I told him he would have a bouquet in the first 10 minutes. He obviously didn't believe me but we got there and about 20 feet from the truck in the first minute he found a gorgeous Yellow plume. There is a plume type there that is almost hair like and then on the ends it has little pom poms of plume. I'll look tomorrow and find a sample of that type. It is so unusual looking.
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whats this one worth?
(http://lapidaryforum.net/group/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=1879.0;attach=2784;image)
Not really sure as I never tried selling any. I know that dardilrocks talked about seeing his first bouquet and it was 250.00 for a slice and I would assume that a piece like this would be that kind of stone. I found one chunk that was bigger than my fist and it has full bouquet pattern on the top all the way through and the same pattern on the exterior of the bottom, probably one of the biggest bouquets I have seen. The side is chipped off and you can see all the colors top to bottom and I figure as a specimen to a collector it could be a thousand dollar stone but that would be the whole stone and not cut, maybe just one surface polished.
Steve
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I haven't had time to look through slabs for the pom pom plume but had a cab pic that was easy to grab. This is what the material looks like.
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Super cool finds! We went with Teri April 2015 and I can't wait to get back. Hoping to make a return in October. I can never seem to go everywhere I want to go....like all of us...
I love 904, but also the greens and blacks. :headbang: :headbang: :headbang:
Sure hope the Singleton stays open and the Walker reopens. Makes for the plume agate trip of a lifetime.
Craig
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WOW! They really look like a coral formation :occasion14:
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Every time I see a gorgeous slab or rough from the other side of where I am, I hate Florida more. We have nothing here! I have to say that is some of the most beautiful Plume Agate I've ever seen. I think I need to plan a trip out to Texas!
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Those are spectacular. I'll have to make a point to get out to Marfa sometime soon.
Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G890A using Tapatalk
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Texas trips coming in October!!!
See if I can get a few of those Singleton plumes!!! Also going to the Stillwell and Walker Ranches!
My second time for both Singleton and Walker. Hope I do better this time... :drool:
Craig
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This is my favorite post on this whole site with the added photos...simply beautiful and amazing complexity in those plume agate slabs; it opened my eyes as to what is possible in nature. Keep these coming! I now go to the rock shows specifically shopping for the plume agate slabs.
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Texas trips coming in October!!!
See if I can get a few of those Singleton plumes!!! Also going to the Stillwell and Walker Ranches!
My second time for both Singleton and Walker. Hope I do better this time... :drool:
Craig
I have been working around my wife's busy dog agility schedule but I am planning on being in Texas for the October rock hunts at this point. I should be there for all 4 days of the Walker and at least 2 of the Singleton, maybe 4 if I can swing it.
Ps Ryaly2dogs, Thanks for the comment! I do love plume and it does get addictive. So glad you like it.
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If i ever make it to Texas I may beg you to take me out to get this stuff! So beautiful
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I finally decided to get my saws running and cut some of the material I collected at the end of April in Texas. These are all from the Marfa area. I can't tell you how much fun it is to collect these beauties. I hike all over the place trying to find the special Bouquet Agates among the other agates littering the ground. The ranch is 8,000 acres so plenty of ground to cover and my buddy and I do cover a lot of ground but we almost always find a new spot for the Bouquets. I hope you enjoy the pics, a bit impromptu since I just shot them on my grass so forgive the grass blade shadows on some. I took one pic of an uncut nodule that has the green plumes that should be spectacular when cut.
Thanks, Steve
Wow ... awesomite!
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So beautiful that I almost would like to slab material like that up thin and just let the daylight show off their inner beauty! Truly looks like being underwater! Simply spectacular! Thanks for sharing with us!
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Hey now, those are nice! great finds and excellent examples show solid formations!