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Monday, March 28, 2016

West... To California In Search of Geodes

Eric has become a rock hound during our stay in western Arizona.  He has been collecting Quartz, Jasper and coarse pieces of Lava during our walks and while golfing at the Quartzsite Golf Course.





It's time for a drive west 
to California to look 
for Geodes.  











Geodes are spherical rocks with hollow cavities that are lined by crystals.  In this part of the country, they are formed by volcanic activity.  A bubble of carbon dioxide and water vapor forms in a volcano's lava flow.  As the molten rock cools, an empty space is left behind.  The dissolved gases cool and form crystals inside the hardened rock.

Eric found a site, east of Blythe, California, that has abundant Geodes.







We follow a dirt road...





.... to Mule Mountains
Long-Term Visitor Area.











A blooming Ocotillo...

I've been looking for this
cactus since the desert
started to flower.




The Hauser Geode Beds
are that-a-way....











We park in the middle of a
rock-strewn volcanic area.








 The Geodes are around here... somewhere.






Eric takes a bucket & rock
hammer & sets off in
 search of Geodes.











Previous visitors have left
evidence of their searches.









Eric picks a spot & digs into the
soft soil with his rock hammer.







I look around on the ground for rocks that look like solid bubbles.







There's an arch up there....







I like finding the unexpected.

Over thousands of years, the
elements hollowed out this
formation.










My small collection of 
possible Geodes.







There aren't a lot of rocks that look like bubbles lying around on the ground here.






Eric gathered a bigger, more
varied collection of rocks.











This rock, called a nodule, 
has solid Quartz inside.

My brother, Al, calls this
type of rock a "Thunder Egg."





We can beak open the other stones at another time.






It's time to load up the
Jeep & start our drive
east to Arizona.











Eric stops, one more time, so
I can get another photo of
the Ocotillo in bloom.



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