Juntura Oregon
It has been a couple of week since the field trip to Juntura Oregon to collect petrified wood. This was a smaller group for the Owyhee Gem and Mineral Society, a little over 20 people. I am guessing the distance had something to do with the low turnout. With the price of gas being so high I would bet that there will be lower numbers on many of the trips this year.
This trip started out a bit earlier than most. The group met at O’Conner Field House in Caldwell, Idaho around 6:30 A.M. and headed out by 7:00 A.M. About an hour later we stopped in Vale, Oregon for a pit stop. I really enjoy going through this small town because there are many murals painted on the buildings.
After our brief stop we continue to Juntura and then went about 12 miles past the town to the petrified wood collecting area.Once we arrived at the location everybody got out of the vehicles and immediately started finding small pieces of petrified wood. As we wandered around the area mud began to build up on our shoes. The soil was wet from rain the day before and had a very sticky quality to it; I still have it stuck to my car today. As I collected some rocks I felt that my feet were getting just as heavy as my collecting bucket. After I filled my bucket I returned to my car and spent about ten minutes scraping the mud from my shoes. The rest of the time spent at this location I tried to explore locations that were a little drier. It wasn’t long before everybody had their limit of petrified wood so the group went to Warn Springs Lake to look for agate.
The area around the reservoir did have some small pieces of agate but I didn’t find anything that exciting. I did find a few curious rocks and a large Apache tear (small obsidian nodule). After about an hour I decided to head home.On the way back I stopped again at the petrified wood location. By this time it had dried enough that the mud didn’t stick to my shoes. As the group looked for Agate at the reservoir many said that bigger pieces of petrified wood could be found the farther you went from the road so this time I walked quite a ways out. I did find many bigger pieces and collected a few before I left.
As I continued back to Juntura I came across a vulture eating something in the middle of the road. This was exciting because I had never seen a wild vulture before. I tried to photograph it but as soon as I opened the car door it took off. I did manage to get a few photos but not as detailed as I wanted.
When I made it back to Vale I stopped at Margaret Stallknecht’s rock shop. I purchased one rock from her because it seemed really different to me. I was not sure if it was a thunder egg or not but Margaret said that she would allow me to exchange it if I was not satisfied with the center. I still have not cut it and am not sure I want to cut it. The photos below are of the rock I purchased. If anybody knows what this is please leave a comment.
