Rocks and Cobwebs

I'm sweeping away the cobwebs from the part of my mind that's filled with rocks.

(Make any joke you like with that statement)

Finally, some hard-core rockhounding on the calendar.

I met up in Tuscon, Arizona with the rockhounding world's power couple, Jim and Vickie, and we drove off into the wilds to find some interesting minerals.

I saw this in the floor tile at the airport on my way and even though it looked real, I wondered if there are tiles sold that are printed with fossils?

Just in case, I decided not to try and pry this one free. 

TSA might have had something to say about that.

Here's the general idea of the driving we do on our trips:

And some of the scenery:

I had a split second of excitement when I saw the "ammonite" in the upper left corner until I realized it was a dead millipede. 

We were living large on this trip by staying in an RV park in Clifton, AZ, pop. 3,800.

I don't want to be unkind to Clifton but I got a general impression that the residents were either unhappy, incarcerated, or a bit off.  The RV park was maintained by inmates during the day.  I wasn't quite sure how to interact with all those orange jumpsuits.

Still, there are benefits to camping with electricity and water.

Vickie made me an excellent nest where I was able to relax at night while watching my favorite sci-fi show, The Expanse.  Jim was our private chef as well as the Bloody Mary maestro.

Vickie and I set up a rock washing station that ran day and night.

The atmosphere was pleasant with the exception of the flies that were fascinated by my Bloody Marys.

I had some highfalutin idea that I was going to meditate every day on this trip.

I figured I would head out into the desert with a pillow and sit down amongst the cactus to train my mind.  For safety's sake, I was going to instruct Jim and Vickie:

If you see me sitting still, I'm meditating.  If you see me laying down, I'm in need of medical assistance.

But how can I relax when there's rocks everywhere!

And meditating in the campground?  

Fuhgeddaboudit!

I sat down once with a 10 minute meditation timer going and at minute 6, Jim opened the door of the camper and shouted, "Your Bloody Mary is ready!"

Sorry, Buddha!  I'll have to catch up with you later.

Back to Round Mountain, AZ.

Round Mountain rockhounding area is such a cool place but you had better be in love with chalcedony coz that's what you're going to find.  You won't leave empty handed.  In areas, it covers the ground so thickly, it looks like hail.

I focused on round whereas Vickie focused on color.

She tweaked her rolling rock collecting vehicle and made it more suitable for rough terrain:

Vickie and I also hiked in search of the storied Clifton lavender agate.

Fail.

BUT, it was an excellent 2.5 mile hike along an arid wash and we each filled our backpacks to the point of discomfort with rocks.  We even had to pour out our water to make room for more rocks.

And here is my favorite rock of the whole trip:

Hell if I know what it is but I love it.

There were many small smooth geodes but this was by far the biggest I found.  I know there is some form of crystals inside but I will never cut it. 

 It's perfect just the way it is.

Even though I didn't find a single fossil, it was a very successful rock hunting trip.

What am I going to do with all these rocks?  I don't know.  I'll have to meditate on it.

For your continued reading pleasure, a little bit about mindfulness meditation from the Mindvalley blog site:

Mindfulness meditation is a powerful and ancient meditation technique that is proven to help reduce stress, alleviate anxiety and depression, and even help with pain and illness. By re-training your mind to stay present and calm in the moment, mindfulness meditation changes the physical structure of your brain, creating long-lasting changes and positive, healthy habits. You might think something so powerful must be difficult or require a lot of training, but think again! Mindfulness meditation is free, easy to do, and the only effort it requires is sitting still for 10-30 minutes every day. Anyone, regardless of age or ability, can practice mindfulness. It’s Buddhism that really helps us understand the origin of mindfulness meditation because it is integral to the Buddhist path. In Buddhism, it’s important to cultivate a non-judgemental awareness of yourself, your feelings, your mind and your surroundings. This distance and observation can be trained through a series of mindfulness meditations. For many religions, mindfulness meditations were used as a way to step back from the world and connect with your spiritual self. Sometimes this connection was used as a way to resist temptation, while other times it was used as a way to realize and understand the connection between “self” and “other.” Today the meaning of mindfulness meditation has shifted away from its religious connections. While some still practice it within the context of religion, mindfulness meditation has been adopted by psychologists, healthcare professionals and other secular organizations as an effective way to deal with the stresses and illnesses of the modern world.

• Awareness Is KeyAll mindfulness meditations focus on developing awareness. Sometimes this awareness is of the body or breath, while other times it may focus on the outside world or internal thoughts.

• Non-Judgement Is EssentialMindfulness meditations all focus on experiencing awareness without judgement. In other words, mindfulness is about witnessing an experience or sensation without attachment or criticism.

• It Cultivates PeaceWitnessing something without attaching meaning or value creates an important detachment that results in a calm and peaceful mind. Though your feelings are valuable and important, mindfulness teaches you how to find serenity despite them.