Lars Johnson - Rockhounding Washington

ROCKHOUNDING

Washington

A Guide to the States Best Sites

LARS W. JOHNSON

An imprint of The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

4501 Forbes Blvd., Ste 200

Lanham, MD 20706

www.rowman.com

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Copyright 2018 The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

Maps The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc.

All photos by Lars W. Johnson unless otherwise noted

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote passages in a review.

British Library Cataloguing-in-Publication Information available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data available

ISBN 978-1-4930-1909-0 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-4930-1910-6 (e-book)

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Printed in the United States of America

The author and The Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc. assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Contents

Acknowledgments

T his part is still and always will be like winning a shiny golden award on TV and getting to give my shout outs. Even though I wont be shuffled off stage by music, I still hope I dont forget anyone who helped to make this dream happen.

My family has always been the biggest supporters of my dreams and aspirations. I always start by thanking them first: my mother, Kristi Robinson; my stepfather, Denis Harnish; my papa, Jerard Johnson; my stepmother, Karen Johnson; Grandma Beach, Lorraine VanBrocklin; my little brother, Karl Johnson; and my stepdaughter, Sophia, for being entertaining and patient while her mother and I hunt rocks for hours on end. I could not have done any of this without any of you. Thank you all for always having a place to rest my dirty head and a warm meal, even at the last minute.

I really want to thank my friends who accompanied me in the field when I didnt want to do a recon trip alone; people such as my little sister, Kelley Harmon; Ian Jackson; Kyle Heflebower; Nadia Ricci; Michael Casper; and especially Avery Skunk Dawg Steen, who went on more failed trips with me than anyone. I want to thank Chris Sheckla for supplying me with the camera I used for this book; everyone at the Mount Hood Rock Club, especially Barbra Brandt, Linda Honeycutt Frenette, Greg Gentry, Alison Jean Cole, Tim Fisher; everyone in the NW Rockhounds group especially Lanny and Juliet Kittleson, Jake Rankin, Rodger Kilmer, Arthur Ortiz, and Dawn Fredricks; the whole crew at The Gold Door, thank you all for covering shifts so I could be on the road; Ed Lehman and Bob OBrien of the WSMC; Logon Appleyard and Dave McFarland for supplying photos; the five dudes who helped me break into my truck at Rock Creek; Toyota, for making the awesome Tacoma that has gotten me to more rockhounding sites in the NW than I can count; Les Schwab Tires, especially the Maple Valley location; and the music of the Melvins and Big Business for keeping me insane and awake while driving night and day, all over Washington, researching this book.

I especially want to thank my wife. Without her I could not have gotten through the trials and tribulations I went through writing this book. She found so many of the best rocks on our adventures and would quite often find the prize just as I was about to give up on a site. She is my rockhounding Viqueen, and Im awfully fortunate to have her in my life. Thank you, Amber. I love you with all my heart.

This book is dedicated to Grandma Beach.

Introduction

I thought writing a guidebook about the state I live in was an honor, but now that Ive gotten to write a guidebook for my home state; the place I fell in love with rockhounding, I cant even put it in to words. Washington proved to be a tough mistress when it came to giving up her gems and minerals. She locked me out of a lot of places and it was difficult to find accessible sites in the great state I was born in. In no way is this book complete, but again it never would be.

I still believe that rockhounds should share their knowledge of the hobby with each other. Keeping each other informed and updated about old and new sites is a vital element to keep our hobby a rolling stone. Remember, most of these sites are on public land and we, the people should all have an opportunity to equally enjoy our great mineral rich lands. We are rockhounds after all, not gold miners , and we should always be willing to share our experiences and collecting localities with other rockhounds. You dont necessarily have to hold someones hand and lead them to a pit, but some directions on a map and some suggestive guidance can really encourage the rockhounding spirit. Share what you find and you will be rewarded with the same.

I have personally visited and collected at every site mentioned in this book, with the exception of Timberwolf Mountain and The Rock N Tomahawk Ranch. Sometimes the cards just dont line up. Sometimes a fee ranch closes early for the season. Each site in this book gets my personal seal of approval. If I didnt think it was a collectable site, it didnt make it in this book.

For my Oregon book I listed some road stats, such and miles driven, milkshakes drank, and waypoints taken. This round I didnt keep as much track of that stuff. Washington also does not have as many random paces in the high desert to get milkshakes. I did notice, however, that in northeastern Washington people really seem to like soup to go. We kept seeing it advertised as gas stations and convenient stores. Whats up with that northeast Washington? I believe though, that I drove more miles for Washington than I did Oregon. I also blew a lot fewer tires in Washington. I will say Oregon seems to have more milkshakes in the middle of nowhere, perfect for a hot day.

A view of Diablo Lake. One of the many spectacular views seen on the way to rockhounding locations.

This book can be used in a variety of ways. First and foremost, you can use the sites to plan the ultimate Washington rockhounding adventure. Some people, including myself, have used guidebooks like this as a personal site checklist. I write notes all over my books; I add my own GPS coordinates, correct typos of mileage, and any information I may need to remember about a particular site or material. I hope you to do the same with this book and use it as a tool to expand your own reference of Washington. My favorite copies of my books are the ones that are falling apart from use, written all over, and full of sticky notes. It makes me so happy to see people using the information and getting out there.