Fieldtrip Report:
Fieldtrip Report:
A
Fieldtrip to Mount Ida, Arkansas
With a Sidetrip to Marion, Kentucky
Written by: Steve Barr
Photos by: Matthew Price, Mark Randle, Rodney Moore and Steve Barr(Special thanks to the folks at the Clement Mineral Museum for their permission to reproduce the photo of one of their indoor displays.)
Matt supervised while Rodney began to pull the rock walls apart with his big machine.
It didn't take long before the two of them were pulling specimens out of the wall.
Matt is one of the nicest mine owners you'll ever meet. He's a diehard rockhound who has never lost the joy of finding even the smallest of specimens, and he likes to make sure that other rockhounds have a great time when they visit the Arrowhead.
The Arrowhead Mine is a vast place, and yields a wide variety of specimens that range from clusters of needle-like quartz crystals on up to very large single crystals.
In fact, the more we dug, the bigger they seemed to get.
See what I mean? This sweet "little" specimen definitely ate its Wheaties when it was a kid!
Mark Randle drove out from North Carolina for a few days, and picked up a few of his own.
David Swearengin, one of our MAGMA members from Tennessee, also came out for a few days and did his fair share of hauling crystals out of the pits. He's apparently searching this beer-can sized specimen for what he calls a "Budweiser Inclusion".
The Arrowhead Mine just kept yielding great crystals all week long. Here are a few photos of what was unearthed for you to enjoy..
