June 6…. Illinois

The Illinois River in Oregon, that is.

We stopped in a rock shop in Selma Oregon yesterday and they gave us some tips on where and what to look for. In this case, in this area, it’s serpentine. A beautiful green color in all different shades from pale pastel all the way to a dark hunter green is what we’re seeing, though it apparently comes in several different colors.

We’re on the flanks of Eight Dollar Mountain. The banks of the river are thick with veins of the stuff, chunks and pieces cracked off all over the place where previous rock hounds have been collecting.

We parked up by the road and walked down to the river, and as we made it down, we saw a guy camping down here with his Subaru. Well, of course, I had to take that as a challenge to my manhood. If he can get his puny car down that rocky embankment, you’re dang straight I can get 8000 lbs of American steel down here. 🤣

Four wheel drive and a LOT of back and forth and a bit of skidding tires and I’m down. Only time will tell if I can get the beast back up the hill. 😁

Susanne is in her element, hopping around the banks and then into the river, picking up and discarding pieces, and filling her pants pockets till they can’t hold another pebble.

As I sat in the river watching Susy do her rock thing, I watched as a huge bald eagle flew over, perching in a tree down past us, and then going from tree to tree till it went around the bend. We also saw a couple snakes coming out of the water to sit on the rocks by us.

After enough sitting in the sun, I moved up into the shade by the truck and will let the rock hound do her stuff, probably adding another 100 lbs to our cargo. 😢