• Wednesday-What'sUP March 22 - 08:49 am

It seems as though Joyce Tormala was in the right place at the right time, catching two hounds on the shores of Lake Superior. The first one being a "rock" hound and a diehard one at that, finding an opening in the ice pack and searching for that elusive treasure amongst the stones. Paco happens to be the second hound, as he strikes a pose while slurping some of that refreshingly cold water.

Welcome to the first full day of Spring!

Looks like fun! Wish I were UP there.

Happy Spring to everyone out there!
Thanks for posting some refreshing pictures Mary Drew.

A little chilly for me.

Can't wait to be walking along the shores of the lake. I prefer walking in the summer though. Either way, it's a sight to behold.

awwwwww... great pictures (as usual from Joyce) LOVE the Paco pic!

I am also ready to walk in the sun on the lakeshore. Glad spring is here whether it feels like it or not.

Cloudy now; rain predicted for later. A cold rain, I suppose.
Cold rains and muddy streets and walkways are also a part of
the U.P., as I recall from my growing-up years here in the 50s.
Seems like this part of Spring lasts a while too. Oh, well, you
can't have ticks and black flies later without this stuff now, eh?

Great pictures Joyce! Wish we could have been there this week!

Does anyone know if there is a Hunting Agates for Dummies or something similar? Would love to get into that but what are the treasures and what is the trash?

Ray, check out the Copper World in Calumet website: http://www.calumetcopper.com/index.php?PHPSESSID=592e72a7d305138d93a0d1981a117e4a&nPageID=64 They have two very nice books on agates, regarding how to find/identify them. I know they have them in the store, so you might be able to order them online also.
I hope the link I posted works for you.

Good ol' Paco...the dog that non-yooper dogs envy!

Agates for Dummies, boy that sure would have been nice when I was starting out, hehe.

Out of those two books Copper World has, I would highly recommend "Is this an Agate" by Susan Robinson. It is a really good intro to agate hunting as to what to look for, where they are at, and what the other rocks are that you may encounter along the shores. Plus, it has Susan's artwork throughout which is awesome. For around $8 one can't go wrong!!

While the book will give you a good start, it still takes a long time to master the technique of finding agates; don't expect to go out and find a golfball the first time!! There are also numerous tidbits that you won't find in books but have worked for me over the years....

Wow, Paul! Makes our theory of finding the pretty ones and putting them in the rock tumbler look rather amateur, Not going to stop us though, we have a lot of pretty yet otherwise useless rocks.

Hi
Brooke, I was thinking along those lines. I've picked up a lot of rocks & stones over the years, not many of which are agate. In fact I collect an item that isn't technically a stone at all: beach glass. All pieces found by any family member are mine, just like all pudding stones (that's conglomerates to you, Capt. Paul) found are given to my mom.

Lol, I never said the other rocks on the shore were useless, they tumble quite nicely as well. In fact, some of the best rocks for colour can be found in a matter of minutes along the lakeshore ;-)

Don't worry kathyrn, the geologic community may call them conglomerate, but to me they will always be "pudding stones"!!

I went rock hunting for the first time last summer up there and was able to find a few agates in about a hour. I used the book "Is this an agate?" and found it very helpful. There is a rock shop up there that had many samples to look at. It up on highway 26 I think. Most everyone knows about it.