July 17-13

Past-E-Mail: Cam Notes - 2013: July: July 17-13
Agate Beach    ...scroll down to share comments
Photos by Don Afman
Hunting for agates    ...scroll down to share comments
Photos by Don Afman


By
Mary Drew at Pasty Central (Mdrew) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 08:24 am:

The Lake Superior shoreline is known for producing many an agate, both small and large, so it always draws the rock hound in folks, hoping to score a big one to either take home as a memory of their visit UP North or to sell for some extra cash. I'd venture to say that most folks only find the small souvenir size agates, but there are a few that are lucky enough to find the elusive large specimens, too.

Don Afman was recently on Agate Beach in the Toivola area, where he snapped today's photos with a number of avid agate hunters hard at work. It's definitely a great way to pass the time on the shores of Lake Superior.


By Alex "UP-Goldwinger" (Alex) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 08:39 am:

Nice pix...those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer.


By Janie T. (Bobbysgirl) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 08:50 am:

"In the Summertime when the weather is high, You can stretch right up and touch the Sky"


By Uncle Chuck (Unclechuck) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 09:39 am:

Nice pics, I wouldn't know an agate from a marble, or a petoskey stone!lol... My uncle's would walk that beach back in the day when it was really full of agate hunter's, and drop firecrackers behind them. Those folks were not too happy. What memories, lol


By Nick Karjala (Nmkarjala) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:12 am:

Many large agates were often found inland on the Keweenaw Peninsula where the shores of a larger Lake Superior once were located. Years ago a private collection of very large agates was in show cases near the office of the Vice President of Manufacturing of a (then) Dayton, Ohio company. I was employed at this company in a management position and often handled special assignments for the V.P. After he learned that I was born and raised in the Keweenaw Peninsula area, he told me that he found the large agates inland on the Keweenaw Peninsula. I have one about the size of a softball that was found on my parents' farm in Houghton County. I think it is likely that there are more in that general area that also has beach sand in several locations.


By Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:13 am:

Some sense of humor, Uncle Chuck! Hope he could run fast.;->


By Allen W. Philley (Allen) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:23 am:

I also would not know one if found in the wild.


By Janie T. (Bobbysgirl) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:35 am:

U.C. I love your Uncle's!! lol!!


By Uncle Chuck (Unclechuck) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 11:19 am:

JT- Back then, Budweiser was involved, lol. To all us cousin's, are uncle's were legends!


By David S. Vilona (Flatrockriver1) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 11:45 am:

When I was in High school I was lucky to find one the size of a baseball.This was on the Marquette shoreline.


By Dave kalen (Datyooper) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 02:09 pm:

Used to pick agates with my Gram every summer. My Great
Grandmother named Toivola, in finnish, it means "HOPE". The
Kallioinen Homestead was there.


By D. A. (Midwested) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 05:54 pm:

I had to wait awhile to get that picture. With
all those rear ends pointed towards Minnesota, I
got an extra chuckle but then I have a weird sense
of humor.

Not having any luck with agate searches I headed
to the fairly new location of the A.E. Seaman
Mineral Museum in Houghton. They have everything
you might expect on display including agates,
datolite and native copper. Certainly worth the
trip. Has it ever been featured here?

I purchased a huge agate, half the size of a
bowling ball, cut in half and polished, with a
small geode exposed and not very expensive.
Unfortunately, it was imported from Brazil but
still beautiful.

I had a great week. Thanks go to Pasty Central for
suggesting new areas to venture to.


By jbuck (Jbuck) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 08:03 pm:

Ha! Great sense of humor!

I think Capt Paul's pictures were featured from the
new location of the A E Seaman a while back


By jbuck (Jbuck) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 08:50 pm:

September 15, 2011 was when the pictures were
posted.


By Deb S. (Usedtobeayooper) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 09:12 pm:

Superior pictures!

Yay!! I finally got pasty up again. I'm seriously having so much trouble with this site!!


By Alex "UP-Goldwinger" (Alex) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 09:16 pm:

D. A....thankfully it was not a nudist beach. It would be tough asking them to crack a smile for the camera :-)


By Uncle Chuck (Unclechuck) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:23 pm:

Alex-true! LOL


By D. A. (Midwested) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 10:23 pm:

Thanks for the reminder jbuck. Just goes to show how
my memory is fading as I made a post on those CAM
Notes back then. As far as my sense of humor goes, I
call that picture, "Mooning Minnesota".

All the exhibit areas are now open and it's quite a
geological display. I would say it easily beats the
one at the renowned Field Museum of Natural History
in Chicago.


By Jose (Jtraveler) on Wednesday, July 17, 2013 - 11:48 pm:

I, also, would not know an agate if I saw one. I'll have to google a picture of one so I can try my luck when I go UP there in September after the Mackinac Bridge Walk. Can't wait! :°)


By Kathyrn Laughlin (Kathyl) on Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 09:07 am:

Hi
Nick, that's interesting, and I have seen markers showing differences in the Great lakes levels during the ice ages. For example, at one point there was only a relatively narrow river in the straits of Mackinac.

Whatever size of stones, it is fun to look for rocks on the beach. We've been doing it for decades on the beach near our vacation home near Cheboygan...but there are still rocks to find after all time. ;>)


By Shirley Waggoner (Shirlohio) on Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 09:15 am:

I have a stone that I picked up on the shore at Petoskey ~ would that be considered a 'Petoskey stone'? ;->


By Nick Karjala (Nmkarjala) on Thursday, July 18, 2013 - 10:27 am:

Hi Kathy,
The V.P. was a "rock hound" who often spent his summer vacations in the Keweenaw looking for the big agates inland. I remember him commenting that he thought the local residents were quite secretive about where they knew the big agates could be found. Years ago I met a man at a gem and rock show in the Troy, Ohio area who had a gemstone and rock/mineral store in Cincinnati, he gave me a slice of a very nice agate that he found UP there.


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