T
TreasureTales
Guest
There are all kinds of treasure, but I like to divide treasures into two main types: Natural and Manmade.
Following are a couple of photos of a piece of the natural variety. It's a petrified tree branch with a knot where a smaller branch had been, and the layers of bark are obvious. I will always remember the day I found this. At a used book store I bought an older copy of a rockhound guide for Nevada. One of the locations said petrified wood could be found...OPALIZED petrified wood. Opalized wood in Nevada brought to mind visions of black fire opal. Virgin Valley, Nevada is quite famous for its black fire opal, but I was hoping the age of the book meant it was out-of-print and therefore the site was possibly all but forgotten...almost like a totally new site. That wasn't the case, of course, and the wood wasn't opalized in the way I was thinking. The opalization, which doesn't show in these photos, is a common opal type rather than the gem opal type of opalization. But I didn't know that until I started looking. I hoped I could find the site and maybe some of the wood. My entire week of vacation was spent in pursuit of the elusive wood the same year I bought the book. No luck. The following year I went back and looked again. The third year in a row I returned and looked some more.
One the final day of my vacation that third year I decided to walk the creek bed and see if any of the wood was sticking out of the bank. I used a walking stick and hit all protrusions from the bank, knowing that petrified wood would sound different than a rock when hit with the stick. I was banging on rocks and roots and then it began to snow. The snow was coming down in what appeared to be tiny little snowBALLS. It was silent and beautiful and I was alone. I knew I didn't have much more time to look and I wouldn't be able to return to the location until the following year, so I gave myself 10 more minutes. Knock...nothing. Knock...thud. Knock...clink! Instead of a dull thud from a rock or a tree root, this time I heard the distinct sound of something almost ceramic or similar to thick glass. I knew I had found petrified wood! I steadied myself in the creek bed so I wouldn't fall into the creek and then I reached up above my head to grab the wood. I slowly started pulling on the 1" of wood that was sticking out of the bank, I pulled a few more inches out, then a few more, and finally the entire piece was in my hand. It's over 14" long and one of my most prized possessions from the world of natural treasure.
This wood was found in the Ruby Mountains of Northern Nevada. It's a beautiful area, and one that I still visit on occasion. I've never been able to find more in the area, although I've tried. When I think about it, I was extremely lucky to find the piece I did. Thanks for looking and for putting up with my reminiscences.
Following are a couple of photos of a piece of the natural variety. It's a petrified tree branch with a knot where a smaller branch had been, and the layers of bark are obvious. I will always remember the day I found this. At a used book store I bought an older copy of a rockhound guide for Nevada. One of the locations said petrified wood could be found...OPALIZED petrified wood. Opalized wood in Nevada brought to mind visions of black fire opal. Virgin Valley, Nevada is quite famous for its black fire opal, but I was hoping the age of the book meant it was out-of-print and therefore the site was possibly all but forgotten...almost like a totally new site. That wasn't the case, of course, and the wood wasn't opalized in the way I was thinking. The opalization, which doesn't show in these photos, is a common opal type rather than the gem opal type of opalization. But I didn't know that until I started looking. I hoped I could find the site and maybe some of the wood. My entire week of vacation was spent in pursuit of the elusive wood the same year I bought the book. No luck. The following year I went back and looked again. The third year in a row I returned and looked some more.
One the final day of my vacation that third year I decided to walk the creek bed and see if any of the wood was sticking out of the bank. I used a walking stick and hit all protrusions from the bank, knowing that petrified wood would sound different than a rock when hit with the stick. I was banging on rocks and roots and then it began to snow. The snow was coming down in what appeared to be tiny little snowBALLS. It was silent and beautiful and I was alone. I knew I didn't have much more time to look and I wouldn't be able to return to the location until the following year, so I gave myself 10 more minutes. Knock...nothing. Knock...thud. Knock...clink! Instead of a dull thud from a rock or a tree root, this time I heard the distinct sound of something almost ceramic or similar to thick glass. I knew I had found petrified wood! I steadied myself in the creek bed so I wouldn't fall into the creek and then I reached up above my head to grab the wood. I slowly started pulling on the 1" of wood that was sticking out of the bank, I pulled a few more inches out, then a few more, and finally the entire piece was in my hand. It's over 14" long and one of my most prized possessions from the world of natural treasure.
This wood was found in the Ruby Mountains of Northern Nevada. It's a beautiful area, and one that I still visit on occasion. I've never been able to find more in the area, although I've tried. When I think about it, I was extremely lucky to find the piece I did. Thanks for looking and for putting up with my reminiscences.
