2006 Blue Forest Joint Field Trip (NOJEFFCO & RAMS)
July 1-4, 2006
by Ted Gildea

Another Farson Wyoming July 4th Celebration has passed, but not without some fanfare in the rock collecting world. These are the written rock collecting adventures of Ted Gildea and Tim Hilsten for Summer 2006.

Friday June 30th began with packing up the combined camping and rock collecting gear and setting off to one of our eagerly awaited events of the summer. The 6-7 hour drive was uneventful and we arrived at Farson at approximately 2PM in the afternoon.

We decided to collect at the Blue Forest and set up camp close to our digging spots. As usual, the gale force 40 mile an hour winds started up and we had a struggle setting up the tent and camp. After camp was set up, Tim and I started doing some digging. Don and Gail Beamer arrived before sundown and set up their camp. On Saturday morning, I drove into Farson to meet other members of the clubs and guide them to the Blue Forest. Michael Granberg, James Schatzman and his son, Sam, met me in Farson that Saturday morning. This was all that showed up from both clubs.

Throughout the weekend, the temperature was very hot and often windy. We all drank enormous amounts of water. Everyone that attended the field trip found wood in the Blue Forest. It was an extremely successful trip in that way.

In the evenings, especially Sunday and Monday, Mother Nature provided us with a fireworks show. The lightening storms were awesome to behold.

Tim and I found a whole series of logs and branches in one limited area of the Blue Forest. Some of this wood was quite nice with the famous blue chalcedony. One log provided us with pieces that were up to 10 inches in diameter and 10-12 inches long.

Michael found a few pieces of wood. He would have found more if he had been able to stay longer. He left Sunday afternoon.

James and Sam found a nice blue chalcedony log and were content with the wood they found. They also left on Sunday afternoon.

Don and Gail found extremely nice blue chalcedony covered logs in a hole that they dug in for the entire weekend.

They were still finding wood when it was time to leave on Tuesday, July 4th. They gave their hole when they left to some other folks and Don and Gail were sure that they found a lot of wood, too.

On Monday, July 3rd, Tim and I packed up our camp and drove over to Wood Top to collect for the day. Tim dug into a log almost immediately. The entire log was 2+ feet long, consisting of 4 different pieces of wood.

This wood was not covered in blue chalcedony, but still attractive. After a couple of hours, we were dead dog tired and decided to go into Farson, and get a big ice cream cone before heading home.

We hope that this report will spur you on to join us next year, because fun was had by all and everyone found wood.