Every summer, we take a “grand adventure” with our kids. Some years we go rockhounding in far-flung locations, other years we’ve explored abandoned gold mines. These adventures take more planning and time, but are 100% worth exploring with your kids.
Gemstones litter the ground, glistening in the sunlight, sparkling into the distance as far as you can see. Oregon Sunstones are Oregon’s state gemstone, and if you’re willing to drive (and drive…
A road paved with glass. That’s how I think of Glass Butte, Oregon, now that we’ve been there. The road sparkled in the sunlight and the glass crunched under our feet. It…
If you like rocks–even a tiny bit–then you have to shop for thundereggs with your kids. The best place in Oregon to buy thundereggs is at Richardson’s Rock Ranch near Madras, Oregon. …
Close your eyes for a moment, and breathe deeply…feel the hot sun warming your neck as the dust assails your nostrils. The dry scent of sagebrush and the sharp smell of juniper…
The Big Obsidian Flow trail sounds innocuous enough: A one-mile interpretive trail climbs up and onto this impressive lava flow of obsidian (black glass) and pumice 1. We were already in…
As we got more into rock hounding in Oregon, one adventure on our to-do list was fossil collecting in Fossil, Oregon. Collecting fossils is often a sticky legal situation, but in Fossil, Oregon,…