18 May 2010

mining


"connecticut's the garnet state, y'know" said a medium-sized boy, wearing no eye protection, swinging a big hammer at a giant boulder.
we went to a garnet mine saturday. you picture a certain-something when you hear the word "mine" and have never been to one. hard hats, head lamps, pick-axes, carts-on-wheels. well, we drove up someone's home driveway, paid $5 to park on this guys lawn and headed back through a trail in the woods. about 30 feet in, we came upon a rock formation in dappled sunlight and a couple families with household hammers and grocery bags. that's where these came from! any ideas about what i can do to make them a bit nicer and more reddish looking? this is when i wish i had some lapidary skills....

2 comments:

Alice said...

Holly, did you ever go to the garnet mine near Grandma and Grandpa's house in North Creek? I remember going there when I was little- maybe 5 or 6- and I still have some garnet rocks somewhere in my parents' house.

holly kellogg said...

actually, i was pretty old (16 or 17, i think) when they moved to north creek, so i never really got to spend any time there....that's good to know, though, if i ever become a rock hound! is your semester done?