Thanks for the experience of seeing beautiful rocks. Means alot when you are home all the time.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

You are welcome! I hope to get more out soon.

Amazing material. I've never seen blue opal before. I think I'd call it blue berry meringue opal. It looks to me like when the void in the rhyolite fills, the denser, yellow silica (with maybe iron in it) settles to bottom, the blue silica (with maybe copper in it) settle on top of the yellow, and the the lighter white silica floats to the top. Geology is a hobby for me and I'm certainly no expert, but that is how it appears. Thoughts?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

I agree with the iron and copper, and the white would be mostly pure opal. Of course, no way to tell for sure unless I take it to a lab.

Oh wow! Those are stunning! That blue is super dark and beautiful some of them! Wow they are just so cool! amazing colors and such vivid blue! Amazing finds!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! Cheers!

Positively GORGEOUS!!! What fascinating landscapes these create!!! Like little glacial lakes or something. So beautiful!!!!!!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it! They do look like ice and water

Sooo cool

@theruggedrockhound

4 күн бұрын

Thanks!

What, wow, Holy wow! No way, that's stuff is incredibly gorgeous. I would be here everyday if I could. Love the color so much, it's amazing. Love it!!!!!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

It is the most intense blue I have ever seen in pretty much anything I have collected personally, just wish there were not so many fractures. But yes, it is still amazing!

@CityRockhounding

Жыл бұрын

@@theruggedrockhound Yeah, seriously the best blue!

Awesome, thanks for sharing.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Absolutely!

Those little tiny geodes make awesome pendants! Now I want to go break my grandpa’s big Boulder!😂🤣

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Haha! Make sure it is a geode before you try to break it!

@adventuresamNfam

Жыл бұрын

@@theruggedrockhound 😂🤣😂🤣 he would kill me if I broke his yard Boulder. It’s defense not a geode!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

@@adventuresamNfam Haha I get it now!

Great video and beautiful rocks. I love his videos because I have ringing in my ear ,and I can hear clearly this video.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thank you! I do hope to get a better microphone eventually so that the sound quality is even better!

Opal is my favorite!! I am so jealous. If you ever take a group out there let me know, I am totally in!!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

I'll let you know, but for now I have been asked to keep the location secret.

@rachaelb9164

Жыл бұрын

If you ever take a group there for a day trip I will drive from oregon to join y’all. So beautiful.

wow. very cool. thanks for sharing.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! glad you enjoyed

So cool!!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

What a great find! These are cool man!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks! I was so lucky that he was willing to share the location with me

amazing materials!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

My favorite color is blue so I love these! What do you guys do with everything you find clean and cut? Do you make jewelry or anything with all of the fantastic materials you bring home? Thanks for sharing!✌️🤠

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Right now I do not, but I do have plans for it in the future.

That is some amazing stuff that blue is stunning I would be so happy if I could get some of that thanks for sharing

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks for watching! Right now I am deciding what to do with them, but I may sell some of them down the road.

@keithcunningham7925

Жыл бұрын

@@theruggedrockhound let me know what ever you decide

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

@@keithcunningham7925 Will do!

Great find, smart to not tell everyone the location or nothing will be left ! Would love to buy one from you.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Yes, it is such a small area that it would be gone within a year probably

🤩

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Thanks!

Gee, that’s some gorgeous blues. Envious

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

They are stunning

What a great time out with friends! Have any idea what minerals are making the blue color? Thanks for posting.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Great question! My first guess would be a mix copper and possibly iron, but there are some many elements and mixtures that can cause a blue color that i won't know for sure unless i have it tested at a lab.

Wow that is the most beautiful blue color! I wish I could explore that area. I freaking love opal. Very delicate though. Doesn’t it need to sit in water for a while after digging out to help keep it from fracturing more?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Depends on the opal. I will have to study these ones further, but I think they are fairly stable

Great material, beautiful color. These would better qualify for opal thunder eggs vs geodes?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Yes, these are definitely mostly thundereggs but decided to call them geodes in the thumbnail and intro since more people are familiar with geodes. Some of them actually were geodes, but the blue opal ones are indeed thundereggs.

stunning!! also slightly off topic, did you know you could find petrified wood at the Little Moab spot that Tim found? Was just there today and found quite a bit!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

I did not! We only searched that area and further south a bit, but have not seen the wood. Where did you find it?

@devinkavid

Жыл бұрын

I found some pieces at these coordinates: 40.0616667, -112.0575000 There’s a ditch there and there were a few pieces scattered around that hillside (along the deepest part of the ditch). I also found some on my way back east towards the road roughly around 40.0616667, -112.0569444 (I couldn’t find the exact spot on Google earth haha) I avoided the spots you’d explored in your videos. I got too hot after a while so had to head back to my car but there’s some good stuff all around in those hills! I only collected a couple of pieces bc I still wanted to hike around a bit. If you’d like pictures of the pieces I collected let me know and I’d be happy to provide them. I hope this was helpful!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

@@devinkavid Thanks! We will check it out next time we visit the location

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

@@devinkavid Did you cross over the fence? Just want to make sure I got the right spot

@devinkavid

Жыл бұрын

@TheRuggedRockhound I did not cross over the fence. I just went right up the road and then started hiking west

I am certain it will fluoresce quite nicely.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Agreed

Very beautiful blues in your thunder eggs. What are you doing with them? They may be fractured, but would work in jewelry. Please let us know. We enjoyed watching and subscribed.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Not sure yet, but I do have a few ideas in mind. I think most of the large broken pieces I am going to clean up really nice, perhaps work it a little bit, and try to make some cool landscapes with them. The smaller pieces would probably be best for jewelry.

Bed of blue opal in Utah is pretty unheard of. I think you'll get better geodes as you get deeper because you'll not be dealing with as much damage from freeze thaw cycles. Amazing spot, Does your buddy sell any of this material . I'd love to make a cab.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

I have thought as well that it might be better as we get deeper, but there is the possibility that the fracturing is due to ground/tectonic movement, in which case it won't matter how deep you go. Right now he doesn't sell any, but if he does I will let you know!

Is there a location nearby in west desert you can share that has similar brilliant blue inside the geode/thundereggs?

@theruggedrockhound

9 ай бұрын

Not that I know of, this is the only location I know that has blue opal. Sorry!

Deeper in the strata of the deposit you should find more solid material.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

That is what I was thinking as well, but if it was damaged due to movement/faulting then it won't matter how far down you go.

A bit jealous! I would love to pick up a piece or two but seems rather fragile for lapidary. Do you know what causes the blue? Copper? Light refraction?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

It is extremely fragile, most likely any polished pieces will be small, but still beautiful. Eventually I will test it out. My guess is that there is a mix of iron and copper, but unless chemical testing is done we may never know.

Since he doesn’t want to tell where it’s at, is he willing to sell some uncut pieces? My kids would get a huge kick out of cutting these and seeing what’s inside. And let’s be honest, I would too!

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Possibly. I will ask him.

in utah?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Yes it is!

@peace7501

Жыл бұрын

Utah Ocean opal

So is the area known for thunder eggs? Are they wanna be thunder eggs that haven’t quite made it or past their prime Thunder eggs? Very cool though!

@theruggedrockhound

11 ай бұрын

It is not, in fact there is very little in the area and not much known about it. Quite an interesting location.

Is that mic MacIntyre

Is this area accessible by any car or is 4WD or high clearance needed?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

It does require high clearance, would recommend 4wd as well.

Would Doug take payment for the location? I am in slc and would love to collect some of this stuff.

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

He would not, since he is not the original one to discover the area. he had to get permission from the original person who found it to allow me and Tim to go there, with the simple request that we do not share the location.

In the opal world U guys just hit jackpot So!how can I buy a small parcel of rough from you m8s

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

Currently not selling rocks, but down the road I do want to open an online store and sell some of my stuff. Just don't have the time for it right now

Seems to fracture too much, Wondering why cut down the centerline ? I would think if you cut the outer shell leaving the center to further Cut / Sand to shape, but if super fractured it would actually be totally worthless...

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

That is a good thought, but I am guessing that no matter how you cut it it will fracture. I think it might be best to just find broken pieces and leave them the way they are.

How is it called opal if it has no fire?

@theruggedrockhound

6 ай бұрын

Opal, like most mineral, occurs in many varieties. Very few opals actually have any fire or color-changing properties (hence their high value). Most opal is actually solid white (and is very aptly named Common Opal).

Is it a claim?

@theruggedrockhound

Жыл бұрын

It is not a claim

Please mention not to GOUGE the Pryor foothills. Thank you

So public land blm I take it since its not a claim! If it is its a matter of time before your little piece of paradise isnt! The only way to keep something like this a secret is to never tell anyone! Thank god you didnt post it on the internet!