GMS Junior Field Trip November 2024

GMS Junior Field Trip
Quartz Crystals and Weenie Roast in Georgia
Sunday, November 10, 2024

What is more fun than digging for quartz crystals on a beautiful autumn day? Having a picnic lunch and roasting marshmallows too! Thanks to a tip from Kallie about Halloween close-out sales, all of the juniors received a Halloween bucket for collecting quartz crystals. After a quick group photo, we took a short hike to a field where Jason Leatherwood used his tractor to remove several inches of dirt so digging would be easier. It didn’t take long before juniors started finding quartz crystals and quartz clusters! Juniors scrubbed their quartz with toothbrushes in a tub of water, then chose their favorites for Diana Poppelreuter to wire wrap. Charles was on hand to use his cabbing unit to grind specimens for display and so they wouldn’t have rough edges for pendants. Aaron answered everyone’s questions about the geology and quartz, and he helped juniors find quartz. Nedra assisted as well.

Lunch was grilled hotdogs plus plenty of goodies provided by trip attendees. Dessert was giant marshmallows toasted over glowing hotdog grilling embers. Juniors (and adults!) also enjoyed toasting marshmallows over another fire that the resident fire master built with wood, pinecones, and leaves that the juniors gathered together. There’s something about eating a blackened marshmallow and running around perfumed with wood smoke that can make a great adventure even greater.

After filling their bellies with tasty goodies, juniors returned to the dirt to fill their Halloween buckets with sparkly goodies. While we were eating, Jason was digging up another area, so there was more fresh dirt to explore. One of the biggest clusters came out of the ground after lunch. A few more hours later, we called it a day and Jason put all of the dirt back.

Many, many thanks to the property owners for allowing us to dig up their field, and for providing a wonderful picnic area for us with a fire pit, tables, chairs, and a place to wash up. Their whole family welcomed us warmly and even entertained as throughout the day. Thank you to Jason, Nedra, and Aaron for prepping the area and helping juniors. Thank you to Diana for wire-wrapping crystal after crystal, explaining each step to mesmerized juniors. Thank you to members who helped with lunch and hauled water for juniors to wash their crystals. Thank you to members who decided to spend their day with us. And of course, thank you to Charles Carter for arranging and managing all of the moving parts for this excellent trip!

Lori Carter on behalf of Charles Carter
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