Fall Colors in the Rockies and Goethite with Smokys

Fall in the Rockies near Lake George CO

I've looked for advertisements on-line for goethite and there doesn't seem to be much of a market for it.  I guess that's because it would be tough to incorporate in jewelry.  However, the mineral collector should still seek it out.  I think goethite is somewhat under appreciated.  Goethite was named after a German who first named it.  Some folks like to pronounce it like gerthite.  I guess that is due to the German background.  Evidently there must have been finds of goethite in Germany at some point.  I dug where I had found crystals before and was pretty sure I would find more today. The results of my dig are pictured below.

Off to rockhound and take some fall pictures.

Somewhat unusual goethite balls perched on smoky quartz. 

Goethite crystals are displayed here as needle sprays

Not sure what is coating this plate, maybe goethite in another form.

Rockhounding Streams in Colorado

Every once and awhile Colorado Springs gets a good rain that churns up the creek.  There is no telling what you'll find after a flooding event.  Normally the rocks get moved around, new stream channels are cut and sandbars appear where there was a stream before.  I've found everything from smoky quartz, petrified wood, fossilized bones, agate and jasper.  Most pieces require some hunting, but they are there for the taking.  The other day I noted 4 other people combing Fountain creek before I got there.  While I only found a couple pieces of petrified wood I did find some nice smoothed smokys.  I probably won't try this again til spring.

Fountain Creek Really Got Churned Up After a 4+ Inch Rain

Smoothed Smoky Found On A Sandbar

Can You See the Smoky?  Pick it Up!