About Me

There is no doubt I found my calling at a young age, crawling under the bushes around my childhood home. I was continuously captivated by the yields of my explorations, which included spectacular silver "glitter rocks," "city rocks," and "sunray rocks." I wondered why more people weren't stopping to appreciate these tiny wonders beneath our feet. Something about these little gems intrigued me enough to then truck them around the neighborhood and sell them to all the neighbors. 

I later learned the "glitter rocks" were specular hematite from the iron deposits in northern Michigan. The "city rocks" were Devonian colonial coral fossils showing orderly rows of hexagonal and square sections lined with dazzling drusy quartz crystals. The "sunray rocks" were actually Petoskey coral fossils. They were brought down from the upper peninsula in the landscape fill. I also found colorful agates, flint, and artifacts.

My interest advanced to the next level when at age 15, and someone I knew had a small mineral collection. I was shown a sharp, "perfect" metallic cube and was told it formed naturally. It was a cubic crystal of the mineral pyrite. This Spanish pyrite rocked my world like nothing else before. I was then determined to pursue a career in this field. I was off to study geology, joined all of the rocks clubs in the state, and started "rockhounding" in a more serious way. These conduit people were Al & Sean Balaythy, who also took me to my first mineral show, where I met my long time mentor, Jim Below.

In the last nearly 20 years in the field, I have bought and sold at hundreds of shows, taught dozens of classes and collected at 100 localities. Some of my favorite digs being Purple Hope Claims in Washington state, Zigras Quartz Mine in Arkansas, and Tynsky's Fish Fossil Quarry in Wyoming. My pictures/stories have also been published in several publications including Rock & Gem Magazine, and The Mineralogical Record. I am grateful to have found my calling and never regret tenaciously pursuing my passion. Hopefully you all enjoy the fruits of that.