Hi Gang,

This year’s McRocks geode hunt out in Iowa went very well. Everybody who came went home heavy with geodes. We hit several locations including ESP, Geode Glen, Jacob’s Geode Mine, and a new location called “Area C 61”. I suspect that a few people who came to the gathering will give more detailed reports so I’ll just share the photos that Mother and I took during the trip.

Out at Everett's Secret Place (ESP), I decided to go
up a creek to search for large geodes

Donna T, and Carol P hunting at ESP for geodes.

Carol, Donna, and I going down the hill at Geode Glen,
I did not take the camera down the hill.

The McRocks' group digging at Jacob's geode mine Hamilton IL

The whole group finding some great geodes

The spot I picked out to hunt, note the small talus pile,
this is the start of what will end up being a HUGE pile,
also geodes on ledge to my left will increase as well.

Virgil and I working the shelf.

Everybody busy filling their buckets.

Virgil and I have worked about 24 inches of the top brown shale off the shelf
working down into the grey shale and unweathered geodes.

As you can see by this photo, tailing pile is getting larger,
along with geode pile. Hey Virgil, what was that about geo-picks?

Geodes are stacking up now.

Carol looking to see what is going on over at the other side of the mine.
"Yep, Everett always finds the best place, had to look,
and later dig there when Virgil was done woking ..."

Rich and Bill adding to the tailing pile accumulating around the exposed wall.

Jim posing for the camera. "...and my butt..."

My digging area after I was finished. I ended up with two
5 gal buckets full of geodes from this locale. Yet to be
determined what is inside them. Tailing pile was very tall.