[Rockhounds] Rock collecting near Cincinnati

[Mr Calcite]

Much appreciated  JR

I finished unpacking the boxes in the garage and found my collecting tools

I am an avid field collector and I am joining local clubs hoping to team up with a new band of brothers to go out in the field

 

When I was young I decided NOT to collect fossils. The ones I find, I donate to others

 

You can call me at 610 568 4151

 

Johan Maertens

Mr. Calcite at live dot com

calcite4ever at gmail dot com

President Pennsylvania Earth Sciences Association (PESA)

 <http://www.mineralfest.com/> www.mineralfest.com

 

 

From: J. R. Hodel [mailto:jr50wv at yahoo.com] 
Sent: Friday, June 8, 2018 4:30 PM
To: mr.calcite at verizon.net; rockhounds at rockhounds.drizzle.com
Subject: Rock collecting near Cincinnati

 

Hi Johan,

 

Back when I was field collecting, we found lots of great things at road cuts, and were never hassled when collecting on the roadside. Well, once, the summer after 9-11, we were collecting on a public highway through Fort Knox, and attracted the attention of a couple of heavily armed security troops, but they were polite and had seen other collectors around the area. After checking our ID they recommended other places they had seen collectors at in the area.

 

But no cops have ever bothered me on a roadside - it has been 10 years or so since I did field work, my collecting partner was no longer able, now passed. It's more fun with others, although I've seen a lot of solo collectors just out searching and cracking rocks.

 

Also the Midwest Mineralogical Association used to arrange quarry visits, you had to be a member and attend an annual MSHA safety training course, but we collected at quarries from Toledo to Indiana. Lots of work, and I'm older and physically less able today. 

 

I found interesting geodized brachiopods with multiple small mineral crystals inside on a roadcut on Ohio Rt 125 just west of Georgetown, Ohio, very near Cincinnati, 

where the highway dips to cross White Oak Creek. We had the best luck on the SW side of the road cut. Not all the brachiopods are geodes, and it's tricky to open them without damaging the contents. 

 

My best one has 4 different minerals, including druzy quartz, dolomite, celestine, and a sulfide, probably pyrite but perhaps chalcopyrite. It was pressed into the gravel beside the road, already open but full on mud, which I washed out at the waterfall across the road.

 

There is a thorough article about the site and its minerals on the web, google is your friend.

 

There's great collecting in southern Indiana, mostly fossils and geodes. KY has lots of mineralization, I've collected a calcite crystal specimen from a low roadcut south of Lexington, KY. Once I had it out of the bedrock, the best side turned out to be the back, which had fluorite cubes on it.

 

The countryside around Harrodsburg, IN has geodes with calcite and more rarely barite in them. It's been heavily collected over the years to the point where I won't go into the deep cut geology buffs have cut into the bottom of the tall road-cuts, but just walking rural farm roads you can find rocks in the ditch in early spring that have geodes in them. Lake Monroe has (had anyway) good collecting around the overflow spillway and along rural roads in the vicinity.

 

Maysville KY has a ton of marine fossils, some of those have voids in them which are mineralized, ammonite type shells with openings. Now that I'm typing, the memories come flooding back!

 

If you plan a weekend of collecting let me know, I may pick up  a hammer and shovel and join you. I don't actually know where my rock tools are off the top of my head, but there's a limited number of places to look.

 

Best of luck

JR