A Beautiful Green! Prospecting the Owl Creek Mountains

I was walking Molly by our campground and I saw a bright green color on the  ground. I don't know how many times a bright color has caused me to bend over and pick up a piece of what turned out to be trash, too many times. But it wasn't garbage it was a rock and it was so green!
We had left Keyhole State Park and were winding our way across Wyoming with our eventual goal being the Red Desert south of Green River.As we drove through Thermopolis, Wyoming we saw that the rock shop was actually open and there was a spot big enough for us to park our rig.
Never knowing what to expect we saw the most beautiful lepidolite boulder sitting on the lawn and the whole lawn was covered by large boulders of the deep purple mineral. amazing. The store was being minded by a consulting geologist named Eddy and he proudly told us he had put over 60 hours into polishing the stone. He also told us he had a mine and it was a piece he had personally dug from his claim.

I told him of our purchase of a large piece of jade and jade with actinolite and it turned out he was the ebay seller and one of the claim holders of both pieces. He told of his years of rock hounding Wyoming and led us into the shop where he showed us sample after sample. It was an unexpected pleasure to meet a man with such a vast knowledge!

He also told us of some places to go rock hounding. Now we have been told of lots of places and some actually produce a small amount of rough for us to work so we took the info with a grain of salt, but we both got excited as he casually mentioned the possibility of amazonite, chryscolla, and even chrysophrase, yeah chrysophrase.
The next day we packed a lunch and headed out for the Owl Creek Mountains, hoping for more green. We stopped periodically as we bounced up and over a rocky four wheel drive road. Boysen was in the distance and the blue water contrasted with the harsh desert landscape.
Cactus were plentiful as were horned toads and even a rattlesnake that startled Renita as she surface picked the rocks. Returning to the truck I showed her a piece of bright green stone I had found. She listened and then mentioned that she had also found something interesting as she pulled a beautiful emerald green specimen from her collecting sack.
I tested the piece with my knife and it was hard so it would take a good polish. It was translucent, bright green and didn;t show any twinning so it couldn't be amazonite, which was what my specimen was. Could it be chrysophrase or a light emerald jade? What ever it was it was so beautiful and I watched with envy as she replaced it in her sack.

We didn't find any more large pieces with the emerald green color but we found more that were still high quality rough and each piece spoke to us as  of the beauty locked inside their wind and water abraded  exterior. The amount we found that day was enough to fill a coffee can, which may not sound like a lot but it is when its so beautiful.
To finally, finally find such beautiful rock, after the miles and miles of deserts we have paced, made us realize again how lucky we have been. To have the chance to travel full time, to discover the joy of rock hounding, to enjoy the beauty and solitude of the desert, and yes even to dodge the occasional rattlesnake, are all treasures of our lifestyle. Its a lifestyle that most don't understand. Clear skies.