247 Quartz Point

247 Quartz Point

Object: Large quartz point

Acquired: 2009

From: Gift shop in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan

Cost: $5

Notes: While my sea-rocks worked just fine, I'd once had the pleasure of seeing someone use a quartz point for their night hike glow.  The clarity of the rock made all the difference and I was thenceforth determined to get myself one.  but quarts points are really expensive, and my local rock store had all the ones of good size listed as $20 or more.  So I put my desire on the back burner, until I was on a vacation of sorts with my ex in the Upper Peninsula.  Were stopped at one last tourist trap--a high railroad bridge over a stream they'd used for transporting lumber--and there I unexpectedly found a quartz point that was both large and cheap.

Apparently the UP is where you ought to get all of your minerals.

246 Quartz Rocks

246 Quartz Rocks

Object: Two large quartz rocks

Acquired: 2008

From: A beach in Rhode Island

Notes: When you rub two quartz rocks together you get a bit of triboluminescence, which is a fancy term for 'light from friction.'  As you might imagine, this made quartz an essential part of every night hike kit.

Since I was in New England, I would every so often find myself on a Rhode Island beach, where I was ever in search of descent quartz rocks to use. I'm not sure exactly which trip I picked these up, but I think it was the time we somewhat impulsively went to a tiny bar/restaurant on the seacoast, where we had bloody marys, the 'best breakfast in the world' (neither of which were as good as I'd been led to believe) and watched the ocean. That was a fun little side-trip.

091 Geode

091 Geode

Object: One geode

Acquired: Spring 2010

From: Milwaukee Natural History Museum gift shop

Cost: ~$3

Notes: Thought it might be fun to break one of these open. It was fun, but now what do I do with it?

024 Quartz

024 Quartz

Object: Purple Quartz Point

Acquired: Unknown

From: I think it was in a candle?

Notes: I have no idea where this came from or when I got it. I did buy a candle once that had a 'secret treasure' in it, and this might be that--or I might have been given it by a quartet of aliens. I really don't know.

023 Quartz

023 Quartz

Object: Quartz point

Acquired: 2008? 2009?

From: The rock store in Westgate Mall

Cost: Less than or equal to $5

Notes: This was for a night-time science experiment for the Outdoor Ed school I worked at, but it was too small to be useful. I have other quartz rocks that work better.