Of Rocks and Pebbles and Treasures

What does one do on a hot summer afternoon ? 

How about spending time looking at  rocks ? .....as it turned out it wasnt such a bad idea . In fact it was a most  illuminating two hours .

The Rice Northwest Museum of Rocks and Minerals , Hillsboro . One couple's personal collection of rocks , minerals and petrified wood , housed in their ranch style home that sits in a wooded estate of 23 acres. 

Richard and Helen Rice picked up an interesting  rock by the beach on their honeymoon ( in 1930s) and it turned out to be agate . They were hooked for life.

Their collection has grown to 20,000 exhibits now . A grand obsession ! 

And an infectious  obsession ! A visit leaves one in total awe of the treasures the earth stores beneath our feet......now feel like giving each and every pebble  stumbled upon a second look , with much respect . 

The collection is divided into well captioned galleries - Minerals , Gemstones , Meteorites , fossils etc. with  explanatory notes about each exhibit and gallery . 

Discovered " Thundereggs " ! The State Rock of Oregon .  Native American legend says that these roundish stones are eggs of the Thunderbird. ....Geology says Thundereggs are " mineral aggregates that form within rhyolitic volcanic ash layers " . They look like a lump , but when broken reveal lovely deposits of chalcedony , jasper , opal or agate . 

The museum had the largest opal filled thunderegg in the world (in pic above ) 

One section is dedicated to minerals they obtained from Maharashtra ( India ).

Though all stones are intetresting , some are more so because of the almost artificial looking colours . For Instance the brilliant pink and rosy red ones called Inca Rose and Alma Rose (Rhodocrosites). Apparently the Incas believed the styones formed from the blood of dead Kings. 

ChickenBlood Stone is another. It is considered lucky and protective by the Chinese who carve charms and talismans out of it . It is a polymorph of kaolinite ( clay ) and quartz streaked with cinnabar.

And there are all those textures .Not one like another. 

The Rainbow Gallery houses minerals that glow in various colours in the dark under controlled UV lighting .

Who can ever  imagine what the inside of a rock can look like ! Below is a natural formation inside a Quartz. Nature, the Supreme Artist !