Saddle mountain on April 16th went great! We had a couple of club members and a bunch of 4-H kids from my group! We had so much fun despite the SNOW! YIKES! The weather is very weird this year. We met at the Mattawa Shell Station at 10am and promptly ran into the Puyallup rock club! We had a great chat and exchanged some friendly info on the site. We saw them up there later on the mountain and it was all good fun. Once we traveled up "R" road to the Saddle Mountain BLM land, we were happy to see that the roads have been satisfactorily maintained. There were just a couple of spots that a car had to be cautious. We had a mini-van in our group, as well as a small sedan, and they all made it, albeit slowly in some spots. Good driving skills help! The bigger trucks and SUVs were just fine. We decided to go to the classic site, sort of below the cell towers in the well-dug holes. The kids had a BLAST. I soon pointed out all the pieces on the ground, and discards from other diggers. Buckets and bags were getting filled up quickly. A few kids and parents got down into a hole and started digging, but most of the kids enjoyed the chance to run around like feral children. It did begin to snow not long after we got there, so the running around was almost necessary to stay warm! After a couple of hours, folks started to trickle out, but I advised everyone to check out the rock shop near Ginko Petrified Forest in Vantage. Hopefully a few of them took us up on that suggestion! We were some of the last to leave, but we still had plenty of time for the stop. That shop is always fun because of the HUGE rounds of petrified wood out front, and the dinosaur sculptures always make for some funny pictures and entertainment. I found some new little fossils that I could not live without, and then we headed back home.

Hi Carolyn! I'll reach out to a few of the members that usually mentor. Also take a look at our "about" page and the mentors contact info is there too. A couple of those folks might be willing to host you for a little "try it out" sort of session! My husband and I might be able to set something up with you as well, we are just a little busy at the moment, but we should have some time here and there. Shoot me an email on my personal email at dandefoss@outlook.com. Send a couple emails to the club mentors though, maybe someone can help you out sooner! -Danielle Foss-

@werockon perfect! I'm still tweaking things and checking it all out too! I added some fun badges for club mentors, you have one now. I just need more members to create a profile!

😂 Yes! We have all been weighted down with rocks in our pockets!

Oh I found it! Hover your mouse over their name and a box will pop up (if you are logged in) where a "follow" button will show up!

Hi Tony! There's just no discussion in here yet. Each discussion is listed by topic, so folks pick a topic and then type their questions or start the discussion. This is the general discussion thread, so really anyone can jump on here at any time. I'm just trying to get folks talking still, so there isn't a ton of content yet. BUT - if you have a field trip report or something like that, post it in the field trip topic! I can walk you through that. Here in general discussion we can answer just basic questions people have about the club or maybe talk about something that doesn't fit into a particular topic. Another nice feature - you can follow folks so you get notified when they make a reply or a new post. So if you are conversing with someone and you want to be emailed when they reply, click "follow" either on their profile or I think it's next to their name on certain parts of the forum.

A good rock hammer is definitely essential! I use mine all the time. A folding shovel is handy and lightweight as well. A small chisel set for hard rock digging can be handy, and then of course the ten essentials for hiking are always good to carry, there are lists online - things like a compass, emergency blanket, etc. I'm sure someone can think of more things to put in a kit! Definitely don't waste your time on cheap kits.