Hi all-
Yep, that red one is a head-scratcher. It's like a cloud of red in there and not all solid. Who knows...
Muriatic acid was a big fat waste of time and (luckily not too much) money. Oxalic acid, as recommended by Rasputin, was
the thing. But I did have to soak them for ever and scrub and pick to get as much of the clay out as I could. Many of the crystals are busted up from tumbling down the hill. Some are internally shattered due to whatever happened in their life as a growing mass of crystals, I suppose. I'm no geologist, but can imagine that river below doing some incredible damage, land moving, rocks/boulders crashing around, trees uprooted and careening down-river during any number of floods over many, many years.
Although I'm aware that quartz and gold go hand in hand, I'm not really looking for it and don't have the equipment or inclination to seek it out- especially if it's a matter of crushing. That said, if I find a nice nugget or gold-streaked quartz specimen, I wouldn't leave it behind

Several times I've thought I was seeing just that- on a chunk of quartz. Ended up being red Virginia dirt... or rusty quartz.
Unfortunately, 'up that hill' is beyond my permission. That's okay though. I found out something really interesting while finding these. A little philosophical musing you might say.
I'm amazed and grateful (and blown away) having found these 'rocks'. I've gained a
huge amount of respect for those who do this (or dentistry!) for a living. I got some great exercise, I learned a bunch of things I never knew (or even considered)
and got to play with dangerous chemicals! Who could ask for more?!
Cheers all, and thanks for reading
