CRYSTAL HILL ROCKHOUNDING

Here at the Kofa Wildlife Refuge, it is absolutely prohibited to collect/move/change anything of the natural landscape. It's one of those "Take only photos; leave only footprints" kind of places. But there is one spot in the refuge where rock collecting is allowed, with strict guidelines (only 10 specimens or 10 lbs., whichever comes first) and that is the 1.5 square mile area known as "Crystal Hill."

I have no idea what to look for as far as rockhounding goes - "I like the pretty ones" is about the depth of my expertise. But since the place is called Crystal Hill, I tried to look for what might be considered "crystals." We hiked up a steep hill, finding lots of cactus spines and scattered rocks, but nothing that seemed exceptional. I was somewhat disappointed, but as we pressed on up the mountain and crested it, I saw something move behind an ocatillo. Darell said, "It's a sheep" and, although it was startled at our appearance (I am, too, frankly, at times.), it halted for photos before taking off. Then it stopped again a ways off before bounding into the mountains. I was so thrilled to finally see one!

A little hard to discern from its surroundings in this photo, just below center

The top of the mountain was craggy with rocks of every size. One thing I've discovered is that Barrel Cactus really like craggy terrain. This was Barrel Cactus Heaven. There were more barrel cactus here than in any area in which we've been. Bear with me for just a few barrel cactus images (I can't stop myself. I think I might need an intervention.)

See the little guy at bottom right? This is his home.

On the way down the hillside, I actually came across what I thought might be crystals. They are really tiny, but I collected them anyway!

Pretty cool, eh? These are crystals, right?