Rockhound Memories

By Bobbie Horn, from The Rockytier, August 2008.

What happened to this summer? I can't believe it's almost over. I haven't accomplished as much as I had hoped but I am still trying.I missed the rock hunt at White River but look forward to hearing all about it and seeing the rocks that didn't get away.

That's one the differences in rock hunting and other types of hunting. Our prey isn't trying to get away from us. There was a time however, that I was hunting coral in a Florida river that was moving rather rapidly. I'm not sure why I thought it was a good idea but when someone in the Panama City club said you could find coral and maybe some arrow heads in a river nearby I agreed to go. I don't know if I knew what was planned or if I was just that fool-hearty. I was 20 years younger and that may have had something to do with it. Anyway, at the appointed time (way too early) we launched our boat in the river. The current was swift and the water was cold (way too cold) for Florida. The object of our mission was to hold on to the boat as it was carried by the current until it was shallow enough to dive to the bottom and grab some coral without getting too far from the runaway boat. This was not my first time in cold water diving for rocks (the other was in Arkansas) but it was the first time I had to keep up with a boat. It took a few tries before I found a piece of coral. Once I know what I was feeling for I tied a piece of rope around one wrist and tied myself to the boat. So here I was, being dragged down a river trying to throw fossilized coral chunks into a boat. I managed to swallow a gallon of river water and pick up some coral. The arrowheads that were sometimes lodged in between the rocks eluded me. It was my first and last experience with a moving rock hunt.

~ Bobbie