Going to Moat Mountain for topaz and Smokey Quartz!

Tom ("Magneto") White says word has it that there is topaz here....definitely nice smoky quartz. It's in the White Mountains National Park, so the locale and ambience (big word for a rockhound :) will be very nice. Weather will be good and the season is comingg to a close...SO LET"S GET OUT THERE IN FORCE! For all, these trips are fun, funny, treasure-ful, educating, with warm, very pleasant members...I haven't met a single member of NE Rockhounds who hasn't been delightful. The other plus is that we often meet great people who are also rock collecting at the various sites and pass on their wisdom and colorful sayings, e.g. while eating lunch at Mt. Mica: "It don't hurt to eat some dirt."..

SO COME IN FORCE with children and dogs for the closing of our collecting season.

Please send me your cell phone # if you are attending and put mine in your contacts: 978 376 6395 for coordination on the day of.

Directions:

From West Side Road in Conway, NH turn onto Passaconaway Rd. Travel 1.2 miles and turn right on High Street (dirt road). Enter White Mountain NF and at 1.4 miles pass through an open gate. At 1.7 miles bear left. See parking area in another 0.7 miles. The Smokey Quartz Mineral Collecting Area is a 0.9 mile hike from the parking lot. (Tom says the hike is flat and easy)

Quartz (http://www.mindat.org/min-3337.html) (Var: Smoky Quartz (http://www.mindat.org/min-3689.html)) : SiO2 http://www.mindat.org/thumb.php?pic=photos/0336095001189347929.jpg&sc=200&cmp=70&od=g (http://www.mindat.org/photo-119101.html) North Moat Mountain localities, Bartlett, Carroll Co., New Hampshire, USA (http://www.mindat.org/loc-5397.html)

7.9 x 6.3 x 5.8 cm. Excellent 4.7 cm single Smoky on graphic granite. The luster is very good, and the color is the deep brown that you always hope for. Combine that with the fine gemmines

Directions plus other info on the White Mountain Web page: http://www.fs.usda.gov/recarea/whitemountain/recreation/rocks-minerals/recarea/?recid=74885&actid=73