[Rockhounds] Idaho metamorphics trip

[Lanny R]

Greetings fellow Idaho travelers,

Some of you are probably interested in a little convenience  
information for the Clarkia area, a few have asked.

Clarkia is just a little village with a few homes and a bar. I believe  
the bar serves a little food and has a small convenience store  
(reportedly not much more than pop and chips, but I haven't checked).  
There is no motel or restaurant really close. The nearest restaurant  
is a cafe in Fernwood (10 miles to the north) and there is a grocery  
store there too. The nearest B&B is further north at St. Maries, about  
35 miles.

The Forest Service Clarkia Work Center does rent their bunkhouses  
(Clarkia Work Center Guest Bunkhouse Rental on HWY 3 in Clarkia.  
(call: 208-245-1134 or 208-245-2531 for rental information).

There is no water or facilities in the forest where we will be  
traveling for the kyanite and garnets, so bring all you need to camp.  
The weather will probably be warm and sunny during the day, it might  
be cool and/or rainy. A cold front can bring snow in August. Nights  
will likely be in the upper 30s to low 40s, but can be colder or warmer.

The collecting opportunities include looking for loose crystals in the  
road and on the ground surface between clumps of grass and shrubs.  
Digging in a hole in the soil and colluvium and breaking rock. So  
bring the tools you like to use for these.

Other things to do in the area:
The Emerald Creek star garnet diggings are near Clarkia and are open  
daily except for Wednesday and Thursday. Wear clothes that you don't  
mind getting dirty, the Forest Service provides all tools; visit the  
Forest Service web site at:
http://www.fs.fed.us/ipnf/rec/activities/garnets/

Fossil Bowl is located 2 miles south of Clarkia on the west side of  
the highway. The digging area is at the north edge of a motocross  
track. There is a sign at the house where you can pay and get  
instructions. The fossils are in a layered siltstone, you will need  
something like an Estwing hoepick or larger pick to dig out pieces of  
the siltstone and a thin tool to separate the layers, a table knife  
works well. There are excellent leaf fossils and a few fish and insects.

I'll be out of touch for a few days.

See you the 11th.

Regards,

Lanny

--- StripMime Report -- processed MIME parts ---
multipart/alternative
  text/plain (text body -- kept)
  text/html
---