Unseelie

The art of Tessa Farmer

Roadtrip ~ A Rock Star

The Pikes Peak Historical Society has a free monthly program called a Chautauqua. Hubby and I try to attend as many as possible, no matter the weather. The guest speaker of a recent one was Richard Fretterd from the tv show, Prospectors, which airs on The Weather Channel. 

Rich lives in the area and has generously donated many mineral samples to the PPHS Museum. He has been prospecting for many, many years and has a whole treasure trove of interesting tales to tell. 

A smaller smoky quartz crystal donated by Rich Fretterd

At a recent Chautauqua, he spoke of what it was like making the show, Prospectors. As well as finding the pocket of elusive pink topaz which he had spent years looking for. Rich brought a nice sampling of topaz specimens and several smoky quartz crystals with him to the afternoon talk.

Afterwards we all relocated to the PPHS Museum for the dedication of the two enormous smoky quartz crystals which Rich had donated to the museum. The two crystals are nicknamed The Brothers - after Rich and his brother, Vincent "Scruffy".

This photo is referencing the smoky quartz crystal
on the left side of the photo above.

The two Smoky Quartz Crystals were found a few miles north of the town of Florissant and are some of the largest smoky quartz crystals in North America. The Brothers were found in the Holy Moses Pocket of the Godsend Claim.

A person can only wonder what other treasures are waiting to be found ....

Pikes Peak Historical Society

Hubby and I are both history buffs and Colorado has a wealth of history to be uncovered. So we joined the Pikes Peak Historical Society. In fact I recently took over as editor for their newsletter. This organization is impressive. It is run solely off of membership fees and donations. It receives no government money. And the organization manages to maintain two fairly impressive museums.

 The main PPHS museum is filled with a wide range of the history of the Pikes Peak region - specifically the western slope of Pikes Peak. From the Railroads which brought many of the early visitors to the area to the Native Tribes who traversed this country, the museum is filled with pictures, stories and displays. And the museum has wonderful volunteers who are in attendance to assist and answer questions. 

If you're in the vicinity of Florissant, Colorado, be sure to stop by and say "HI". 

Mammoth and Mastodon teeth

Dinosaur Egg?