New Family Member - Miss Acorn

Gosh, I had no idea so much time had gone by since my last real posting here on our blog...

It's been an interesting life over the past months! We've adopted a new family member to our crew. A long story short, we found this little angel at a yard sale late last fall. This is a picture of our new kitten (Acorn) and our wonderful Dog Treble.

Acorn was only a few weeks old when we adopted her and much to our surprise, she became immediately attached to Treble (the dog in the photo). I was even more stunned when Treble became "mom" to our little kitten and started nursing her. It certainly was a shock to everyone in the family but after some phone calls and research, we discovered that it was perfectly natural and actually wonderful that these 2 pets connected to each other in such a beautiful way.

We've since discovered that Acorn is a Maine Coon and destined to become QUITE the cat!! I've read that they can grow up to a metre in length and weigh a LOT! At only 6 months old, she's already larger than our oldest cat. It's been a pleasure getting to know her as she's a tremendous friend to me. She plays fetch with me all afternoon while I create jewelry - which is quite handy as she's not actually in my rock bins helping me choose the right stones!!

Speaking of cats, I've just been informed that lunch needs to be served.

Gemstone Jewelry Sale at Wicked Stones - Pagan Items too

OH Yes! I also wanted to post a link to our readers so that you know of our February Sale! Click here to check out some treasures you can find for yourself.

There are some of the most amazing crystals for sale as well as quite a few beautiful Pagan Wiccan Jewelry.

Enjoy!

New Crystals from Brazil

Oh my!!

I've just added some of the most gorgeous crystal points to our website

I've found the the most amazing Soul Mate and Tantric twin crystals, abundance crystals, stunning gems with phantoms and so many more!!

The one you see here in this picture is an example of an abundance soul mate crystal point. All of these gems are natural gems that come from Brazil.

Just thought I'd pass that along..

Rock Hunting Trip - Scadding Gold Mine

Greetings everyone!
We have a new adventure to tell you all about. Well actually, to tell the truth, we went on this adventure mid-summer but I've yet to sit down and write about it. The pictures in this Blog Posting are pieces of Pyrite and Chalco-Pyrite. (sorry folks no gold.. we only found a teeeny tiny spec of it and even then? We're not so sure that it's not Pyrite).

This summer we had the opportunity to visit an old Gold mine in the Sudbury Ontario region. The mine is called "Scadding Gold Mine" and is located East of Sudbury off Kukagami Lake Road. We had permission to visit as the property. The area itself no longer has any mineral workings - no equipment or buildings can be viewed. The only remnants I was able to see is the area on which one of the buildings used to sit. This is not an operational gold mine.

The area is difficult to find if you don't have someone with you who knows exactly where to turn off the road and it is suggestible that you drive a truck into the area (a few folks had cars in our convoy and I'm pretty sure there were some sceptical "um.. should we really be going here?" thoughts.... A short drive off the road (through pot holes, small trails and such) takes you to a clear opening that you can park.

During mosquito season, it's a good idea to bring bug repellent, extra water to drink, GOOD walking shoes (no sandals), a hat, gloves to pick up the stones with and your collecting tools. This location is pretty *in the bush!*. If you are going alone, a compass is a good suggestion as it is quite easy to get turned around in this area - there are few markings and it is easy to get lost.

Here's a bit of info I found on line about the mine:

Geologically, the most prominent feature in the area of the Scadding West claim
is an igneous complex of rocks that are best known for their content of gold,
nickel, copper, platinum and palladium.  Igneous rocks are formed from molten
lava which has hardened on or below the surface of the earth.  Minerals
contained in these rocks are dyke-related, that is, they are contained in a
tabular body of igneous rock that cuts across the structure of adjacent rocks,
and are hosted by quartz diorite, norite and gabbro rocks.  Quartz diorite is a
medium-gray-colored, coarse-grained, igneous rock, often with a salt-and-pepper
appearance.  Norite is a coarsely crystalline igneous rock containing the
mineral labradorite as the main component.  Gabbro is a dark, coarse-textured,
heavy rock composed of calcium feldspar and augite with a small amount of
quartz.

We had a great tour guide bring us through (from the Sudbury Rock and Gem Show)
) that included a lot of history on Scadding Mine and where all the super picking spots were.

We came home with bug bites, a pretty good sun burn and some of the most fabulous pieces of
Pyrite!~ And some pretty cool chalco-pyrite (shiny blues).. some of these were in really neat cubic
shapes!  The sparkling gold colours really fascinate family members who come over for visits.."You
found this outside? Near here!?" (We only live about 3/4 an hour away).

I hope you enjoyed our adventure!

How to make an Inukshuk

This was the first year that Rob and I decided that we'd try and make Inukshuks out of stone. Haweater Weekend was the official "launch" of our new product... we're still tweaking things a bit and coming up with new stone types (that's why you don't see them on our website yet.)

First.. exactly IS an Inukshuk?
An inukshuk is a stone landmark used as a milestone or directional marker by the Inuit of the Canadian Arctic. Inuksuit differ from cairns in significance. The Arctic Circle, dominated by permafrost, has few natural landmarks and thus the inukshuk was central to navigation across the barren tundra.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inukshuk


Alright then, now that the definition part of this blog is over, lets get to the pictures and instructions!

Here are a few things to consider before starting:

1. Make sure you have enough of the same stone type to work with.
   
2. If the stone is "too" shiny or "polished" it may be difficult to put it together. (in our case, we chose an unpolished stone and then brought it to a semi-polished state).
3. Remember that this is not an exact science! If you were making an Inukshuk as a landmark, you would be using the material that was available where "you" are. So each one you make would be unique and they do not have to all look the same. (Don't get caught up in the feeling that you have to make one that looks exactly like everyone elses.)
4. You will have to have approximately 7 to 12 stones (depending on what you see in your mind as the finished product).
   

You will need:

• 2 legs (they can consist of several small stones together or one leg made of one stone)
• 1 waist area (the top of the legs)
• 1 mid section
• 1 arm (usually a larger piece that goes across and appears to *point* the direction)
• 1 head (sometimes 2 stones are used - it depends).. Rob thinks the Inukshuks I make (with 2 stones for a head) look like they are all wearing hats - he makes fun of them all the time.
  
• Stone base: Optional - you can have a free standing inukshuk or glue it to a stone for a more finished look.

In this case, we decided to make Jade inukshuks. (The following instructions are what we did to make our inukshuks). You may not have to tumble your stones.

First, all the pieces of Jade need to be tumbled to take off *some* of the rough edges. In this picture, you can see that Rob is being quite aggressive with the Jade and breaking off chunks with a hammer.

Although this seems harsh, you have to make the pieces somewhat similar in shape to what you see the end result as being. (Wear safety glasses while going through these stages! And if you are not doing the hammering? Stand back!)

Next, the Jade is put into the rock tumbler with a course grit for approximately four days. (you can skip these steps if you already have your own rocks ready). We chose to keep "some" of the rough outdoor look to the stones instead of fully polishing them. Remember if you are new to rock tumbling? Try and get 2 barrels to work with - one barrel should be used for rough polish (the first stages) and the other barrel should be used for ONLY pre-polish and polishing (the last 2 steps). The reason for this is that if you use the same barrel for the entire process - over time your barrel will become pitted and the stones wont "polish" correctly in the final stages.

After 4 or 5 days, we remove the stones from the tumbler.

At this point, it's a surprise as you don't know what you are going to get when you open the lid and remove the stones.

Lay the pieces down somewhere and give them a good looking over. This is me, in the picture, puzzling over what stones are going to be "what part" in the Inukshuk. Sometimes you have to do more than one batch of stones in the tumbler to get the right ones..

The best plan is to make "mock up" inukshuks (without glue) to see how the pieces all fit together. We had about 2 dozen of them on the go trying to get all the pieces together - it kind of looked like we had an inukshuk army on our counter for a few weeks!

Take your time and try placing the stones in a variety of positions. Look at it from many angles to see if you like what you have made.

Gluing! Very important rule here..

Make sure you choose the right glue for the job! Ordinary school or craft glue will NOT hold stones together. Oh they might make them stick for a while but it wont last.

We use a product called E6000 industrial strength glue. IT WORKS! But it must be used in a well ventilated space or better yet, outdoors. It is well worth the price and a little glue goes a long way.

We've found a great trick for using this glue - get yourself a long stick (in this case we used a wooden shish-ka-bob stick from the kitchen) and something to secure the glue container so that it sticks straight up with the lid facing upwards. (We used a coffee can filled with sand which locked the glue in the up and down position.) After you open the lid, dip the stick into the glue and transfer it to both side of the surface you want to glue together. Doing it this way, it is a lot cleaner and you don't waste a lot of glue by turning the bottle upside down and having it drip everywhere.


The best words of wisdom I can write here for gluing the pieces together is this: DON'T WALK AWAY FROM THE PIECES JUST AFTER YOU GLUE THEM TOGETHER!

Lesson learned: If your work space is not totally and 100% guaranteed level... the stones will slide and slip away from where you originally put them. We ended up with a few intoxicated looking inukshuks. It does not take long for the glue to set, so sit with them and make sure that the pieces stay where you want them.

In this picture, Rob is pushing the stones back together as they started to slip a bit.


Once the pieces are glued together you can either choose to keep the stones in this state OR spray a varnish on the surface.

We did both as some people like the rough look and others like the shiny look of things.

You can do this with any stone type you find. You may encounter problems if you try and use polished stones though.. it's extremely difficult to keep polished stones from sliding apart as you are trying to build one of these.

Be creative and have fun!! The beauty of the Inukshuk is that there is no real rule to how the stones are going to turn out. It's a traditional shape that can be achieved in so many creative way! In my travels I've seen the most wonderful inukshuks built along our Northern Ontario highways, in people's yards and in the neatest places possible! And each one is unique as no 2 stones are alike.

If you would like one of or Inukshuks? Let me know by using this email link

Hummingbirds

This year has been a wonderful year for hummingbirds in the yard.

We've captured them (on camera) doing the neatest things! This was the first time ever, I have been able to get a picture of a hummingbirds long tongue. (There is a picture in this blog that shows that.. you just have to scroll down a bit).


I thought I'd post a few here for you to enjoy

Need help identifying this rock

Even we get stuck sometimes...

Rob and I have an *idea* of what this might be but we're not sure... I thought I'd post a few pictures and see if anyone has any ideas of what this is.

The rock is gray with a bit of white and these long rectangular green slices that are quite beautiful.

We've sprayed water on the surface so you can see how deep the greens are.

Anyone have any ideas?

Identify this flower??? Help?

I'm hoping someone can help identify this flower that has decided to pop up in my garden/rock garden.. here's a few photos... Help?? Anyone?

The leaves and the stems are very soft (like velvet)..

The stalk itself is quite strong and tall.

The flowers are yellow.

And there is only one of them in my yard..

Can someone please tell me what this is?

Summer at Wicked Stones

I thought I'd spend a bit of time filling you in on how things were around here this summer. My coffee is full so I've got the will to sit and type for a while.

It was the SUMMER OF CATERPILLARS!! Please excuse my toenails.. We had a horrible summer of these little guys this year. For a while, we thought they would not bother us as they didn't seem to be eating our main plants. But little did we know, they were nesting in all of our newly planted Spruce trees that we put in! All our baby blue spruce had nests of these little darlings chomping away all of the branches! YIKES! Rob and I are "anti-chemical" when it comes to the yard so we spent hours and hours picking these nasty creatures off our trees.. finally we just had to give up as we could not keep up with the chomping. Our trees survived, but they all look like Charlie Brown Christmas trees.. sigh.. If anyone has any natural suggestions on how to stop these eaters? PLEASE do let me know..

It was also the Summer of Rock Gardens in our yard.

Rob took a month off from work this year (yippee!) and he spent a lot of time moving huge rocks across the property and from the hill to the East of us. He had this crazy sled attached to the back of the truck with ropes and would drive wayyy back in the bush and find these monsters to put in the yard. It was kind of interesting watching him coming back looking like a futuristic dog sled team with these rocks following him on a purple snow sled. That sled has become a major part of our gardening supplies as the circular sleds can carry trees, rocks and more goodies that are too heavy to life and just need to be slid into place. We planted some really nice willows and flowers in these beds and finished them off with mulch. They look simply beautiful!! Jeepers, you think we lived here instead of renting!!

This summer also brought a new treasure to our home!! Much to my total surprise, my parents gave me a wonderful gift for my birthday (in July). They arrived for a visit with a camera in tow.. oh it was my dream camera! A new digital Pentax SLR!! Oh I had been dreaming about this for over a year!! Thanks Mom and Dad! I just LOVE love love it!! So the next months everyone felt quite "stalked" as I'd creep around catching everyone in the yard! This camera has brought about a new feel to our website (Wicked Stones) as now the pictures are crisp and clear and quite a lot more beautiful!


Rob also found me some treasures for my birthday.

We found an add in the local Bargain Hunter for "Free Rocks". Well...of course we called (apparently I have a "rock problem" as Rob puts it..
So off we went! Only to find the most beautiful limestone pieces that are now center showpieces in our yard... That's Rob in the picture doing his "strong man" routine.

It was a pretty great summer!

Haweater Weekend 2007

I'd like to take a moment to thank ALL the super folks that came to visit us this year during Haweater Weekend on Manitoulin Island (in Ontario - Canada).

For those of you who have never been to this festival, it's on the long weekend in August and lasts a few days. It's a great time! We dont get to spend it checking out the other events on the Island but we do meet a lot of people that fill us in on how things are going. This years fireworks were simply tremendous and we enjoyed it quite a bit from our ringside seat on the street looking North.

The Little Current Lions Club receives a great pat on the back for all their hard work that they did putting this event together. BRAVO!!

It was a superb year and we met some of the most wonderful people! Thanks to everyone who stopped in to say hello to us, bring us goodies to look at and share a bit of their lives with us.

See you again next year!
Rob and Vikki
PS.. next year we'll wear shirts that say "WE WORK HERE!" *laughing a bit to myself* I know when it gets busy it's hard to see us in the crowd. Watch for our bright loud tie dye as we'll be bright and loud!

Where did the Summer Go?

WOW!
An entire summer has come and gone again!
So what has the team of "Wicked" been up to?

Well it's been a great summer! It's been busy around the shop - we've had customers ask to drop in and check out our mini-studio (which was very pleasant).. gone on a few road trips (to my sister's wedding) and did a bit of camping (Fitzroy and Balsam Provincial Park in Ontario). Although we do like to camp a lot more "north" of these locations, it was a nice change from staying hotels while we visited family over these hot summer months.

It's been a summer of new birds coming into the yard and a lot more wildlife visiting our deck (including the bear cub and mother who turned over my tomato plants quite a few times that were on the deck!). What a mess that made! Quite a few times I had to send Rob out to the end of the driveway to fix the wooden garbage box that everyone in our section of the village uses.

This morning was the second week back to school and the first morning in months that we had to turn the furnace on. *sigh*... the leaves have yet to turn any colours but the cold weather is here.

I think I'll post a few pictures and fill you in on what we've been doing.

Wicked Van!

Okay some of you have been asking me about the new vinyls that are on the van.. here's the pictures.

The first has the back of the van and side

The second gives you a close up view of the stones.. now this photos does NOT do the actual vinyl justice as it's REALLY nice in person.. very detailed..

So there you are... our new Wicked Van...

New birds - Indigo Buntings and Purple Finches

WOW!! What a weeks it's been!!

I thought I'd post a few pictures of 2 of the new birds that have come to feed in our feeders! I'm delighted!! I've NEVER seen an Indigo Bunting before and it's been a just a treat to have something this vibrant of a colour fly into the feeders!

The first picture is of the purple finch - okay I know it's red but that's what my bird book said it was.....

This one is the Indigo Bunting peeking out from the other side of the feeder. He is tremendously shy and nervous about coming anywhere near the deck with anyone there (I took this one from inside the house, halfway behind the front door).

This evening he popped in for his late afternoon snack but flew away in a flurry of blue feathers when he noticed me sitting in the shade watching the goldfinches.

The goldfinches are not shy at all and now we have a family of about 30 that come in every day...

We're turning into a bird sanctuary!!

Turtle stops traffic

Today was a smile making day.

Leaving town today (heading south towards home) I saw something that offered a glimpse of the generosity and kindness of others on our planet.

On a busy four lane highway I spotted a car trying to drive backwards on the shoulder of the road.. I was thinking "What is this crazy person doing??" There were transports to the left of me, transports to the right.. transports zipping past me at a high rate of speed going the other way and this PERSON going backwards!

I had yet to reach him and saw that he'd flung open his drivers door and was quickly walking to the back of the car...

and there... trying to cross the highway..

...was a turtle...

I got a glimpse of him as I past, reaching down to grab the turtle... and in the rear view mirror he walked the creature to the side of the ditch and I got one last look at him while he deposited the turtle into the water.. far away from the rushing traffic.

I hope one day this person stumbles across my blog and reads this, and finds out that this act of kindness was a gift to more than that little turtle.

Thanks "Turtle Hero"...

Here's hoping it's a smart turtle and found another way across to the other side...

Cloudy Morning Update on Things

Monday has arrived, bringing the much needed clouds and rain. I'm hoping that it pours the entire day as our lawns are very brown and dry. Even the pond out front is down at least a foot from where it usually is.

It's been a busy month, hence me not writing very much here on our Blog. I'm glad to say that sales have picked up wonderfully since we changed the site around. Thanks to everyone who has dropped in to visit and pick out treasures for themselves :-) We really appreciate it.

Our van is done!! I probably mentioned to some of you that we were getting vinyls done on the back and the sides. We found a REALLY great company in town (1 Hour Signs in Sudbury - on Lasalle Blvd) that did a really great job with the pictures that we sent in. I'll take some pictures when the sun comes out and post them here. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Yesterday I picked up 5 more blue Spruce for Rob to plant in the yard - he's yet to see them. Since he's been in and out of town on business, my large gardens have been put on hold and I've started planting veggies on the deck in containers. It's not that bad - I'm just really happy to have the space.

OOO Yes! Yesterday night we had 2 new visitors to our deck!! An Indigo Bunting came to sit on the feeder AND a purple finch! They have the most incredible colours!! I've taken a few pictures but their locked up in my camera at the moment.

Finally, all the rock bins in the back are stocked up, the wire is here and my creative energy has returned! You'll be seeing a lot more treasures in the next week or so popping up on the site. With that in mind? I'm off to create!

Lake Superior Agate Search Adventure

We're back!! We had the most wonderful weekend trekking about the forest north of Sault St. Marie and I've decided to post some of our adventure photos here.

(That's me, sitting on the rocks out front of our cabin in Montreal River that we stayed in for our weekend adventure).

Aren't those neat rock formations?

Our adventure beings on Friday - I managed to get "just about everything" we could possibly need packed on Thursday (with a lot of effort) and into the back of the truck. It was a bit crazy as Rob had just gotten back from out of town and we had about a zillion things to do before we left.

The book you see in the picture is one of the publications we decided to use on this trip. It's called Geology and Scenery of the North Shore of Lake Huron Region. This book is like a travel guide that talks about some fabulous side trips you can take as well as the local mineralogy and old mines that are in the area. It's in a series of books - and not easily found... I spent a LOT of time with my nose in the pages reading off information to Rob as we drove west from Sudbury towards Sault St. Marie (there are a LOT of cool things to learn that I didn't know about!)

One of our first stops was at Rydal Bank - this is a very small town that is about 8 miles north of Bruce Mines.

A prominent ridge marks an outcropping of the Lorrain Formation and you can find what is called "Pudding Stone" (or quartz jasper-pebble conglomerate). This is a really pretty stone that is an off-white cream colour with beautiful dashes of red. I took a picture of just one of the stones that is on the side of the river area by the dam that is located in Rydal Bank. We didn't find a lot of stone near the dam - only a few smaller pieces that were littered about the ground where we were walking. It was really neat to look down and find these little goodies!

Off we went exploring!!

We turned onto a bridge going east and across the river towards what we figured "might" have been the ridge the book was talking about.

You can see it in the picture - there is a white coloured ridge that is pretty high up on the hills.

So off we went - we discovered a pretty good side road that goes to the left up towards the hill. Of course, we took it (checking first to make sure that there were no private signs posted - there were not).

About half way up the road we stopped as there was an address sign posted on the road (a number). After some discussion we pushed further down the road (deciding that if it WAS a house we'd just turn around and go back). Just a bit further up the road we found "Humphries Cemetery", a very tiny old graveyard with the most beautiful headstones and scenery. I took some very pretty pictures of some of the old headstones but I'm not going to post them here - these are very old families located up on the hill that date back to 1900 and earlier. I'd rather keep the names private.

Ah yes, back to the rock hunting! As you can see by the picture of Rob standing near the white rocks (in the picture above) there was some blasting and removal of rock going on in this area. At the bottom of this hill was a large gravel pit - we didn't find a lot of pudding stone here, just the odd piece here and there. The white stone he's standing on was quite pretty though with a lot of sparkles!

Back on the highway we went - and pushed our way through Sault St. Marie and beyond. We took a short side trip down Wolf Lake Road (around Batchwana Bay area) and did some exploring. It was more of a look around and not any serious rock hunting happening. Both of us found it FAR too busy with a lot of dirt bikes and fishermen everywhere - so we turned back on the highway to go further on.

Up the hills we went!! With my ears popping - the elevations as you go west are really amazing and the hills are just beautiful!

Here's one of the places we stopped to stretch out legs before driving on. Although this picture shows the beauty of the lake, what you DON'T see is the embarrassing piles of garbage everywhere. I have to say, I was utterly disgusted with what I saw. The shore was littered with diapers, bags of mystery garbage, cans, bottles, tires, even CAR batteries were thrown down into the water from the top of the lookout!! There was jug after jug after jug filled with 'yellow mystery liquid (take a guess)' in piles and piles that had been thrown out through windows and over the edge of this lookout. I was disgusted and shocked by the fact that so many travelers just figured it was "okay" to throw their garbage out and figure that it would just take care of itself. I do not understand how someone can do that.....

Alright, I'm done venting.. a little while later we arrived at our cabin in Montreal River. As I might have mentioned in an earlier Blog, the water was really low - so we were able to see a LOT more shore than usual.

This is the mouth of the Montreal River - usually this is underwater, but don't be fooled if you are going to visit this place and walk around - this IS a mouth of a river and the water flow is controlled by several upstream dams - so if you are going to walk around, make sure to keep your ears open for the sound of the water flow changing.

We had a super relaxing night off - sitting by our campfire and eating pasta... watching the stars come out and playing with the dogs that lived just down the street from our cabin. It was really nice...

(That's me sitting outside on the rocks in front of our cabin)... We did bring home a few nice round rocks for my mom too.


On Saturday we got up early and rushed out the door to our favorite beach (it's about a 10 minute drive towards Sault St. Marie).. (I can't remember the official name on the map at the moment but I think it's around Mica Bay). Mica bay has what is called the Keweenawan volcanic rock formations in it.

The Keweenawan are principally lava flows of basic or basaltic composition with vesicles (or gas cavities) that have been filled with minerals such as agate, amethystine quartz, calcite, chlorite, dataloite, epidote, prehnite, thomsite and zeolites. These are really pretty when you see them up close - as you drive past them on the highway they look kind of reddish and you don't see the inclusions.

You can see some of the calcite and quartz veins in the rock that I'm standing on in this picture.

Now this was REALLY neat to find!

Yes that's ICE on the shore! There were some areas of the shore that still had huge ice built up (all the rest of water is open by the way and there are boats on the lake). That's Rob and Treble (our dog) standing next to an ice build up. It's pretty strange to be out in a tshirt and be standing next to these icy giants!


Just a bit further down this beach we stumbled upon a fabulous find. I was walking towards the shoreline (thinking that I had spotted a REALLY big Lake Superior Agate winking at me near the edge of the rocks) I reached down, only to have the rock I was looking at roll and crush my thumb between it and another rock... OUCH! I screeched, and tried to stand up.. only slipping on another pile of rocks and landing flat on my butt on another pile of rocks. As I sat there nursing a throbbing purple thumb (not broken - thank goodness), I took a look at where I was sitting and found myself in the center of a treasure pile of Hematite and Jasper stones.

As I sat there in awe, watching the waves roll in near me (knowing that these stones were only recently hid by layers of ice and before that, many feet of water.. I got to thinking of Mishi Peshu - the great underwater lynx like creature who lives in the depths of Gitchigumi (Lake Superior).

A bit of history on this:

Mishi Peshu is the ultimate metaphor that represents the power, mystery and innate danger that comes from these sacred waters. With razor like spikes on his back, the face of a lynx or panther, and the body of a sea serpent, this creature demanded respect. The Anishinabe offered tobacco and prayer to the creature spirit before they embarked out onto the waters in their canoes. The calm waters of Lake Superior can be quickly transformed into raging squalls and huge waves from the northern, north-eastern, and north-western gales that often suddenly crop up. These gales sweep over the open water, quickly picking up momentum and causing huge waves, some up to 40 feet high.

A picture of Mishi Peshu is found at Agawa Bay, Lake Superior National Park, in northern Ontario, north of Sault Ste. Marie. The Midewiwin Society claimed in 1850 that this pictograph was painted by an Anishinabe shaman, and represents a heroic 4 day crossing of Lake Superior by a war party of five canoes. The author is believed to be a tribal shaman named Myeengun which means "Wolf." The images are painted using red ochre, a pigment made from the iron ore called hematite, mixed with clay minerals. This is the most famous rock art painting in Canada, according to National Collection Archive sources.

As I sat there nursing my sore thumb, I started to wonder about the Great Spirit in the lake and the wonderful treasures that had shown up where I least expected them to. Even Rob was in awe over this find. The stones I "stumbled upon" were the stones that were used (all those years ago) to paint these ancient cave paintings - it was crushed and the residue inside was used on the rocks). I spent hours with the red ocher colours on my fingers after picking some of these stones. (That's me, holding my sore thumb and sitting on the stone that looked like an Agate from a distance). I've got a chunk of Hematite Jasper in my hand about the size of a baseball. Yes I'm smiling but it's more like "Ow.. hurry up.. take the picture")

We popped back to the cabin to pick up supplies and then headed up to Wawa for lunch. A quick tour around town, a Subway sandwich and we were back on the road again.

We stopped and poked around a few glamorous rock cuts on the highway (don't look down or you'll step in someone elses garbage - frown - and picked up some really interesting shale type rocks for our collection).

Next stop - Gargantua in the provincial park.

When you pull into the road, you'll see a warning sign that lets you know that there are 14km of rough winding single lane roads ahead. Don't take that lightly...

The picture you see here? Is a NICE picture of the road - most of the drive in was single lane traffic only - we drive a huge 4 x 4 dodge truck so there was little room for anyone else coming the other direction. Luckily we only passed by one other truck - but I had to get out and move TREES out of the way so we could pass through. Now as I understand, these roads are being worked up but they are still rough. (This part of the park is left open during the off season - that's why we were able to go in).


Gargantua is AMAZING!!

There are miles and miles and miles of the most beautiful and well hidden scenery on this part of the shore. It is a rough stop to get into so there were only a few folks there when we arrived (some were set up for camping on the shore).


That's Rob in the picture looking at the map of this area - you can walk for quite a long time from one end of the park to the other - he's just looking at the Gargantua area.



Here's 2 pictures of the Gargantua beach - you can see that it's split into stones and sand..

The rocks range from pebbles to large boulders in incredible colours, shapes and sizes.




I don't know if you can see the picnic table in this picture, but there is one.. wayyy off in the distance (we are still on Gargantua beach) and that's Treble on a rope attached to my pack trying to rush ahead to see what is sticking up out of the sand in front of us.



We spent the next few hours poking around lots of other beaches and finding little gem treasures here and there. I'll be posting a few desktop images of our trip (some really nice scenery on our website mid May plus a few of the treasures for sale - we need to figure out what's going to be just for us and what we're willing to part with.

Well... did Rob and I find any Agates this trip? I'm sorry to say... no, we didn't.

This trip was all about the Hematite and the Jasper that kept being found under our shoes.

Stay tuned... you never know where we'll be heading to next!