Monthly Archives: August 2013

Keweenaw Rocks, Minerals, and Copper Country Jewelry

Our trip to Keweenaw was great.

Wire wrapping on the top of Brockway Mountain awaiting the sunset.

Even though we are older, less agile, and spry than we used to be, we had great adventures in the Keweenaw. I hit a mother lode of SISU Agate, and spent a few very hard days banging this agate out of hard rock. I cannot give you the exact location, but it is south of Copper Harbor. Bonnie says that EVERYTHING is south of Copper Harbor. This is fairly true, so this is a nice, vague clue.

The view from Brockway Mountain in just amazing.

The art shows in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor were very successful; as were our Demonstrations at the finest gift shop anywhere, Copper World in Calumet.

We consumed many Pasties and Vollwerth Hot Dogs, watched the Isle Royale Boat come into Copper Harbor while consuming a gourmet meal at the Harbor Haus. The waiters and waitresses do a can-can on the deck to welcome the boat each evening. In tune with the town theme, the restaurant has a huge double copper door, with warnings not to touch the Copper. It does get really hot it the sun, as you can imagine.

This is the Firebrick Pendant I made up on Brockway. It sold the next day.

We saw many old friends and met many new folks. I know we are getting a big following and a wonderful reputation, when we see women wearing our jewelry wherever we go up there. We were featured in the summer issue of the Copper-UP newspaper that featured Copper World with a color picture of our jewelry covering half the front page.

We found local miners willing to part with Greenstones, Datolite, and Thomsonite for some cash. I hand picked the best for future jewelry.

SISU (Cliff) Agate from my hole.

The only disappointment was we signed up (and paid money for) an organized hunt to the Central spoil pile that did not happen because the County had moved in a crusher and equipment. Another former fantastic greenstone and copper rock hounding location is disappearing to become asphalt, etc. Sad.

The weather was good and the bugs were sparse. Bonnie volunteers to go rock hunting and be bait for the remaining bugs, and they ALWAYS choose her. No further comments on that. She edits this, so I suspect a comment about this will be added. She is the jeweler’s wife, and is expected to suffer for being able to pick from thousands of pieces.

Random Pendants and Earrings of Lake Superior Agate, Datolite, and Firebrick.

I’m typing this as we navigate the Seney Stretch, M-28, a barren wasteland of scrub pine that is the longest straight stretch of Michigan road, flat also. You could go really fast out here except for Moose, Deer, Wolves, Bear and the like that you would be killed if you hit. The State has no bug-killing quota in the Seney Stretch. This is fortunate for all those that cross this area. An RV window can really take out a lot of bugs at once.

The roads are paved in copper in the Keweenaw.

When you look at the random pendant picture, take note of the far right pendant in the middle row.. It is a banded Laker floating in an Amethyst sea. I had four slices off this agate, wrapped them all, and sold four pendants in 5 days on this trip.

One day, while headed to the top of Brockway Mountain, I stopped to check out an outcrop on the side of the road. The roadway to the top of the mountain is in dire need of repair and is crumbling apart, but I noticed a glint in the blacktop. I was not surprised to see copper embedded in the blacktop. I have a friend that actually hunts copper on warm days with a metal detector in the roads. I will not say who this is for his protection from the law.

I have to say something about Firebrick for those that do not know what it is. When the Copper Smelters were build, they were made of brick. Over the years the Copper vapors and molten copper permeated into the brick and replaced everything except the Silica (Quartz) in the brick. When the smelters were torn down the copper bricks were disposed of by dumping them in the water, taking them to landfill, or burying them. Some were removed for landscaping or lapidary uses (bookends, jewelry, paperweights, etc.). I have a 70# piece I have been gradually cutting and making jewelry from it. This is a wonderful, rare, historic material and many purchase it not only for its’ beauty, but for its’ historical story.

We expect a return trip to the Keweenaw in October for colors and to dig more SISU. What a great time we had.

Keweenaw Ledge Agate-AKA SISU Agate

Visiting the Seaman Mineral Museum is always a treat. Their Fluorescent display is shown.

The Keweenaw Peninsula always amazes us. We have had the most wonderful couple weeks. Business has been robust, with loads of lovely ladies sporting our jewelry made from local Copper Country rocks. We pulled into our new campsite at Lake Linden last night, and while I was talking to the campground

The Pink Petoskey Stone and the Favosite I donated to the Seaman Mineral Museum.

host, I told her I sold my jewelry at Copper World. She said “Are you the guy that makes that amazing wire wrapped jewelry”. I admitted that I am and she told me that someone was in the campground who had a new Lake Superior Agate necklace she had bought at Copper World. It is so nice to get complements like “I could not believe that was wire wrapped jewelry, it was so perfect.” How nice is that? Coffee and a complement first thing in the morning–a great way to start the day.

Bon nie chats with some customers at the Eagle Harbot Art Fair.

Bonnie chats with some customers checking out some earrings in a mirror at the Eagle Harbot Art Fair.

I expect since it is a perfect day, I’m just going to relax and make some jewelry in my lawn chair.

This last week we started digging a hole in some hard rock ledges south of Copper Harbor, and we struck the mother lode of Ledge Agates like I have seldom been seen. This is a special type of Lake Superior Agate not as well known as the traditional fortification (or banded) agate. I was finding this agate in seams rather than in nodules, or single rocks.

Here I am "slamming" agates out of a ledge. I call these SISU Agates, because they are so hard to get.

The normal Ledge Agate is a dull brown or pink/white, non-banded, drab agate, but some of these are bright red, some with white Quartz. I have been literally working my meals off in this hole. I have a special “slammer” tool my buddy Chris made for me. I cannot imagine how much harder these would be with a chisel and hammer. I did dig this hole: bend and twist, sweat and ache. I saw color and from a deathlike state I come back to life and kept beating at the rock. The local Finns have a word for going above and beyond your ordinary: SISU. I am definitely in SISU working on this hole-struggling above and beyond. I hereby dub these SISU Agates!

Agates in the hole.

I guess I am in the Agate Greed mode right now, so we will go get more the next couple days.

A whole bucket of SISU Agates.

Finally the Monks at the Jam Pot had a full supply of their famous Muffins and other goodies.

Greenstone Hunting Plus Fun and Funny Adventures

Chris Cooper makes a tool he calls a "Slammer". It is much more precise, easier, and lighter than a sledge hammer. I love it.

Our current trip to the Keweenaw Peninsula is fun filled with hunting rocks and gemstones that I can make jewelry from, Wire wrapping demonstrations at our retail outlet, Copper World, in Calumet, and art shows in Eagle Harbor and Copper Harbor.

The awesome Copper World

The awesome Copper World hosted me for a couple days, and honestly we were selling jewelry as fast as I could make it. I love chatting with the tourists and locals about Copper Country jewelry and the local rocks and minerals that my pendants are made from. You can always tell the locals (they actually know what Datolite is) and we know many of them that are faithful customers year after year.

Doing my job at CW.

Greenstone (Chlorastrolite) is one of our staples on our website and here in the U.P. We have been concentrating on finding some of this rare gemstone the past couple days, but it is just not easy to find many good gemstones anymore. The good spoil piles from the copper era have been gradually crushed and hauled off for road fill. It is all very depressing. We were signed up this week for a paid hunt at the Central Mine, but it was cancelled because crushers and equipment have been moved in to destroy and remove the piles.

The impossibly rare Blue Datolite from Centennial #2 flies out of the display case at Copper World.

Wouldn't you think there were some Greenstones in this pile of poor rock? They are so hard to fine.

I think these waste piles are an historic treasure in the Keweenaw, and when they are gone, so is the history of them. The Seaman Mineral Museum (Michigan’s Official State Mineral Museum) sponsors hunts this week in an event called the Copper Country Mineral Retreat. We pay for heavy equipment to stir up the piles we have rented from the landowners. Treasures in them are then searched out.

This little bag of Greenstone suspects might produce a couple good ones.

Jacob's Falls

Also we went to the Jam Pot, a bakery run by the Monks (yes real Monks), between Eagle Harbor and Eagle River. We got there at 2pm, thinking there would be a good selection left..NOT. They were pretty much sold out of all their famous, big, tasty muffins. I have withdrawls for Carrot Raisin Muffins. Bonnie found sone Hermit Cookies and some Apricot Muffins, and I found the amazingly decadent rum soaked brownies with raisins and nuts. Right next door is a waterfall (Jacobs Falls) that you can walk over and appreciate.

The strangest thing that happened thus far: I swear this is true: We see a day glow sign advertising a yard sale. There was so much writing on it you would have had to stop in the road and spend 10 minutes reading the fine print. Bonnie saw the word “Copper” so we headed down the road where the sign pointed. Possible error in judgement after 5 miles. What the hell. let’s see where this goes. After 10 miles we see the sister day glow sign on a pole and a front yard landscape comprised of lots of random scrap metal things. The sign had printed (scribbled) on the bottom: (entry fee $2)..If you buy something you get your $2 back. Only in the U.P. has there ever been an entry fee to a yard sale. I spent $4 worth of gas to get there. I should have stopped and charged him $2 to make us even. I think I go up after dark and add a sign that says, “Entry fee ONLY $2”. By the way, I turned around in his drive and back to town we went.

We’ll probably get out today for some hunting and back to Copper World tomorrow. Come see me if you are up here. The adventures continue..stand by.