Our friends, Barry and Della, who spent some time with us back in Acworth, GA, before heading south to Florida caught up with us again in Deming, NM. We talked them into staying where we were at the Dream Catcher SKP. That made it very convenient to spend time together as our plans overlapped for a couple of days.
It had dried out enough to try another trip to Rockhound State Park. The park suggested an alternate approach that was less likely to be flooded. Not far from the park was the Geolapidary Museum. A sign said it was open but with no cars on the property, I assumed it was closed and didn't even slow down. I was convinced to turn around and check even if there were no cars.
As we exited the car an, old codger peeked out of the doorway and started a nearly continuous diatribe about his life, area history and, most importantly, rocks and minerals. He was a veritable fount of knowledge and was quite entertaining as well, although, he never mentioned his name as far as any of us could remember. I found a booklet titled "The Geode Kid" with pictures of a much younger man that we thought might be him.
As it turns out, "The Geode Kid" aka Robert Paul Colburn died in 2013. This is Christopher Blackwell, his longtime friend and business partner.
The museum was his home and he no longer drove, hence, no cars out front.
There were a lot of specimens on display but we were most interested in geodes and "thunder eggs" that could be found in the area. Many were sliced and polished in matched pairs so it was easy to see how the raw sample appeared before cutting. Most you could never guess what beauty lay hidden inside by looking at the outside. It made me wonder if finding something special was all about experience or maybe some luck was involved.
Outside . . .
Inside . . .
As interesting as this guy was, we had to leave so we could explore Rockhound State Park a few miles further down the road. They had a relatively new welcome center where docents could show us examples of the rocks we might find in the park. They were also happy to identify any samples we brought in.
We were not planning on any serious rock hunting but we wanted to see the campground facilities and decide whether it warranted a return visit to comb the hillside for rocks. After roaming about a bit, we discovered the campsites look great and we will return to see what rocks we can find.
On the drive back into Deming, we stopped at the LesCombes Winery for some wine tasting and a bite to eat. They had some very nice wines from local vineyards - who knew you could grow grapes in New Mexico?
Back in Deming, we realized we could visit the Luna Mimbres Museum for a little while before it closed. I learned we were in Luna county and the Mimbres Indians lived in the area hence the museum's name. Everyone except the janitor was a volunteer (I learned that later from the folks at our campground) and it was apparent they loved their museum.
We were told the museum needed four hours to see it all and we had less than one until they closed. Della and Joani headed straight for the rock and mineral displays. Most of the specimens were donated by the same guy we visited earlier at the Geolapidary Museum.
We knew we didn't have time to do the museum justice. There was so much more to see but it would have to wait for another day.
