Video summary
In this episode of Rugged Rock Hound, the host takes viewers on a brief exploration into a national forest located near the Teton Mountains, an area he has never visited before. Accompanied by family members, the team sets out to search for geological treasures such as agate, jasper, and petrified wood within recent volcanic formations that are approximately two to two million years old. Although the specific location is dominated by alluvium—rocks that have been moved by water rather than in their original place—the host believes it offers a viable starting point due to its easy access, even after heavy rainfall. The group hopes to find cobbles or pebbles of agate and jasper mixed with the abundant quartzite found along the road base and in the surrounding washes.
As the exploration begins, the team quickly identifies various rock types, distinguishing between common quartzite and more promising specimens that show signs of volcanic alteration. Several family members discover pieces of brown jasper and other interesting rocks featuring seams or air bubbles within the volcanic matrix, indicating potential secondary mineralization. The host carefully selects several of these finds to take back for cutting, including a piece with distinct red coloring and another that resembles charcoal due to its dark appearance. While some initial hopes are dashed when cut pieces turn out to be merely quartzite with stress fractures or orange hues, others reveal genuine jasper with internal lines and patterns, confirming the presence of valuable material despite the challenging terrain.
The search yields a significant breakthrough when the team finally locates actual agate on the edge of one of the rocks, noting its partial translucency. Throughout the day, they examine numerous specimens, some of which are conglomerates or breccias containing mixed bits of volcanic rock and occasional jasper fragments. Although there are moments of disappointment where large, colorful stones prove to be just pretty quartzite suitable for landscaping rather than precious gemstones, the process remains educational and rewarding. The host emphasizes that while not every find is a keeper, the act of cutting open rocks often reveals hidden beauty, such as dark jasper with red lines or unique textures that mimic petrified wood but are actually lava flow patterns.
The expedition concludes as a thunderstorm approaches, forcing the team to return to their vehicle before the weather worsens. Despite the lack of a massive haul of high-value finds, the host expresses satisfaction with the few interesting pieces discovered and cut open during the outing. He reminds viewers that treasure can be found everywhere if one looks closely enough, encouraging them to keep exploring nature's offerings. The video ends on a hopeful note, suggesting that future visits or further exploration along the road might yield even more exciting results, reinforcing the theme that patience and curiosity are key to uncovering geological wonders in remote areas like this national forest.
Read the full video transcript
Hello and welcome back to the Rugged
Rock Hound. Today is just a short day.
We're going to be out here just for a
few hours in an area I've never been.
So, this is the national forest not too
far from the Tetons. It's down
mountains. They're off in that
direction.
And I'm joined with family. Hey
everybody.
>> [laughter]
>> And they're just running around.
What are we hoping to find here? Well,
here we've got some more recent
volcanics so around two one to two
million years old. And right in this
area according to the maps, we've got a
lot of alluvium through here. So, rocks
that have been moved. So, maybe not the
best area, but we want to start
exploring it. It talks about agate,
jasper, and petrified wood being found
in the hills and in the washes around
here in the streams and rivers.
So, we're just going to start here as a
first area because of this is an easy
access. As you can see, easily brought a
van in here even on a day when we had a
bunch of rain yesterday. Still easy. So,
we're going to try and get off up into
these areas where there's some exposure.
Like I said, this is alluvium. So, this
might not be the best spot, but we will
give it a shot and see if we can find
any of these.
Probably we'll probably find jasper,
maybe agate. If we're lucky, maybe we'll
see some petrified wood. In case we do
find some good stuff, here's the GPS
coordinates to where we are currently
parked.
Let's explore. So, first first off,
we've mostly seen that there's the
quartzite here in the road base. So,
they've got some pretty quartzite rocks
so far.
But, we want to see if we can get other
things. Look, you found the first piece
of jasper. So, we got some brown jasper.
It begins.
We originally parked there. The exposure
wasn't as good there, so we came back
down the road little to this area where
it's nice exposure.
And this is this is alluvium. That's
stuff that's been moved. So, you've got
the volcanic rock itself. We've got a
That's the main dominant
>> I got bit by mosquitoes.
>> And the hope is that every now and then
we can find some cobbles or pebbles of
agate jasper, maybe wood.
And then of course we're going to keep
seeing quartzite.
>> The most popular
>> keeps coming up. But the quartzite's
mostly from the uh road base.
But there's probably some in here still
that came from
you know, washing down rivers and stuff.
>> nice
stuff.
>> But yeah, that's all we're seeing so
far.
>> quartz
>> So mostly we're seeing is cobbles like I
thought of volcanic. Mostly pebbles of
quartzite, occasionally a little bit of
chert or flint or
brownish jasper.
>> I found a nice one.
>> different though. I'm going to pull this
out if it's not too big and take a
closer look at it cuz something's going
on with that volcanic rock there.
>> What's this?
>> What did you find?
We've got a nice piece of jasper here
with seams running through it.
That That's a pretty piece of jasper
right there.
>> I found this way over there.
>> over there, huh?
>> Yeah.
>> All right, I still got to get that one
out. Well, I pulled it out and this
looks kind of like that piece she found
where you've got these little seams in
between.
So
I think I'll take this back. It's
definitely looks like a piece of
volcanic that had some secondary
mineralization, which is what we're
going for. So I think I might take that
back and cut it open just to see
do we have it just there? Is there more
of it? What does it look like?
So yeah, at least for now I'm planning
on taking that back and cutting it.
We've come across the road to the below
it and I see something that looks
different.
Let's take a closer look at this thing.
It might still just be quartzite, but
it's more of a white.
Okay, yep. That's still just a quartzite
and it's got some stress fractures in
it. I'm getting more exposure in this
area of interesting things.
>> Hazel, I'm getting a bit
>> This looks like some of the volcanic,
see those air bubbles, partially altered
and got some silica in it. So, this
might be kind of a jasper.
I think it's worth at least taking and
cutting
to get a closer look.
Here's this one cut open.
Ugh.
Well, that's kind of cool.
It's like a charcoal.
That is interesting in its own way. I I
actually like this.
So, Shawn found this one. It is a piece
that looks like it's going to be jasper,
got some red in it. So, I am going to
take that back and cut it
cuz that does look
very interesting. That might be nice.
Okay, things are looking a little better
now. Here's this piece of jasper cut
open.
Ooh, that's a nice one.
All right.
Best one we've seen so far.
All right, what did you find here,
Annie? It was a
nice little piece. You can see where the
air bubbles were in the volcanic and you
can see the replacing and you can see
there, it looks like some jasper.
>> It's not as little as you think. It's
actually
>> [laughter]
>> big.
>> But, that's a that's a keeper.
>> It's red jasper.
>> Okay, Hazel found this. This is pretty,
isn't it?
Not entirely sure. I think we've got a
mixture of some things that are coming
together in this one.
I want to cut this one because I think
that'll help me
distinguish what it is
because I think it's going to be neat.
So, we got something here. Looks very
interesting.
Ah, yes. So, see, it's like a
conglomerate or breccia.
We've got all these different little
bits of volcanic rock, a few other mixed
things. Mostly volcanic, though.
Occasionally
a little bit of kind of a jasper. It's
pretty,
but I'm just going to leave that one
because
Yeah, I I know what it's going to look
like.
All right, a few interesting ones there
and there. Let's check them both out.
Let's check this one out first. Whoop,
dropped it.
>> Trent?
>> Um
I think that's still going to be mostly
quartzite.
Let's go take a look at the other one
that was further up here.
>> Trent?
Trent?
>> Um again, quartzite.
>> Is this trying to be petrified wood?
>> Uh that's some of the lava rock. You see
those lines on it? That's part of the
flow pattern on the lava rock, the crust
of it. So,
it does I've seen lots of uh
volcanic rock that looked just like
petrified wood. They do that sometimes.
They can try and fool you.
So, right here, I think we might have
some actual agate on the edge of this
one.
We do.
We finally found some agate.
You can see how it's just partially
translucent.
Well, look at that thing.
Uh it's probably just quartzite, but
look how big it is and it's very orange.
That's fun. I'll try and pull it out and
take a closer look, but it it's probably
just quartzite.
>> In here.
>> Yeah, I pulled it out. That's what it
is. Definitely kind of an orange
quartzite, so it's a pretty rock. I
mean, it'd make a nice landscaping rock.
I'm going to leave it though cuz I'm
looking for other stuff.
>> And we need to sit.
>> I'm looking for other stuff. So, every
now and then you see little pieces of
jasper like that, kind of that
orangeish.
But, this has got a nice hue to it,
right? This quartzite.
It's got kind of this greenish hue to
it. That's kind of pretty looking.
>> This is pretty.
>> Lots of little pretty rocks, huh? Yeah,
that's a pretty quartzite.
Here's this tiny one cut open.
Could be Jasper.
Yep, that's Jasper.
Here's this little piece of brown Jasper
cut open.
Mostly brown.
It's got a nice little red line through
it though.
Here's this one cut open. Should be a
dark Jasper.
Yeah, that's pretty much what it is.
All right.
>> I got this one.
>> So we're back up on the road. For a
while I wasn't finding much, but look at
the color in this one. It might just be
quartzite, but it's got some good color
in it.
>> I got this one.
>> Well, actually
>> I got this one.
>> That might be more than quartzite. I
think
>> Yeah, I think we should cut that one. I
got a new
one.
>> This is something worth cutting.
Here's this one cut open. Looks like it
should be a decent Jasper.
All right, yep.
That's decent.
Got some things going on in there.
We're back at the vehicle. We're getting
back in. We were going to maybe go
further up the road and try a little bit
more somewhere else.
But we've got a thunderstorm coming at
us right there. So, this might be the
end right here. If not, well, there'll
still be a little bit more that you'll
see before this, but I'm going to film
the outro here.
So I hope you enjoyed it. Not a lot of
finds, but there were a few interesting
things and
cut open, they might be nice.
We'll see. Anyway, until next time,
remember there is treasure everywhere.