Joe wonderful report and pics! Nice to hear that they were showing meteorites. Most of the outstanding meteorites from North Carolina are in the museum. Plus the rutilated specimen from Hiddenite is off the chart. Now the spheres are very exciting. On my list of things to do next time in Raleigh.

As Joe did, we visited the older museum to look around.  Since I worked at the museum from 1996 to 2004, it brought back some nice memories.  I photographed some of the specimens that they house in their underground exhibit, and was a little disappointed that one of the showcases had been removed that displayed some nice NC specimens.

Here are a few of the better shots that I got:

1. One of the original hiddenite specimens that William Hidden gave the museum in 1905.

2. Three Alexander Co. emeralds (color did not show properly).

3. A nice golden beryl from Mitchell Co.


Dennis

Thanks for the pics, Dennis!
First floor of the new building. I walked across to the new
building on that enclosed walkway and only got down to the
first floor on my way out. Must have missed the emerald
display. I do remember looking at all the marble in the floor and
steps! Thanks for locating it for us. Your pics are great but I
think it would probably be worth another trip just to see the
faceted stone.

Well, I bet you do wish you had that big Mitchell Co Beryl in
your cabinet at home, but just think of everyone that gets
the chance to look at it now. That's a whopper alright!

The two Hiddenite specimens are very nice. The one from
William Hidden and the one in matrix. Thanks for the pics.

And now I'm going to guess that you got the tick bite
while on your "recuperative" walk in SC. How long have you
had the symptoms? I hope you didn't get the fever too bad.

Good to hear from you and that you're feeling better.
Joe

Very, very interesting, Dennis. I was curious about your symptoms.
I find it very hard to recognize "extreme" or "abnormal" fatigue,
sore muscles and joint pain. It really depends on what kindof
activities I have been doing the days previous. And all those
"symptoms" seem to get worse every year.
And, I understand, it also does make a difference "where" you
contacted the ticks. There seems to be areas where there
are more disease carrying ticks than other areas.
I guess the only thing you can do to be sure is what you did
and go to the doctor and have some blood tests.
With an outdoor lifestyle I really don't know how anyone
can avoid being bitten sooner or later.
I hope the antibiotics kick in and you are feeling better soon.

Also, interesting comment on the new museum wing. I heard
a lot of people complaining about the presentations, and,
at first, I wasn't that impressed. But if you take the time to
press a few buttons and read, quite a bit, I thought the
exhibits were very well done and informative. The main
problem being, how many people are going to take the time
to read about it?

(I missed this post before, but it should be revisited). Wow!!!!! You guys have a really really nice museum over there. And you can go there all the time, Joe! That would be a weekly trip for me. I have to drive over an hour to Gray Fossil Museum. It is nice to have, but dang! First, the pics aren't that bad, the glass is always a problem. There are too many awesome things over there to comment on.
Dang! Though all I am thinking is I have got to get back up to the Ray. Such beautiful mineral specimens come from NC! The kyanite made me cry, but I am loving those big spheres! It is just a great way to represent those materials. And what is the big fossil in the first pic? Was that guy found in NC? Also, the gemmy minerals are all so divine, but I can't stop looking at that desert glass. Is that a meteorite? Or is it glass fused/created from an impact? Hey! I didn't know Hexagonite was found in NC too. See? Too much stuff to comment on. And those aquas! Emeralds are nice, and aquas are too. 

Thanks Dennis! I was wondering because I thought that was the most notable thing about hexagonite - being that it was only found in one location (I thought). And I thought I had a point to that I was looking forward to debating with John Makahon.   
Why are they showing a piece from NY in their collection on display when they have all this incredible stuff from NC to display? I absolutely love the handwritten card from 1905 with the first hiddenite found. I can't believe they wouldn't have that on a permanent display. I have to go here!
The Gray Fossil site and Museum is great! And all due to the discovery of those fossils, now there is a whole new academic department added to ETSU. That is just fabulous! The museum is really nice and has lab space, and is located adjacent to the actual the site the fossils were/are found. There are some cool rocks out front too. This used to be such a rural area, but Johnson City has started to spread too. In this case, it is a positive development and injects a great amount of science. I advocate that everybody go here and help support the place. They have cool patches too. 

Dennis, thanks for the great pictures and information behind them.  It good to know that you have contributed to science by your generous donations, not to mention what you have contributed to RHL.   

A few of us "old fogeys" remember the incredible stuff that was in the museum 40 to 50 years ago when we were kids.  The vast majority of these were stolen, pilfered, lost.  The stuff they have now is nice, but can't compare with the old stuff.  No one was ever caught that I know of, and nothing ever recovered.  Don't know if it was curators or just employees, but it's always pissed me off and made me sad.  Do you have any inside dope on this Dennis?