Welcome to the board, Dusty.

Glad to hear you've been out walking and looking around.
That's what it takes. Please don't look at your exploring as
"killing time" but rather as a pleasant time taking a walk outdoors.
When you, or anyone, are exploring new areas, 90% of the
time you will not find anything great, but that doesn't mean
the walk and time is not well spent. Learning that there is
nothing in a certain area is as valuable as finding something.
And you are always learning and training your eye to
recognize different terrain.
I sometimes tell people that are wanting to learn how to find
artifacts, for instance, that first you have to recognize
what is naturally in the area and then look for something
that stands out because it's different.
And now, after about 40 years of looking for rocks and artifacts,
instead of saying I'm going "hunting" I usually just say
"I'm going for a walk".
I love walking and looking at new areas whether I find
anything or not. When I find something, then I am like a
goat on a rope tied to a stake and gradually walk in larger
and larger circles out from the stake. These circles may
start within an acre but can broaden into miles. It helps to
get a map or maps that you can draw on to document where
you have been and where you are and are not finding stuff.

I know you were probably looking for more specific information,
and that will come, but the only way to really know if there is something
in a certain area is to take a close look at it.

Scott, Raleigh Rockhound, and I were out walking for a few
hours yesterday and we didn't find much either. But atleast
now we know what is there and whether we want to go
back or not. You just never know until you look.
Railroad right-of-ways are a good place to start. Anywhere
where the ground has been disturbed and you can see dirt!

Hope to talk to you more later and best of luck to you,
Joe

Good stuff and you got the right idea, Dusty.
Like a great rockhound once said, (may have been me ),
"If you want to find rocks, you gotta learn to read the dirt."

Those different colors are what I look for. Check those areas
and look for quartz and mica to zero in on possible finds.
Sundays are the best day to check developments. Most of
the time they don't mind if you are just looking for rocks,
but you want to stay out of their way when working.

You are going to find that there are different "zones" where
there is stuff to be found. Some zones will have quartz crystals,
some will have chert or agates. Once you go east into the
Coastal Plain you'll stop seeing much rock. A geologic map
of the state will be a big help to help you identify what zone
you are in and what kind of rocks "should" be there.
Besides for just going on a walk, maps and research are definitely a major part of the hobby. Ofcourse you already
knew that.
If you haven't already, check out some of the reports in
the "Adventure Diary" on our HomePage. They may help.

The single hardest part of this hobby is just finding the
time to do it all.

Later,  Joe

Yep, you gotta just keep looking and it sounds like you have a
good idea of what to be looking for.
Like I said we were out checking a few developments this
past Sunday. At this one we were finding some real nice
glassy smoky quartz veins. The smoky is very high grade and
would probably make good cabbing or even facet material if
it weren't so fractured up.
We did find one lone Guilford point with a little missing from
both ends. So, in the end, we didn't find much.
But it was great to just check it out.

Well my first attempt at checking out a development I got the cops called on me

Lol

A neighbor was concerned that I was trying to case the area to break in ... Yeah with a trenching tool and trowel eyes glued to the ground ha... At least the cop was like it didn't make sense he said the neighbor shoud have been more concerned I may have been burring a body ... I told them I was rockhounding and they were like what's that and I explained I was searching for rocks and minerals

They were like yeah we don't see that much this is a first... And I was like really ... Ok

They just said since the development is private property they could ticket me with trespassing but they said they aren't to worried about it just not to return there

So no fine no foul

Yea I'm going to try a different one Sunday
Guess people get weirded out or
Maybe I caused it subconsciously cause I was putting off a nervous vibe
Either way found some biggns fer carving

Well it rained here last night so I think I'll hike over to one of the sights I don't get messed with at to see if any thing has been exposed ... Leaving the shovel and only bringing a trowel cause there is a grave site close by and god only knows what they would think lol