Hey, Welcome to the board, Mark.
Glad to hear your granddaughter is getting you back out in the field! Harnett is an interesting county and I am looking forward to seeing some of your finds!
To answer your question about local rock clubs;
In Raleigh, there is the Tar Heel Gem and Mineral Club, that meets every 3rd Tuesday of the month at the NC State Crafts Center on NC State campus, 7:30-9:30pm. It is well worth the $20 annual dues to be a member to have access to the crafts center and the club fieldtrips. Unfortunately for Elly, you have to be 18 to go on most of the fieldtrips or take the classes offered at the center. But you can attend a meeting as a guest and have a look around and check it out for yourself.
There is a small group meeting closer to you. They are the Tri-State Mineral Club. There are several very experienced and knowledgeable members in the lapidary arts in the club. Contact person is Clea @ cleadonovan@hotmail.com. This club was started to serve the more rural eastern counties. Clea is from Dunn and the President is from Mount Olive.
They sometimes meet at the Johnson County Community College in Cleveland on Hwy 1010 and it just so happens their next meeting is tonight. They are meeting at the Golden Corral in Cleveland, I-40/Hwy 42 @ 6:30. So go hungry.
Best of luck to you and hope to hear about your and Elly's adventures!

Joe

Welcome Mark!  Hiddenite is a great place to start learning the different minerals (although salted mainly from Brazil if your buying the buckets of dirt).  In about 3 weeks I'm planning on setting up a trip to the Burgin mine in Stanley County.  Perhaps you could join us and find some nice quartz crystals.  There are always places to check -- construction sites, creeks, road cuts, and anywhere you see exposed earth.  It's learning to read the exposed earth that help you the most.  Keep perusing RHL's pictures and videos and you'll get a good idea on what to look for.  Hope to see some of your finds posted soon!