Here's a just for the heck-uv-it of one of the most beautiful and famous rockhounding sites in North Carolina.
Picture taken 01-04-2016, looking southeast.
Drawing a winter project 2018.

Awesome drawing Joe! The shading is really well done.

Exceptional Sir!

Yeah it would be great for the morels and many other shrooms! Maybe we need to make it up there for a look!

Thanks, lizzie!

The 14th is the earliest I could go, Josh, because the Tar Heel Shoe is the 6th,7th,&8th at the fairgrounds.

Shoes are pretty important, especially when you're out walking around on all those sharp crystals... 

I actually plan to go out and play in the Uwharries on the 14th.

Alright, so I did make it out there today, for the first time ever.  It is a very scenic area.  I don't know quite what I was expecting, but it wasn't as I expected.  I was not expecting an entire hillside comprised of quartz.  Wow, I don't think I've ever seen so much quartz in one place!  Keep in mind I did no digging or hammering or any kind, I was just exploring and covering a lot of ground.

What did I find?
Quartz chunks: billions
Single quartz crystals: 2, very tiny, very sweet.
Yard rocks I wanted to take home but didn't (uh, too big...): 1
Anatase crystals: 1
Clusters of quartz crystals on massive quartz: several
Snakes: 0
Morels: 0
Mortals: about 15
Time spent amidst the quartz: about 3 hours

There you have it in a nutshell.  I'm glad I can at least say "I've been there" and it would be a neat place to wander and explore some more.  Maybe someday

There were a couple of new-looking clearings along that road.  We stoppped at the one closes to the end of the road and walked around for about 15 minutes.  Lots of quartz on the ground, but I didn't see anything crystal.  Then parked at the gate and walked down the road to the next gate that says "private property" and headed straight up the hill of quartz.  I flipped random rocks along the way up.  I had left my backpack at the bottom of the hill.  I'd find some crystals in a larger rock and carry it around with me until I found a better one, put the first one down, carry the second one around until I found a better one, etc etc.  I like to travel light   I think I picked up the anatase fairly close to the top of the loose quartz scramble.  There was a group of guys who came long and spent an hour or so banging away at the big quartz boulders up there by the path.

Here's my wannabe yard rock, but there was no way I was taking it home with me, so just took a picture instead.