Treasure Hunt

Allen was off Monday and Tuesday of this week.  This is not the most ideal arrangement, since these are two of my "busy" days.  But, with some re-arranging I was able to join him Monday afternoon for a much anticipated metal detecting trip to Lake Monroe.  The last time we were in Arkansas, Allen had been poking around in his dad's shed and found his long-lost metal detector.  His stories of combing Beaver Lake and finding printing plates from the 1900's inspired me with dreams of treasure.  He warned that most of what you find is junk, but I thought even a couple of quarters would be nice.  So, Pepsi, Allen, and I set off.  We went to the boat dock just beyond the dam and began sweeping the detector up and down the shore line.

In a few minutes...beep, beep, beep...we found something!  I dug with a stick for a few moments before coming up with a piece of unidentifiable tin...we continued searching and digging a few more feet and minutes, finding 3 bottle tabs, when I looked down and notice a geode. :)  I knew what it was because these are fairly common in Arkansas and I had found one as a child.  I called it my "potato rock."  They are ugly, lumpy, and round on the outside, but if you break them open, beautiful crystals are hidden.

Quickly abandoning the search for metal treasure, Allen and I started searching for more geodes.  Some were whole and unbroken, and some already revealed their treasures inside.

Allen broke one of the smaller ones by smashing it between two rocks.  He also bruised his hand pretty well.  Pepsi wanted to help in any way possible.  At one point, Allen rolled a geode down the slope intending for me to catch it, but I missed and it fell into the lake.  Pepsi saw this and in spite of the 65 degree temperature did not hesitate to dive in after.  She couldn't find it because it sunk to the bottom and she only knows how to swim on top, but she really tried.  I felt bad for her and ended up taking off my shoes and socks, rolling up my pants and wading in to show her that "daddy's" treasure was safe.

At first we only found little geodes, maybe 3-4 inches in diameter, but as we followed the shore away from the parking lot, our finds got bigger.

We also found a turtle which Pepsi was petrified of.  It must have been making some sound or smell that Allen and I could not detect, but whatever it was, Pepsi thought we should definitely stay away!  I couldn't get him to come out of his shell for a picture, but here he is all closed-up.

Our metal detecting adventure and equipment was abandoned, but we did have a very nice trip through the woods and we found treasure that was much better than the couple of quarters I had hoped for.  Allen brought a couple of geodes home and even ran the prettiest one through my dish-washer (I was a little skeptical of this idea, but it doesn't seem to have hurt anything and the very shiny geode is now sitting prettily next to my plant on a shelf).

"If love is the treasure, laughter is the key" -Yakov Smirnoff