IS IT A MINERAL, ROCK OR ORGANIC MATERIAL?

Monday, June 20 – After I finished with the road clean up, I went to lunch with my dear friend, Fran. We had a delightful time. She then took me to the home of a church friend who collects every type of rock or mineral imaginable. Tom was not at home at the time but his wife, Ruth, was a very gracious hostess.  She gave me a great history lessons about the rocks.

Tom worked for Exxon as a chemist and was relocated to Saudi Arabia. They fell in love with the area and stayed seven years. While there, he began to collect rocks…not just any ordinary rocks but crystals, quartz, agate, gems, petrified anything from wood to mushrooms, etc.  He has his collection displayed all over the house. Here is a picture of the display case in the downstairs family room. The top shelf is petrified wood from Saudi Arabia.

I felt like I was in a real museum. He has one cabinet that contains drawers that pull out with examples of different types of rock and their names.

My favorite were the "sand roses" he brought back from Saudi Arabia. Ruth explained how Tom would "do a dig" in different areas to uncover these beauties.

Some beautiful examples of Tom's collection.

He has an office with more of the petrified wood that he has cut and mounted himself. I didn't get to see the saw but Ruth told me it has a 25" blade that he uses to cut the wood.

The pieces are so beautiful. He makes individual holders for each piece. Tom attaches a number on the base and then cross references it on his computer. Each entry contains the correct name of the wood, where it was found, and the date.

Ruth showed me an area that contains findings that he hasn't had time to get through. I think he will have to live another lifetime before he will get it all done.

I want to thank Ruth for all the time she spent showing me this "one of a kind" collection. Also, thanks to my good friend, Fran, for being so kind in taking me to Ruth and Tom's house. What a neat experience.

These two live in a beautiful setting! Here is just one picture of their backyard and the gorgeous pond.

 

I found a book in the library that I thought Paul might like…guess Bella had different plans for it.

Tuesday, June 21 – After being delayed from departure in Canton, arriving late in Detroit so much so that Paul had to RUN thru the airport and finally landing 30 minutes after his scheduled time in Houston, he is back home and LOVING it.  He needed to come back to relax after all the partying in Canton. There goes Marsha's peace and quiet!

Wednesday, June 22 – We woke-up to rain this morning! The first measurable rain in this part of Texas since mid-January. All the locals were thrilled. “Isn't this wonderful weather!” Being from NE Ohio, it's unusual to hear people saying a rainy day is wonderful. It really was refreshing after umpteen days of 90 to 100 degree temperatures. By midday, the rain was gone, and the humidity was back. Surprisingly, the temperatures remained in the high 70's or low 80's. It only took about ten minutes for everything to dry....LOL.

Thursday, June 23 - Paul is busy today with his pre-travel inspections on the MH and using The Solution and his California Duster to wipe the dirt off after yesterday's rain. Rainbow's End has gravel sites and mud splashes up on the lower sections anytime it rains.....JEESH!......waaaay to anal.

Friday we head to Arkansas, so stop back and check-out our next adventure!

Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see ya'll back real soon.Have a great day!