"Nature’s Palette: Why Rocks Have So Many Colors"

Have you ever picked up a rock and wondered why it's red, green, or even purple? The colors in rocks come from the minerals inside them.

Just like mixing paint, different minerals add different colors. For example, iron often makes rocks red, orange, or yellow—just like rust on old metal. Copper can turn rocks green or blue. Black rocks may have a lot of carbon or magnetite, while white ones might be full of quartz. Some rocks even change color over time because of water, air, or heat. That’s why you might see a shiny gray rock turn brown if it sits outside too long.

Every color tells a story about where the rock came from and what it’s been through. Next time you're out walking, take a closer look—you might be holding a piece of Earth’s art in your hand.

Want more rock stories? Stay tuned!

Strange Days Indeed

Do you get stressed out about life sometimes---mortgages, jobs, children? Bet you thinks I'm going to tell you to get a mineral or rock with healing powers. Well I'm not!

To say these are " Strange Days Indeed " is a real understatement. The world seems to have no direction as a whole, and that can be very disturbing. The Earth will exist for a few billion more years before the Sun becomes a Red Giant and swallows it up, so Earth will be there for your life time, and for those you love. But what will things look like in 10 years? 20 years? Do what you can to exist and try to make change, but I suggest the following.

Get some " me " time..carve out a few minutes a day for yourself. Just viewing nature from a window is great and relaxing. Take a short walk just to observe whats going on with birds, animals, trees. Find a hobby you like. Do you read? Play an instrument? Find something you actually enjoy doing! Don't let stress consume you, life is too short!

Gold Rush Days-Virginia City, Mt.

As the story goes, in the spring of 1863, a group of prospectors were on their way to the Yellowstone River but were detained by Crow Indians. After being released, they returned via a different route and camped near what is now Virginia City, Mt. While camped in Alder Gulch, they decided to do a bit of panning—and struck gold almost immediately.

Recognizing the richness of the find, they tried to keep it secret. But word quickly spread, and within weeks, thousands of miners flooded the area.

By late 1863, a boomtown sprang up named Virginia City, and it soon became the territorial capital and a major hub in Montana’s early history.

The gold strike at Alder Gulch was one of the richest placer gold discoveries in U.S. history, yielding an estimated $30 million (in 1860s dollars) in just a few years.

It make's one think that Gold has a metaphysical quality, which is the ability to drive people crazy to get it!!