Desert Messenger

February 15, 2017 www.DesertMessenger.com 13 Life cycle of a rock hound... ADVENTURES WITH ROCKS ™ By Jenn Jedidiah Free • www.RocksInMyHead.com The universe is constantly in fl ux. Planets and star systems are born and die. Stars shoot across the sky in their last explosion of glory. Suns fi zzle and moons grow cold and frozen. Asteroids break up and become meteoroids. Gas- es and minerals swirling in space mi- raculously consolidate and give birth to new solar systems. Atmospheres form and geologic forces transform spheres of elements into planets. Here on earth, molten rock swirling deep in the center of the earth erupts through the crust and becomes solid stone. Continental plates smash into each other, thrusting up mountain ranges and creating huge subduction faults. Wind and water erode masses of stone into spectacular canyons, intri- cate formations, and fabulous caverns. Colored layers of sediment or spewed ash build up and turn monotonous landscapes into candy-striped wonder- lands. Mighty glaciers and rivers push boulders across the surface of the planet transforming them along their journey. In their travels, boulders become peb- bles and pebbles become sand. Min- eral solutions harden into travertine terraces, gorgeous fossils, or colorful agates and geodes. Earthquakes open up veins of precious metals long lying dormant deep in the earth. Flux is important to a prospector. With- out fl ux we wouldn't be able to spend our time exploring amazing geologic features, collecting rocks, or prospecting for gold. Flux makes the mysteries of the earth ac- cessible to us. Flux in the atmosphere sends rain to wash new gold into the placer deposits and uncover new layers of rocks and fossils. Atmospheric fl ux brings wind to sculpt dunes and carve majestic cliffs. Wind and rain move particles of rock around tearing down old things and building new ones. Heat and pressure metamorphose a rock or mineral into a different one. The fl ux of a lightning bolt violently stabbing the earth instantly fuses simple grains of sand minding their own business into a brand new unique cre- ation. Without fl ux, the universe, and life, would indeed be stagnant and boring. And so, here at RocksInMyHead, we are also in fl ux. The close of another Quartzsite season is upon us, and soon we will be embarking on the next phase of our journey. A metamorphosis if you will. We have been traveling this path for almost a quarter of a century. Since 1994, to be exact, when as a 20-something as- piring lapidarist and jewelry artist, I fi rst opened the company under the name Soaring Eagle Designs. After several set- backs in the mid-2000's and a brief clos- ing, I reorganized the company around my passion for rocks and the outdoors as the rock and prospecting shop known today as RocksInMyHead. In the fall of 2009 I relocated here to our beautiful desert. For the last 7 years of the journey here in Quartzsite we have grown expo- nentially in so many ways and many of you have been on this adventure with us. And for that I will be eternally grateful. I am grateful for so many things. I am grateful for all the amazing people I have met and wonderful friends that I have made. I know it hasn't all been roses, and we didn't always see eye to eye, but I am grateful for all the love and support I have had here. I am grateful for everything I have learned from all of you, and the ways in which you have challenged me to grow as a business woman, a prospector, a lov- er of rocks, and most of all as a person. I am grateful for the experiences I have had here, both good and bad. I am grateful for the roads that were easy and the ones that were hard. I am grateful that most of you stuck with me through the good, the bad, and the ugly, even when you may have wanted to throw rocks at me. But most of all I am grateful that I have been able to spend my life doing what I love and shar- ing it with all of you. My life has truly been blessed. If wealth is calculated by experiences, laughter, joy and love, then I can truly say I am one of the wealthiest people on earth, and even wealthier for having known so many of you. I am going to miss you all immensely. The decision to move on af- ter this season has been a diffi cult one, and one that I have considered carefully, prayerfully, and with much emotion. But TOOLS TOOLS TOOLS & TARPS & TARPS & TARPS VENDOR SUPPLIES • Canopies • All Sizes of Tarps • RV Supplies • Tools • Table Legs • Hand & Power Tools Open 9am-5pm - 7 days a week LOCATED AT TYSON CENTRE #1 121 W. Kuehn, Quartzsite K & B "The place with the stuff!" "If we don't have it, you don't need it!" Ladies Stuff, too! We‛re Honored to have Received the 1st Town of Quartzsite VENDOR APPRECIATION AWARD! the time has come to move on to new ad- ventures and experiences. Truthfully, I am a little afraid, but then, adventure wouldn't be adventure if it didn't have some fear and uncertainty attached to it. I will still be doing what I love. I will still be traveling, still be exploring and fi lling my life with rocks, geology and nature, and still be writing. After all, it's who I am. I've been a weird, crazy, adventur- ous, outdoorsy, somewhat fearless, dig- gin'-in-the-dirt, rock-lovin' girl for darn near 50 years now. But it will look dif- ferent than it does now. Up ahead there are fresh challenges, more personal growth, and new occasions to contribute to society as a human being in the great scheme of things. But, even the pretti- est caterpillar must be transformed be- fore he can fl y. So, the chapter of my life known as RocksInMyHead will close, and out of the metamorphoses will arise several projects I've been working on, another company I have been building for the past few years, and the continuation of my journalistic and creative work un- der the current name Adventures With Rocks. I do not yet know where these roads are taking me. I have waypoints and landmarks in the distance, but many opportunities and adventures lie ahead along the path. Some of these trails are ones I have wanted to explore for a long time and some are completely vir- gin territory. Even so, now is the time to embrace fl ux and embark on new expe- riences. After all, the most exciting part of the destination is the journey that you go on along the way. And to all of you, I thank you for being with me on this por- tion of my life's journey. I wish you happy prospecting, happy trails, peace, joy, prosperity, and many, many more years of exciting adventures. RocksInMyHead will be open at A37 in Rice Ranch until February 28, 2017. If you would like to follow me into the next phase of my adventures, join me on Facebook for updates and to transfer over to the new Facebook page Adven- tures With Rocks. Watch for lots of new and exciting stuff from Adventures With Rocks coming soon. www.Ad- venturesWithRocks.com.

• Cover