Tough Creek
Wyoming
Find: Banded iron, green aventurine
GPS: 43.3145, -108.14317
Nearest city: Casper, WY
Recommended Vehicle: High clearance recommended
Season: Accessible year round, Winter is likely to have significant snow, ice, and frigid temperatures.
Summary:
The Tough Creek area is right next to Boysen State Park. The coordinates listed will lead you to public BLM (Bureau of Land Management) land which borders the state park land. Out in the arid, windy landscape you will find a wide variety of colorful stones. Significant amounts of quartz and hematite are in the area
Wyoming is home to some awesome banded iron. It’s beauty is exacerbated if you polish or tumble it. Some pieces have reds, yellows, and purple colors that create an awesome contrast against the hematite.
Note: Land maps are important to have here. Collecting is not allowed in the nearby State Park or Wind River Reservation. GaiaGPS or OnX are popular choices for mobile land map apps.
3 Helpful Tools
Water Bladder
The warmer months are arid and dry in Wyoming. A water bladder is a great luxury to hike with. I covered a lot of distance while I was here.
Geology Pick
A geology pick is useful for flipping over embedded stones and prying them out of the ground.
Spray Bottle
A spray bottle is useful for getting a better look at the dry stones you’ll find.
Here's the mix of rocks you'll find. If you look close, there's also a lizard of some sort in the center here.
Green aventurine.
The banded iron has a waxy feel to it with worn ridges. It comes in a variety of different color patterns.
These were about the biggest pieces I came across out here. I didn't dig, just walked a mile or two on the surface.
This was one of my favorites.
This was my largest one. I'm sure there's larger chunks out here.
My friend at camp for the night.
Wyoming has awful sunsets and is a terrible place to camp. Tell your friends.