Teri Smith Rock Hunts

Hi Y’all! Rockhunting season is starting in the Big Bend of Texas. As I mentioned in my earlier email, I’ve provided you with a list of dates that work for me, and you can let me know what date(s) you’d like to hunt, and what ranch(es) you’d like to hunt on. (If you don't have that email, the schedule is on my website, www.terismithrockhunts. com.). Or you can join a hunt that’s already been scheduled. The dates I’ve got people scheduled for right now are:

Saturday, March 02: Ritchie Ranch. Start time 9 a.m.
Sunday, March 03: Ritchie Ranch. Start time 9 a.m.
Monday, March 04: Ritchie Ranch. Start time 9 a.m.
Friday, March 08: South Larremore Ranch. Start time 8 a.m.
Monday, March 11: Ritchie Ranch. Start time 9 a.m.
Tuesday, March 12: East Needle Peak. Start time 8 a.m.
Friday, March 15: East Needle Peak. Start time 8 a.m.
Thursday, April 11: South Larremore Ranch. Start time 8 a.m.

Once again, the hunts will begin in the parking lot of Little Caesar’s Pizza in Alpine, at the corner of Holland Avenue and Highway 118 south. To sign up for a field trip, email me at [email protected], or call or text me at (432) 386-3431. Email and text work best because then I have your information written down. You can sign up for an existing trip right up to the day of the trip. To schedule a special trip for you and your group, please give me a few days' notice to ensure that I can get all of my routine tasks done and out of the way so we can have fun rockhunting.

Here are some details about the rockhunts:

East Needle Peak
Cost: $50 per person per day. First bucket of rocks you collect is included in cost.
Location: About 100 miles south of Alpine Texas via Highway 118 and FM 170.
Road Condition: Bad. Hilly, rough, unmaintained dirt road from highway to site. Can be impassable if it’s rained recently. High ground clearance required, 4wd preferred.
Terrain: Mostly rough mountain slopes and arroyos. Several flat places to hunt, including a huge dry creek bed.

South Larremore Ranch
Cost: $60 per person per day. First bucket of rocks you collect is included in cost.
Location: 45 miles south of Alpine on Highway 118.
Road Condition: Medium. Dirt road from highway to hunting sites. Can be muddy if It’s rained recently. Otherwise it’s quite dusty. High ground clearance preferred.
Terrain: Basically flat, with occasional gravel mounds and arroyos, including the dry bed of Calamity Creek.

Ritchie Ranch
Cost: $20 per person per day, plus ”Good” rocks at $1 per lb. I’ll work with you to tell you which rocks are “good”, and which ones are free.
Location: On the edge of Alpine.
Road Condition: Good. Dirt road from highway to hunting sites. Can be muddy if it’s rained recently. Main road is well maintained, branch roads can be a bit overgrown. Can be traversed in almost any vehicle.
Terrain: Flat to rolling hills.


P.S. I’ve still got great rocks for sale. I‘m still cataloging what I’ve got, and I’ll send out an email about that as soon as I have an idea what I have.