Datolite, Delaware

October 11, 2003

Autumn weather in the Keweenaw is risky: when fair, the days are glorious - the best of the best jammed in to a few hours. When poor, the days are misery at its nastiest: lateral rain and cutting winds that cause eyes to water, noses to run, bones to ache, rock piles to be treacherous with fallen leaves layered in trapped rain. October 4 was the scheduled day of the Delaware field trip and the entire preceding week was Keweenaw autumn in shades of gray, slate, and charcoal. Much to the disappointment of most Club members, the dig was changed to October 11, just late enough in the short autumn that many members were committed to pre-snow activities.
However, a few were lucky enough to have one, last, free, Saturday.

Tap on each photo for an enlarged picture.

The day began at Delaware with all red and pink nodules rimed in white. The water causing the leaching is from a stream that runs under the pile and, as you can see from the pictures at the top, working time was limited as the excavated hole began to fill. This area was filled in on the Monday following the trip by the on-site excavator during rock removal for road maintenance.

The Drexel was the second stop of the day and produced the translucent green specimens in the bottom two rows, both found by Paul LaBonte. This was the first excavation of this Drexel pile by the Club and the results were surprising as can be seen in the bottom photo: decent groups of copper crystals were also recovered.

The Club members fortunate to have this Saturday for rocking were: Floyd and Unabelle Weaver (drove up from Iron Mountain for the day); new member Greg Burk from downstate Michigan who happened to be driving by the Delaware that morning as he was in the Copper Country on business and who also provided some of the photos above; Doug Moore; Paul LaBonte; Randy Juneau; Steve and Sandi Whelan.

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