Stone Face at Harvard Mine (personal narrative)

It was a good thing I bought new mud boots. It had been raining for several weeks, so I knew I would need them on our hike up to the Harvard Mine. Harvard Mine is at the top of a mountain in Maine. My two sons, Nathan and Sam, and my mother and I like to go rockhounding there at least once a year. It is a beautiful hike and we love looking for gems. We would also stop at Perham's, a jewelry store and museum near the mines. The Perham family owns the mines and lets people rock hunt there for free. They were always friendly when we visited, and would help us identify our finds.

This time was a special trip, as it was also the day Perham's was closing forever. Perham's had been in business for ninety years and was famous around here. Many people were sad to see them close their shop, and came to visit the mines for what might be the last time. The trail to Harvard Mine was busy that day, but not everyone prepared for the hike as well as we had.

Some parts of the trail were more like a stream. Sections of the trail were a foot deep with mud. Other parts were dry, but mud boots were definately needed. Many people we saw were wearing only flip flops or rubber clogs. "Are they crazy?" we would say after we passed them, watching them pull their feet out of the mud. We had been up to the mines many times before. We knew what to expect.

We had to stop and rest often, because my mother was getting tired easily. It was a steep trail in places, and we were carrying hammers and chisels in our backpacks along with water and a snack. We also needed to stop so Nathan and Sam could fix their socks. Their socks kept slouching down off their feet and bunching up in the toes of their boots.

As my mother rested and my boys fixed their socks, I looked around at the woods and the piles of boulders spilling down the hillside. Suddendly something caught my eye. I climbed over huge rocks to get a closer look and pulled myself up the hill by grabbing onto small trees. It was just a bunch of rocks, but they looked like a face!

I called Nathan and Sam to come see. They scrambled up and were as amazed as I
was. We took pictures and pretended to talk to him. "See my new boots?" "Are you enjoying all the visitors today?" "We might never come here again."

The rest of the hike was just as wet and tiring. We stopped to take more pictures and to examine and collect rock specimens. At the top of the mountain we enjoyed the company of the other rockhounders and had our snack. We cracked rocks in half with the chisels and "ooohhhed" and "aahhed". I even found a baby snake that we admired for a while. As usual, our backpacks were heavier on the way down, but we were happy with our selections.

When we came to the spot with the rock face again, we took one last look. To think that all these years that we have been coming here, that face was sitting there in the woods all along, watching. We didn't think anyone else had ever noticed it, since it was pretty well blocked by trees. How sad to think that we found it on what might be the last day to hike here, if the Perhams sell the property.

Back at the van, I pulled off my muddy boots and wondered if others would think the rock looks like a face. I tossed all our boots in the back of the van and thought perhaps we saw the face because we needed to. It seems that sometimes we find things at just the right time.

If the mines remain open to visitors, we will now have a new addition to our traditional hike. If not, then we got to say goodbye in a very interesting and unique way. And maybe, just maybe, the mountain was saying goodbye to us. Or maybe he was giving us the boot.

Rockhounding Around (non-fiction, geology)

Have you ever heard of a hound dog? A hound is a dog that is good at sniffing for things. A rock hound is a person who hunts for rocks, but they don't sniff to find them! Have you ever found a rock that you decided was interesting? If you have, then you might be a rock hound too.
Anyone can be a rock hound. All you need to do is like rocks, and like looking for rocks. A rock hound needs a place to explore. You can look in your own backyard or neighborhood. Most of the time it is okay to collect rocks at a beach or park. Just remember to ask first, especially before looking on someone else’s property.
If you belong to a whole family of rock hounds, you could go to more places to look for rocks together. There are even places to go rock hunting where you can find unusual gems and minerals. Search the internet for rock hunting places in your state. You could also buy rocks at rock and minerals shows. Buying rocks skips the hunting part, though, which some rock hounds would say leaves out the most fun.
You don’t need any fancy gear to be a rock hound, but if you are going to dig you might want some useful things. A shovel, work gloves, and a bucket for you rocks would come in handy. If you want to break apart rocks with a rock hammer, then you will need safety glasses. A book about rocks and minerals will be helpful if you want to know what you’ve found. Remember to dress for the weather and use sun block.
Rock hounds are proud of their collections. You could put your rocks in a shoebox, on a shelf, or in clear plastic containers. Many rock hounds like to label their rocks by what kind they are, the date they were found, and where they were found. You will probably have a favorite kind of rock and could group certain kinds of rocks together. How you want to show off your collection is up to you.
If you want to tell people you are a rock hound, be ready to explain that you like looking for rocks. Be sure to tell them you can’t sniff for rocks like a hound dog though!