Day 37-July 5

After checking out the prospects for fishing and caoneing in the area, we decided that the spring run-off is still putting way too much water in the rivers and streams for us.  As Montana is the Treasure State, we chose instead to try our hand at a little treasure hunting.  We drove over to Cyrstal Park with shovels in hand.  Thank goodness we did not forget the bug spray because every mosquito in southwest Montana met us there.  Crystal Park is unique in that the forestry service actually encourages visitors to dig holes.  That's right, there are holes all over the hillside where people have been searching for crystals.  The soil consists of decomposing granite that provides the perfect environment for the formation of crystals of a variety of shapes and sizes.  We had a great time playing in the dirt.  Jess dug up shovel fulls of dirt and I sifted through it searching for the sparkling 6 sided crystals.  Jess found a good sized one right off, giving us an idea of what we could expect to find.  He eventually found a couple more in the 2-3 inch range, but most of our treasures were much smaller than that.  We were just thrilled to find any at all.  They will be a great souvenir of our trip. After finishing our rockhounding excursion we made a loop through the mountains back to our campsite at Dillon.

Getting set to dig after searching for our perfect spot.

Our treasures!

Ready to enjoy a picnic lunch until the mosquitoes drove us back to the truck.