Eureka! Found Once More

 

Eureka! Found Once More

Noel Laflin

11-7-23

 

It took a couple of hours and three different scouting expeditions, but I finally located a cool looking rock that I first came across nearly three years ago.

 

It caught my attention the first time as those striking feather-like white markings stood out against the brownish red of the rock. I remember they kind of glistened in the sunlight as if to say, hey, look at me - I might be millions of years old but I still got it!

 

They are not fossils, but instead, really interesting looking crystallized mineral formations. The rock most likely tumbled down Santiago Creek from quite a number of miles away, based upon what I have subsequently learned as to where it might have originated in the Santa Ana Mountains.

 

Subsequent to its discovery, and to disguise its presence to others, afraid someone just might want to take it home with them (going to need a heavy duty backpack in order to do so), I turned the heavy rock upside down so that it would blend in with the other eight gazillion river rocks here in the area right off the creek bed. And in heavy flooding times, even where I stood, became part of the creek bed. The rock having landed here, God only knows when, is testament to that mighty force of nature.

 

Thus, turning it upside down so it looked like so many other rocks seemed like a good idea at the time, but would prove challenging in the long run, as already noted.

 

Fortunately, after those three failed attempts to locate it again, an off-chance photo hiding in Google photos, which showed some crucial landmarks, was most helpful in finally finding the elusive rock yesterday afternoon. Even then, it still took a while as trees tend to grow and the landscape alters, even in just three years – not to mention there were a lot of rocks that bore much in common. Let's just say there were few stones left unturned in the venture.

 

Finally, upon discovery at last - a jubilant eureka moment to be sure - I noted that the fire blackened rock was now split in half (maybe crunched when heavy trucks and tractors worked over this area a couple of years ago as burned out trees from the 2017 fire and subsequent thick overgrown brush were removed), but the section of stone that I wanted to see again was still pretty much intact. And because of the splitting, the cool looking interior is now visible, which wasn't the case before.

 

Once satisfied with a successful conclusion to this great adventure, I re-hid the rock and this time posted a feathered sentry to guard it.

 

So, the next time I get curious enough to want to view this little natural treasure again, all I need to do is find that bird and have him tell me where the hell, exactly, have I re-hid it?