Nice Gneiss

When I go out geocaching, I'm always looking around for interesting subjects so I can improve my photography skills. I end up taking a lot of pictures of flowers, mainly because they tend not to run away from me when I approach. Animals usually end up next on my list, although they do tend to not like it when I get too close, so I have to resort to my telephoto lens and sometimes hope for the best. Every now and then, I end up taking pictures of rocks, either because it's required of me due to an Earthcache that I'm logging, or because something has struck my fancy about the rock.

Usually, what I find interesting others might just pass by. I'm frequently at awe over the power of nature, especially the interaction between plants and the rocks and how they interact with each other. I love looking at tree roots, especially if they on the upper side of a trail, because you can see how they sought out the cracks in the rock where there might be some soil. You can also see how the tree roots hold the hillside in place and wonder how the hillside might be different looking were those trees not there.

About a month ago I was on a hike with my friend Chaosmanor and we noticed some faulting along a rock face. There were some bands of striated rock material that had been misplaced in numerous places. Chaosmanor was intrigued enough that he took several pictures, as did I, and has decided to create an earthcache along that section of the trail. We had an interesting discussion trying to decide whether the rock pieces had dropped down between the faults or had been uplifted. As an amateur geologist, I find rock faces that tell stories like this very interesting.

I also enjoy trying to identify different types of rock. Usually this happens when Chaosmanor is along with me, mainly because he has similar interests to my own in this area. When I try to talk about rock types with other friends, a lot of times you can see their eyes glaze over. "Geez, he's talking about rocks again." Chaosmanor and I, on the other hand, enjoy a good talk about geology. We even like to throw a pun at each other from time to time when one of us has correctly, or even incorrectly identified a certain type of rock. "Gee, that is some nice gneiss you're holding there."

I can probably blame my father for this love of rocks. He was the one who took us to Yosemite, frequently over the course of my developing youth. I can blame him because I like to look at large rocks as opposed to tiny grains of sand along a beach. And if you don't believe me, you can always say that I'm full of schist.

Pictures were taken at or near the following geocaches:
Subterranean Homesick Blues - by Terra Girl
Micro N Post - by not tom
Tree at 4737 - by not tom