Rockhounding: A Sexy Obsession

As a kid, rocks were so fascinating, they became a form of currency. Mom gave you a cookie, you brought her a rock. As a Bigfoot researcher, I can tell you that the most common gift a Bigfoot will leave is a rock, often times a perfectly round pretty one. They leave feathers and flowers upon occasion, but rocks are their I-Owe-You when they borrow something from your yard. And why not? Rocks always bring smiles! 

With my childhood home owned by strangers now and my family almost all gone, I've learned to search for that "coming home" feeling and I found it. 

My new "childhood home" is Natural Expressions Rock Shop in Gilbert, Arizona. 

Rock Shop Facebook Page
Rock Shop Website 

Wandering the huge outdoor display and the museums of rocks inside including fossils, jewelry, selenite lamps, stone skulls, metaphysical, slabs, petrified wood, dino fossils, and more, I felt instantly at home. 

Marty and Fred are two of the most personable, knowledgeable guardians of this natural bounty. And they can slab and polish anything. 

I have spent a lot of years studying rock shops around Arizona and I often find glitzy showcases of garish polished enormous stones worth exorbitant amounts or dusty old shops with rough dull-quality stones, but the combination of fine stones and incredibly reasonable prices caught my attention.

As a rock freak, I have to say this is as far as I need to go. This is where I can find anything I want and spend an entire day oohing and ahhing Planet Earth's progeny. 

Here's just some of what I saw in this amazing playground for rock people. Even people who hadn't thought they were rock folks would be changed in one minute of perusing the possibilities.

Selenite lamp

It's like Christmas on crack! I love this place!