What's This?

Mum + Visiting Daughter = Happiness

Water Over Rocks in Grouse Creek

Patient Son-in-Law Waiting for Slow Hiker

Diamonds might be a girl's best friend, but rocks are mine.

This past Mother's Day will go down in the record books as one of the best. It's hard to top the morning my then nine-year-old son woke me up to beer and cornflakes, or any Mother's Day spent with all three of my children and their father. Rocks tip the scale.

Allison and her husband Drew flew out from Michigan to celebrate May. My daughter Brianna turns 25 tomorrow, a quarter of a century old, and I'm closing in on half a century next Thursday. So for one blissful weekend we gathered in Elmira, sans the Bro who is hard at work on his masters in psychology, for food, games and rock hunting.

My favorite game (after Settlers of Catan) is to play "What's This?" with Allison and Drew who are both trained geologists. Drew did his masters work in the northern Rockies so he is especially in tune to answer. Imagine getting a play day with an expert in the area of your extreme interest.

The following photos and captions explain our rock adventure on Grouse Creek where we hiked to a natural grotto and waterfall just 15 miles from Elmira Pond.  

Linking up with Abracabadra for Wordless Wednesday with my own photos shot with my smartypants phone.

Allison and Barley on the Rocks in the Grotto

Around the Corner is a Waterfall

Deposit of Large Gravel from High Waters

Following a Metamorphic Contact

Quartz (Lighter) Pushing Up Through Basalt (Darker)

Geologists Checking out Intrusions

Vein of Quartz

Reading the Rock

An Inclusion (Already Forgot What It Is Called)

Looking at Granite

Looking for Metasediments

Best Find in the Grotto

What's This? The Men Cooked Quiche & Crab Benedict!