Where the Laurel Stone Lives: Meades Creek Field Trip
On Sunday March 1 we headed out to Meades Creek in search of Laurel Stone — and it did not disappoint.
It was one of those perfect Island days. Clear skies, sunshine, and just enough warmth to make you forget it’s still early in the season. We set up two collection points so members — new and longtime — could join the drive easily from around the valley. Families came out, dogs tagged along, and the usual beautiful mix happened: newer members learning about rocks, seasoned rockhounds passing along tips, stories, and the quiet art of spotting something special in the freshly deposited gravel bars.
There was plenty of beautiful chert scattered throughout in a broad spectrum of colours, but of course we were there for Laurel Stone.
And we found it.
Small, unique pieces with bright red rings around soft pink quartz centers wrapped in green. Some leaned toward a more salmon against a cooler blue-green backdrop. The contrast and variety of rocks never cease to amaze. Palm-sized stones ready for the tumbler sat beside boulders too big to budge — and certainly too big for our saws.
For more information on this gem of a stone, including lapidary art uses, check out our Rock ID Page.
If you’d like to join us on our next field trip, please head on over to our membership page or join us at our next meeting on March 25 at the Hub Community center in Cowichan Station.