Rockhounding Utah

by William A. Kappele

Book Overview

As William A. Kappele reminds us in the introduction to Rockhounding Utah, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Accordingly, he gives us "just the facts" that rockhounds need to know to find their... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1560774460
• ISBN13: 9781560774464
• Release Date: January 2001
• Publisher: Falcon Press Publishing
• Length: 180 Pages
• Age Range: 16 to 18 years

Customer Reviews

Great Guide for Family Fun

I bought this book two summers ago, it has introduced me to my backyard like no other! And what a wonderful back yard it is. My son loves finding rocks and learning about rocks, and this book helps me plan little day trips with him. We learn a lot together and always have an interesting souvenir that didn't cost us anything, well except for the gas to get there. If you are new to Utah, or new to Rock Hounding, and those two should go together, they really should, this book is for you. William Kappele will introduce you to many nooks and crannies that you would have thought impossible. His directions are accurate. I have found myself lost a couple times, and always to find that was my fault for not reading closely enough. His introduction is great and his cautions should be heeded. This book, food, water, and a sufficient vehicle= plenty of cheap fun for the whole family. Estwing E3-22P 22-Ounce Rock PickHi-Tec Men's Altitude IV Hiking BootLortone 3A Lapidary Rock Gem Rotary 3 Lb. Tumbler NewEureka Apex 2XT Adventure 7' 5" by 4' 11" Two-Person Tent

Great Guide for family activites

I live in southern Utah so this book has provided our family with many great weekend trips. If you are trying to find rocks/fossils to sell or perfect speciums some sites in the book have less to offer. As a family trying having nice inexpensive and education outings this book has been great. The directions are acurate and we have always found something at each site. We have found, fossils, agate, mica, pertifed wood to name a few. We have been to to the free fossil site listed in this book and found some nice fossils. We went to the u dig it fossil mine that cost over $100 (plus travel expenses since it is 150 miles to a major city) for a family of 4 for 2 hours! and yes we found fossils quicker and they had some really nice ones, but it todays economy if you can't afford the pay site this book offers great directions to a free site. I would recommend this book to familes that are visting Las Vagas and have a rental car. Las vegas can be hot and expensive for activites with kids. Within 2 hours you can drive to many of the sites and the weather is cooler, the rock finding free and it is a great break for a day!

So much fun!

About half way through a 2 month trip in our motorhome to Utah I got this book. It added a whole new dimension to our trip. We went places we would never have gone, and found beautiful rock samples to take home. For the most part the guide was up to date, but the opal mine and azurite mines were closed. The septarian nodlules were probably the most exciting find, but we also found agate, jasper, selenite crystals, and petrified wood.

2003 Summer review

I found this book very useful in exploring the different sites in Utah. I have only been to a few sites but was not disappointed in the results. One should read the Forward/Intro section. It has good tips on the Utah and it's climate that literally could be a life saver. The author has put a real effort in listing the different sites and given good directions. I like the site format including the elevation and the best time to collect. I used it to visit Utah in early March and petrified wood from sand creek. I have given the book a four star rating due to it's age. It was published in 1996 so it's seven years old at this writing. the Utah sites still seem to be intact compared to the sites in New Mexico and Colorado. As I have suggested in my other reviews I would like to see GPS Coordinates for Main turn offs and the initial starting points at a collecting site. The forest service/BLM has a habit of closing roads. and there are Vandals that deface signs right when you need them the most. I also use the GPS Data for mapping software at home before the trip. preplanning at home beats driving 10 miles of washboard and dust on the wrong road.

Helpful guide to Rockhounding sites in Utah

I found this book to be very helpful in finding rock-collecting sites in Utah. It has directions to the collecting sites, information about near by attractions, tools needed, elevations, driving conditions and best time of year to go. I use the book religiously when I'm out and about. I give it a 4 star rating, and could have been a 5 star rating had the pictures of the rock specimen been in color, instead of black and white =)