At a very early age, his family tried Michigan, and then eastern North Dakota, and finally, back home to the Treasure State, this time for good - or as marriage vows put it, for better or worse. Living in Montana isn't always easy, but it sure beats living anywhere else. Palm trees must be imported, and salt water is something you swish your mouth out with, but otherwise, Montana has everything a person could need, and most of what anyone could want.

Camping along the shores of a beautiful lake in the mountains prompted an interest in collecting rocks, rocks that were somehow different than most other rocks. The Stonedog remembers, and still has, the very first rock he collected at about age twelve. Green chalcedony from the Purcell lavas of Northwest Montana, it was.

The Stonedog's life, as most do, took him career-wise in other directions, and it was not until well into his fifth decade that his interest in rocks and minerals became a passion. Well, actually, as his father advanced into his late seventies and early eighties, the two of them began taking weekend road trips - two one day trips, or one two day trip, every weekend -- 52 mini-vacations a year. When they left home, the plan was to stop at the local gas station. From there, it was turn left, or turn right. Whichever way they went, at the next junction, they turned left, turned right, or went straight. Eventually, they would get back home.

Their longest one day road trip was 753 miles. On another, one fall day, they planned to go to Southwestern Montana, and ended up in west-Central Washington, instead. Every weekend, they averaged 1250 miles. And somewhere along the way, they renewed their interest in rock collecting - rockhounding, if you will. They decided that if you're driving past rock collecting country, you might as well collect a few yourself, as long as you're in the neighborhood, anyway!

Books have been written about rockhounding in Montana, with titles such as, "Rockhounding Montana," or "Rockin' Around Montana." While these books were full of good information, the Stonedog found he had to spend a lot of time researching the sites contained in them simply to find where they really were, and what it was they offered! Telling the Stonedog bixbyite could be found wouldn't do much good if you still didn't know what to look for when you got where you were intending to go. Using the skills he developed in his consulting career, he developed information sheets for a number of sites that a) would actually get you there, and b) would tell you what to look for when you got there. Maps and photos included, not just hinted at.

After spilling soda on one of his nifty guide sheets, laminating them in protective plastic became one of those, why-didn't-I-think-of-that-before moments. The Stonedog wants to share the laminated rockhounding information he has put together, as in the process of developing them, he discovered others wanted, and needed the information, too. The Stonedog knows you will get many hours of fun and rockhounding success as you travel around Montana, knowing you can actually find the locations you are seeking, and knowing you will go home with some real finds.

You may meet the Stonedog on one of your rockhounding trips into the far reaches of the Treasure State. If you do, you'll find the Stonedog, well...stonedogging right alongside you rockhounds!