As time moves forward, it seems as if each generation engages in new technologies, but this is a story of old crafts and occupations like rockhounding and lapidary moving forward. It’s encouraging to see the knowledge, skill and passion for rockhounding being handed down to a younger generation.
My son and I were invited to attend a groundbreaking event with a fellow miner, Casey Santee, and his son Sage. They were finally getting an opportunity to dig their newfound Idaho Sunset Seam agate claim with the help of an excavator after hand digging for three years. The groundbreaking was an exciting experience as two generations from two separate families came together. We watched Casey's son run the excavator while getting tips and tricks from Philip Stephenson who is a veteran in the field. The layers of earth unfolded, and the strata layers below the surface started to yield seams of gorgeous agate.