Kickin' Tires, Dousing Fires, And Spectacular Blue Jasper

NOTE: Read whole description before commenting. I may have answered your question or addressed your "concern"

We set off to give you a sneak peek of our summer plans but real world problems get in the way.

Some moron built an illegal campfire in a barely defined dispersed camping area. The spot was about 5 miles from the nearest paved road and 10 miles further to the nearest cell phone signal.

Believe me when I say If it were worse, I'd have sent J down the mountain for help while I continued the bucket brigade from the creek across the road. It was just a good chance to illustrate a real world reason to always douse your fire completely.

These kinds of teachable moments don't always happen before stuff gets real and professions need to get involved. The wind had kicked up pretty good by the time we left. It was strong enough to potentially blow embers.

We had already knocked down the actively burning material in the ring and soaked the grass around the stones before we started filming. (You don't take chances for the sake of a clip) You can see how dry the underbrush in the area was.

We used a little over 50 gallons of water (20+ trips) to soak the inside of the stone ring turning until it looked like VERY wet concrete. The remainder of the area was soaked with water. We didn't leave until the stones and pit were cool to the touch. We normally only carry 7 gallons of water in the Beast.
We're certainly not showing you this to be credited for anything. Education, advocacy, and effort are the price of living in such a remote area. These types of things come with living here. From dousing fires to pulling trees off roads, and even driving lost hikers back to their cars.


To many, it's a grand adventure to an exotic locale. To us, it's a short drive in the neighborhood. A neighborhood we'd rather not have to evacuate from during an already crazy time because some stupid person forgot how to be responsible.

After a brief, but (I think) well spoken and VERY naughty word free reason we treat this stuff as serious as a seizure, virtue signal, we nod to the Knights Who Say Ni! to transition to the fun stuff.

Those who know me, KNOW I can swear worse than a New York cabbie in scope and number of languages, when fired up.
Stupid stuff like that is one of those times....

We got on down the road to a creek whose name eludes me.
Yeah..... That's it. I do not recall. ;) ;)

This creek and several near it are going to feature heavily in our summer filming schedule. The giant blue jasper is just a taste of what's coming up.
J & I are busy planning filming locations to show you places few people have ever been. With that comes the chance to find spectacular stones.

We are also going to be upgrading some of our cameras. I'm talking to experts to figure out what equipment is going to be rugged enough but take good video shots.

These are very special places that are rugged, remote, and best left to people with detailed knowledge of the terrain and weather patterns.
We have detailed forest maps, USGS maps, and MANY hours of satellite image analysis to help us explore safely. We also take personal safety measures which we will hopefully never have to discuss with you, but all the same... Prepare for the worst, but hope for the best.

Failing that..
Improvise, Adapt, and Overcome ;)

Always be aware of your surroundings and have a plan before even attempting forest explorations.

#TheFinders #Rockhounding #Oregon

[Karma]

Thank you for putting the fire out all the way. It breaks my heart knowing people are so careless in the world.

[yoopermann]

THANK YOU !! for putting out that fire, i have lost a home to a wild fire. see what hard work and good deeds get for you! all that beautiful jasper! that last shot of the river/creek is where i would normally find the good stuff in cause no one wants to fight through the vines blow downs ad black berry pickers!

[upnorth-m]

Glad you noticed the fire and put it out !! The journey through the forest to the water was amazing. Beautiful finds also. Thanks for sharing :)

[latentcomic]

David, Thanks for the continued education. People need reminders. They think, "Oh, it'll go out" but, if its not COMPLETELY DROWNED, it doesn't take much wind to blow on those sleeping coals and then an ember jumps out and ignites the whole freaking forest. Lets keep educating.

[Lisa.Sparkman]

Thanks for getting that 🔥 out! There's no excuse for leaving a fire even if there was no water around. You can always shovel some dirt on it.

That Jasper was magnificent 😍.

[lauraleehawes]

gorgeous blue jasper that would make some beautiful jewelry. Thank you for putting out the fire! idiots!! jeesh!! thank you for sharing it is so beautiful there

[mikelouis]

That chunk of blue BETTER be a keeper!

[VKQinterestsadventures]

People need to learn to be responsible... that being said good job. And such a pretty blue color

[gypsyrose]

Thank god you were there. I don't blame you for being angry.

[susanboggs]

How can I get my hands on some Blue jasper?

[mikelouis]

I live damn near in the Everglades, believe it or not, we have a dry season from hell every year. Think about how much fuel is available for a fire. You have idiot campers, I have FLORIDA MAN! Fifty foot high flames less than a quarter mile from the house in

[charlesbduke]

If you are finding jasper then soil coloris not from a fire, it's caused by iron liberated from the host rock by hydrothermal alteration . We have the same soil type here in the east. If it had been altered by heat (forest fire) the rock would be crumbly from micro fracturing caused as water in the rock turned to steam . I appreciate you policing the camp site, but your's and other collecting videos draw butt heads like flies to fresh s##t. Those are the idiot's we don't need in the field. I'm not saying that you should quit filming, but when you find fires not put out report it, the powers that be ( forestryserv. local police) would appreciate it I'm sure