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Hi! You are correct. Glad you liked it. J&E

Hi! Thanks for your question. We use an 8 inch diameter by 3 inch wide belt on a Lortone expanding drum. Because these are hollow, the edge of the wheel can be avoided (to avoid gouging the rock) by doing one side of the geode's flat O-ring at a time instead of trying to do the whole geode's flat surface at once. For smaller ones, 3 inch wide is great. Diamond belts cut way faster than silicon dioxide ones. We go to 3000 or 8000 grit and skip polishing to avoid white polish filling the thunderegg's cracks. -J&E

We are glad you liked it and thanks for the compliment. J&E

Hi Joe, When Elizabeth says "The sheer magnitude of it all is hard to convey" that was live emotion, not scripted. We just had to share the wonder. J&E

Hi Joe and Rosie, A few years ago, only 1/4 mile from where we met, we almost rolled over the 4Runner. It was DICEY. Second most scared I've ever been., Much of it was on video but we missing the climax shot when we got out so we haven't published it. It still gives us chills. BTW, most scared time was 40 pounds of rocks/tools on my back and coming face to face with a bear. J&E

LOL. That bottle went with us everywhere but is now retired. Replaced by vacuum bottles providing ice on day two. J&E

Hi Joe and Rosie, It really did snow and pour rain on the way there and we were expecting it to be a bust. Better lucky than good. J&E

Very cool! We didn't hear about the trilobites until after we returned home. It's a good reason to go back. J&E

I was indeed going for a cross of Hitchcock and Twilight Zone. This was filmed in two parts, 2-3 years apart. First time was in thick smoke from Oregon fires and it was truly spooky there. It's a remake of the first video I ever made.

Sometimes what's inside is a great surprise, like the Dugway Geode video shows.

HA! The Harbor Freight tile saw was our first, too. Cuts FAST :) and wide :( J&E

Hi Joe and Rosie! You two are the FIRST to recognize us at a dig site. We're great! Working on a Red Top Mountain agates video filmed the day before we met. John & Elizabeth

Hi Karen, We are truly glad you liked our latest video. For this one, we mixed the trip footage with the rock viewing, increasing the editing effort a lot, hundreds of hours. With all the rock polishing and filming of them over time, it was two years in the making and the hardest to create by far. So, THANK YOU for your kind words. -John

Hi Karen, We're happy you liked seeing the rocks. Thanks for your comment about the truck, too. We did everything we could do ourselves, from the two battery systems with three control panels, to the cabinets/drawers in the back, to the running water. Let us know if you'd enjoy a series of videos detailing those. We may someday start another channel to split off overlanding. J&E

Another user said the area was closed. We couldn't find that notice online. We'll be driving by there next week so will see if there is a sign. BTW, the neighbors don't like the parked cars so previously had put up a bunch of no parking signs in the one spot that one can get off the road. I don't believe they had the right to do that so maybe the new sign is theirs, too.

Hi Sara, We still can't find any indication that the area is closed. We drove by there last weekend and there is no DNR sign indicating its status has changed. There are many no parking signs and towing company signs to intimidate visitors but that's the locals doing, not the DNR. The gate is at 47.13968, -120.61355. We used to park safely right across the street but because of the signs, we parked way down the road and it's a bit dicey hanging into the street. If you find it too intimidating, just continue down the road, then make the next left turn, then the street bends right, then left. You'll be at the Rock n Tomahawk Ranch, which will be happy to let you walk their land for a very modest fee. 47.16045, -120.63518 John

Hi Jansy, We're glad you liked the named rocks. It was pointed out that the Italy boot-shaped rock was for the wrong foot. Wish I'd have spotted that before publishing so I could have flipped the image. J&E

Ha! We can take a Hint. ;) -J&E

Hi Michael, Thanks for the heads up. I couldn't find the notice online. Do you have a link? -John

@@GreyBearOverland let me see if I can find that copy

@@GreyBearOverland if you join my page I think it was listed a few weeks back if you scroll down about a month

Hi Cynthia, Thanks for making us smile. We only do this to share the amazing places we go to and the show the beautiful rocks that can be found. We are encouraged to keep the channel going by your positive feedback. It means a lot. J&E

Thanks for the compliment, Bill. We are glad you liked it. J&E

Hi, We are super appreciative of your positive encouragement! J&E

Super! Thanks for expressing your appreciation! J&E

Hi Tom, Thanks for taking the time to let us know! John

We are so glad you let us know you enjoyed them! J&E

Hi Matthew, Good point. We watch a lot of Jared's videos on @CurrentlyRockhounding. He knows a LOT more than we do of the scientific aspects. J&E

Hi Nancy, Thanks for asking! Yes, we have! See our Ellensburg Blue Agate video: czcams.com/video/5vFhKpQb-cY/video.html. It is likely worth $500-$900, which is a lot for an agate. The fact that it is found on video and thus a verified/proven Blue may raise its value a lot beyond that. Topaz is a non-agate, semi-precious gemstone as we found in this video: czcams.com/video/FzjFrSbFnQU/video.html Jade has real value and is easier to find. After making this video of a friend's score, we went and filmed us going and find some: czcams.com/video/iHkRRJjYBu0/video.html We don't have a video of it, but we've also found one 3 ct. and two 1 ct. Montana sapphires. Beautiful! J&E

​@GreyBearOverland thank you for answering me😊!!!

Hi Mac, Thank you for the delightful feedback. It's so nice of you to take the time to send it. We're glad you are finally recovering and getting to travel again. Early in the video where I whipped the truck around at the signpost, you can hear Liz say, "Oh, wow!" That pretty much sums up the pleasure it was for us to view Utah's scenery. We hope to see you out there. Look out for our big gray DIY wind fairing. -John & Liz

Hi John & Nancy, Thanks for mentioning that. A lot of great agate areas are indeed claimed. We found that at McDermitt for jasper and Purple Cow Agate. The jasper site and Purple Cow Agate claim notice are both shown in this video: czcams.com/video/0HDQ8pJdjgI/video.html Focused on the collectable and quite nice agates at McDermitt is this video: czcams.com/video/ulv1yGWuEwU/video.html J&E

Hi, We appreciate your positive feedback! It makes us want to make more videos to share. Will leave out the admittedly corny laugh track, though. :) It was a one-time thing expressing our SUPER excitement. J&E

Hi Sam, Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback. That was our third-ever video and even now we have a LOT to learn. We've found music is by far the hardest to get right and audio in general takes way longer than the video. New AI audio editing tools came out this week and we are excited to try them. If that works, we'll have more time to improve the video clip choices. J&E

Hi, Thank you for the positive feedback! J&E

That's a great way to think of it! J&E

Hi Annie, Thank you so much for the great feedback! There's two long form videos from the same site: Vanishing Supervolcano Agates and 100 Agates & Jaspers. We hope you subscribed because we are soon coming out with a thunderegg/geode extravaganza that's been in work a long time and shows something like 100 of them. J&E

Hey There YOU THE TUBE STARS!!! Did I Spot AN ELLENSBURG ROCK-AGATE/JASPER?

I have been informed that the More Comments on A YOU THE TUBE COMMENT SECTION IS EXCELLENT FOR THE ALGORITHM.

I was waiting for Your New YouTheTube Vids to be posted.

Oh man, should have written In Backwards Mode as if It Was Yoda OR YODDEERR AS I CALL HIM, anyway.

That's good advice. Before going, we checked online private/public land maps and it was listed as BLM land. There were no claim markers or signs at the site and someone, likely BLM, had lined up large rocks to direct parking.

Yes, it's very surreal. Like they were dumped and scattered by the wind. J&E

Hi Karl, Ventifact: a wind blown sand shaped stone. That's a word I'd heard once before and couldn't remember. Thanks! Guess I can't call it a dino skull anymore. :) John

Hi Hank, Thanks for the extra info. Pretty rocks got us into this and we are happy to be learning a lot about geology from folks like you. J&E

Hi Penny, We didn't seek out opal and just threw in a few pieces we happened upon. It wasn't until we got home that we found how easy it was to polish and how delightful it looked. It's not gem opal but we discovered its better than it being named "common" would indicate. J&E