110 pounds of North Fork stone laid out on the driveway — the full haul

THE LORE: THE YELLOW BUCKET AND THE BRUISED BACKSIDES

It was Saturday, July 18th, 2026. We left Spokane Valley early and burned straight to Kingston, Idaho, then headed north up the North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River. We had asked Gemini what we would find up there. He said hematite, quartz, jasper. We had been hunting for more red. We like contrast. That was enough.

We brought a two-man raft. Neither of us had ever operated it on moving water. Fish and Game had the river moving at about 580 cubic feet per second — low from the drought, good for wading, but slick enough to sweep you off your feet if you weren't paying attention. We were wearing sandals.

The North Fork of the Coeur d'Alene River — clear water, cantaloupe-sized rocks, Idaho pines

The Wrong Direction

Gemini said go north of Kingston, above Prichard. So we went up 23 miles and started working our way back downstream. We jumped out at every opportunity, got down to the river, scouted the stone. Saturday we pulled maybe 30 pounds. The quartz was mostly filled with limonite — it just made everything look dirty. We found a couple small pieces of hematite-rich quartz but the hematite was porous and poor quality. Not what we came for.

We drove back down to a spot with cell service to ask Gemini what was going on. That's when we figured it out. We were supposed to go upstream from the 23-mile mark. Not downstream. We had been going the wrong direction all day.

Bob wading the North Fork, working the river bar for stone

The Fire Pit

Saturday night we found a campsite off a dirt road on the other side of the highway. It was huge and perfect. The fire pit was a mess. We cleaned every bit of garbage out of the middle and fixed the rock ring around it, swept it clean with our feet. Collected firewood. Set up the tent. We didn't bring enough food — a couple of cheese sticks, a jug of water, and dusty trails. We didn't care. Thirty-four years married and we were a couple of teenagers out there.

Bob setting up camp — Tucson and tent, North Fork Idaho

The rebuilt fire pit burning — North Fork campsite

Camp at the North Fork — Tucson, tent, fire pit, cooler

The Yellow Bucket System

Sunday morning we went back to the 23-mile mark and headed upstream. We had a system. Park the car. Set a bright yellow Tidy Cat bucket straight out from the car on the beach so we could see it from the water. Walk upstream as far as we could go. Load the raft with stone. Float back down to the yellow bucket. Drive down a mile. Do it again.

The river bottom was cantaloupe to watermelon sized rocks the whole way. Every time Janyce tried to get in or out of the raft she went down on her backside. Six times. Then she decided she was done with the boat and waded the rest of the day. The raft ended up hauling more stone than people. It made a great wagon. Except when the current got strong.

The Gold Mine

By the time we reached Mile 38 we had 110 pounds of stone. Two Tidy Cat buckets. The weight of a teenager.

We were walking along a sea of brown argillite and river rock and then — glowing in the water — bright white quartz. The more hematite in a piece, the brighter it read. Brick red to blood red. White quartz broken into geometric shapes with red hematite veining running through it like crumpled pickup sticks. When you pull it out of the water the hematite looks like it is floating above a sea of ice chunks. That is the stone we came for. North Fork CdA Collection →

We also pulled two types of argillite picture stone — one with orange shadows running through the greens and blues. Mohs 6.5. That material is going to take a glass polish.

Bob pointing into the argillite road cut — the moment of recognition

Argillite and river stone from the North Fork

110 pounds of North Fork stone — argillite, brecciated quartz, hematite

We didn't even think about eating. Cheese sticks and water and river gravel under our feet all day.

The Deer

At the very end of Sunday, just before the sun dropped below the tree line and we lost the light on the river, two whitetail deer came down the bank to drink. They walked right out onto the river bed, drank, and went back up the bank. We just stood there. That was the spot where we found the brecciated quartz. The deer found it too.

We loaded the Tucson and drove home. An hour and a half. Janyce drove.

The North Fork at dusk — where the deer came down to drink

The Universal Rescue

We cleaned up a trashed fire pit before we took a single stone. We fixed something before we took anything. That is the whole philosophy in one Saturday night.

When you adopt a piece from the North Fork collection, you are wearing stone that glowed up at us from the bottom of a drought-year river 38 miles into the Idaho headwaters. Stone we floated downstream in a cheap lake raft on bruised backsides, navigating by a yellow cat litter bucket on the beach. You are the final step in the rescue.

Studio → Stories →

— Bob & Janyce, Rockhound Studio, Spokane Valley WA

The North Fork Strike