THE LORE: GROUNDING OUT THE MILES AND THE O'REILLY TIP

Before Yakima, Janyce and I had ground out the miles. We combed almost every river and highway cliff in Northeastern Washington, from Lake Roosevelt up to Canada. But we were mostly coming up empty.

The turning point came from the locals. Janyce met a rockhound at an O'Reilly Auto Parts, and I talked to a guy from Cle Elum. They pointed us toward the ancient, 15-million-year-old Yakima River Canyon. Everyone else was hunting Ellensburg Blue agates, but we didn't want what everyone else had. We wanted the jasper.

We loaded a cooler and buckets into Janyce's 2022 Tucson. We finally got out of town around 10 AM—with Janyce pissed off because she hated the late start—and burned west on I-90 from Spokane.

The Chert Road Detour

Just before the 17-mile canyon, we passed a gravel backroad literally named “Chert Road.” We couldn't resist. We drove it slowly, and I made Janyce stop for every piece of yellow on the shoulder. Most of it was crumbly and unusable. But we walked the ditches for miles and rescued heavy, solid chunks of chert and raw flint that sit in our yard today.

By noon, realizing we were burning daylight, we jammed the rest of the way to the canyon. It was a massive drought year, and the water was incredibly low. We spent the afternoon wading in foot-deep water, staring straight down at the riverbed.

The Picky Trap and the 40-Pound Haul

This was my first experience with the “picky trap.” You look at all the stone  in an area and you don't take rock cause you don't want to take to much and then you get real picky. at the end of the day there are stones you threw back and wished you had saved. I had never prayed for a drought before, but I do now.

We aren't miners; we are surface hunters. If the colors hit and the contrast is right in the water, we grab it. We stayed in that river until sunset. We hauled 40 lbs of green jasper, ironwood, and mystery stones out of that canyon. Not a single one went into the front yard rock garden. They were too good.

🪨 The Rescue Loop: See the exact stones pulled from the low waters of the Yakima River. No factory shapes. Just rescued Relics ready for a home.

🛠️ The Custom Shop Loop: Trust the hands that rescue. Send your rough stone, and we will let the rock dictate the final cut.

The Universal Rescue

Every stone tells a story of survival. Whether it's a piece of raw flint rescued from a ditch on Chert Road or green jasper pulled from a drought-stricken river, we take the leftover can'ts and grind them into something beautiful.

When you bypass the standard “ewlery” stores and adopt a Relic off our site, you aren't just making a purchase. You are taking home a piece of a 33-year partnership. You are wearing a stone born from a 40-pound haul and a dusty detour. You are the final step in the rescue. Everything needs a home, and everything can be rescued if you care enough to put in the work.

---

Keep Exploring

🪨 Adopt a Rescue: Our shop is full of rescued, one-of-a-kind stones waiting for their next chapter. Browse All Collections →

📖 Read the Logbook: From Chert Road ditches to 58-pound boulders, read the raw history behind the Rockhound Studio bench. Read the Logbook →

---

Handcrafted by Bob and Janyce — Inspired by the picky trap. 🪨