16. Grassy Mountain. Malheur County, Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Specimen round hardwood log section that makes you wonder: How the heck did that happen? It’s worth pondering. Attractive surface-collected piece with a wedge shape. Cut and polished on one end, otherwise all natural. Hardwood with prominent rays. 10 by 5 cm mirror-polished face; 12 cm long; one pound and thirteen ounces. $1600
17. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Hardwood. Elm. Full more-or-less-round log section, cut and polished on both beautiful faces. [Note: a tiny percentage of wood specimens are good enough to polish on both ends.] This was one of the first excellent HooDoo pieces I acquired. Remarkably perfect with undeniable HooDoo mineralization and colors. Top rate under magnification. No fractures. Beautiful silicified otherworldly wood with the hardwood structure of elm. Figures in Ancient Forests. 4 by 8 and 4.5 by 10 cm mirror polished faces and 6 cm tall; one pound and one ounce. $1600
18. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Natural, as found, specimen round. 10 cm long; 9 cm wide; 4 cm thick; one pound. $350
19. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Stunning ring-porous hardwood. Full round slice. No fractures. Perfect with well-preserved cells. Figures in Ancient Forests on page 70 as my example of ring-porous hardwood. 6.5 by 7.5 cm mirror-polished face; one cm thick; three ounces. SOLD
20. Grassy Mountain. Malheur County, Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Small glassy full round limb section, cut and polished on both ends. 18 by 25 mm mirror-polished faces; 12 cm long; 2.5 ounces. SOLD
21. Brogan. Malheur County, Tertiary. Precious opal log of Brogan ghost wood. Brogan is a small town in northern Malheur, County. Full round log end, cut and polished on one end and natural on the other. I have never seen a Brogan specimen this great. The color in this one is in a class of its own. Note the unusual mineralization with needle-like wood structures floating in glass which is diagnostic of Brogan ghost wood. Figures in Ancient Forests on page 222. 6 by 8 cm mirror-polished face; 6.5 cm long; one pound and two ounces. $2000
Note on Brogan: Brogan wood that is attractive as a wood specimen is as scarce as hens’ teeth. Most is badly fractured.
22. Brogan. Malheur County, Tertiary. Precious opal log of Brogan ghost wood. Full round log section, cut on both ends and polished on one. Another Brogan marvel. The color in this one is in a class of its own. Mesmerizing deeply translucent light blue opalized/agatized hardwood. Very perfect. 6 by 9 cm mirror-polished face; 8 cm tall; one pound and five ounces. $1600
23. Brogan. Malheur County, Tertiary. Full round hardwood log section, cut and polished on both ends (by me). Nice example of the ghostly wood structures. At first glance, you don’t see the growth rings. Opalized on exterior and inward some otherwise glassy chalcedony. 8 by 4.5 and 7.5 by 4.5 cm mirror-polished faces; 7 cm long; one pound and one ounce. $1200
24. Stinkingwater Creek, Harney County. Oak. Miocene. The Stinkingwater Creek fossil wood area is primarily known for large oak logs with beautiful mineralization. This is a hunk of one, all natural with one cut and polished face. Attractive, distinct oak-like structures visible with no magnification. Nice example for the location. 9 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 8.5 cm thick; three pounds and seven ounces. $600
25. Stinkingwater Creek, Harney County. Miocene. Rarely encountered small, diffuse-porous hardwood log from the Stinkingwater Creek area. Deep red-brown patina and overall excellent. 8 by 6 cm mirror-polished face; 9 cm thick; one pound and eleven ounces. $1200
26. Eastern Oregon. [based on colors and perfection, my guess is Malheur County – Grassy Mountain region.] I clearly recall seeing this beauty on the shelf of a rock shop on the highway between Redmond and Bend. We were on a family vacation in the early 1990s. With my small loupe I didn’t see any wood structures, but I was curious enough to buy it. It wasn’t until I got back to my shop in Colorado that I could see cells under magnification. It’s in Petrified Wood on page 90 and has always been a favorite of mine. Full round slice. Remarkably perfect. 12.5 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 14 mm thick (nice and thick like they cut them in the old days); eleven ounces. $800
27. Sweet Home. Oligocene to Miocene. Perfect full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. Top grade Sweet Home from Skip Adam’s ranch. It has everything: an elegant woody exterior, perfect, fine mineralization, exceptional sycamore or beech hardwood cell and growth ring preservation, and a lovely pattern. 7 by 7.5 cm mirror-polished face; 5 cm long; one pound and one ounce. $800
28. Sweet Home. Oligocene to Miocene. Ring-porous hardwood. Full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. Top grade Sweet Home. Appears in Ancient Forests on page 227. 7 by 7 cm mirror-polished face; 6 cm long; one pound and two ounces. $800
29. Ring-porous hardwood. I kept this with my Sweet Home wood, but I am unsure of the location. I’ve seen very few like it. It appears to have been dug from a white matrix. The wood is dark brown framed by black, yet glassy with fine-grain mineralization. Full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. 7.5 by 8 cm mirror-polished face; 6 cm tall; one pound and five ounces. $600
30. Ring-porous hardwood. Probably Sweet Home. Full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. 5 by 5.5 cm mirror-polished face; 3 cm tall; eight ounces. $400
31. Sweet Home. Full round log with one natural end and one cut and polished end. Remarkably perfect and attractive. Unusual with all-white rim and dark wood, which is ring-porous hardwood. 6 by 6 cm mirror-polished face; 9.5 cm long; one pound and twelve ounces. $1200
32. Sweet Home. Perfect full round log with one natural end and one cut and polished end. Essentially flawless. The design and colors on the polished face are pure art. Stunning sculpted-looking exterior. Mineralization like fine bone China. Figures on page 96 of Petrified Wood. 6.5 by 8 cm mirror-polished face; 15 cm long; three pounds and ten ounces. $2000
33. Sweet Home. Oligocene to Miocene. Perfect full round log with one natural end and one cut and polished end. Essentially flawless, inside and out. The visual quality of solid ivory but as hard as an amethyst. Attractive, loggy exterior. Mineralization is like fine bone China. Fine-grained, diffuse-porous hardwood with ceramic-like mineralization. Perfection-wise: one in many thousands. 9 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 15 cm long; five pounds. $4000
CLICK Oregon, page 3