18. 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.
19. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Hardwood. Elm. Interesting naturally-formed specimen round that represents a small portion of the original tree, as if it flaked off the log. Top display of HooDoo mineralization. No fractures. No filler/No glue. 70 by 17 mm mirror polished face and 8.5 cm long; five ounces.
- 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. No filler/No glue. 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.
21. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Hardwood. Specimen round with one cut and polished face. Perfect little attractive, unusual, and interesting specimen. No fractures. No filler/No glue. 6 by 5 cm mirror polished face; 12.5 cm long; ten ounces.
22. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Natural, as found, specimen round. No fractures. No filler/No glue. 10 cm long; 9 cm wide; 4 cm thick; one pound.
23. HooDoo Basin, Malheur County. Succor Creek Formation. Miocene. Stunning ring-porous hardwood. Full round slice. No fractures. No filler/No glue. 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.
24. 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.
25. Brogan. Malheur County, Tertiary. Precious opal log of Brogan ghost wood. Brogan is a small town in northern Malheur, County. [Need to check age – likely Miocene]. Full round log end, cut and polished on one end and natural on the other. I have never seen a Brogan specimen this great. I got it in the 90s on a visit to Dennis Murphy in Tigard. Technically of course it isn’t precious opal because it doesn’t display the color sheen, but it’s opalized wood in such a rare, perfect, and beautiful form, that it is certainly precious. 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.
Note on Brogan: Brogan wood that is attractive as a wood specimen is as scarce as hens’ teeth. Most is badly fractured.
26. Brogan. Malheur County, Tertiary. Precious opal log of Brogan ghost wood. Brogan is a small town in northern Malheur, County. Full round log section, cut on both ends and polished on one. Another Brogan marvel. I probably got this from Joe Cota based on the angle of the cut. Technically of course it isn’t precious opal because it doesn’t display the color sheen, but it’s opalized wood in such a rare, perfect, and beautiful form, that it is certainly precious. The color in this one is in a class of its own. I realize I repeated that. 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.
27. 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.
28. Grassy Mountain. Small, jewelry grade limb section with fantastic translucent colorful mineralization. Keep in mind that the mineral is the same as amethyst – just in a far different and rarer beautiful color. No glue or filler. 16 by 22 mm mirror-polished face; 60 mm long; 1.5 ounces.
29. Grassy Mountain. Full round log with extra bright colors. Rugged red/tan patina on full exterior – several knots Cut and polished on both ends. Larger face is 6.5 by 8.5 cm and smaller face measures 6 by 6.5 cm; 7.5 cm tall; two pounds and two ounces.
30. 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. No glue or filler. 9 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 8.5 cm thick; three pounds and seven ounces.
31. Stinkingwater Creek, Harney County. Miocene. Rarely encountered small, diffuse-porous hardwood log from the Stinkingwater Creek area. (collected by and location confirmed by TR, Salem). Deep red-brown patina and overall excellent. 8 by 6 cm mirror-polished face; 9 cm thick; one pound and eleven ounces.
32. 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. No fillers or glue. 12.5 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 14 mm thick (nice and thick like they cut them in the old days); eleven ounces.
33. Sweet Home. Oligocene to Miocene. Perfect full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. I bought this as a whole log and made one cut. I sold the larger portion which appears in Ancient Forests. 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. No glue or filler. 7 by 7.5 cm mirror-polished face; 5 cm long; one pound and one ounce.
34. 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. No glue or filler. 7 by 7 cm mirror-polished face; 6 cm long; one pound and two ounces.
35. 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. No glue or filler. 7.5 by 8 cm mirror-polished face; 6 cm tall; one pound and five ounces.
36. Ring-porous hardwood (similar to #35). Probably Sweet Home. Full round log end with one natural end and one cut and polished end. No glue or filler. 5 by 5.5 cm mirror-polished face; 3 cm tall; eight ounces.
37. 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. No glue or fillers. 6 by 6 cm mirror-polished face; 9.5 cm long; one pound and twelve ounces.
38. 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. No glue or fillers. Polished end figures on page 96 of Petrified Wood. 6.5 by 8 cm mirror-polished face; 15 cm long; three pounds and ten ounces.
39. 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. Neither glue nor filler. 9 by 10 cm mirror-polished face; 15 cm long; five pounds.
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