These stones were a gift from Kingsnake. He brought them to me from a trip to Long Island earlier this year. Thanks Kingsnake!

A small brass bowl filled with tiny treasures collected from Dauphin Island. Shells, stones and bits of pottery all wash up on the bay side of the island. These sand dollars are 1/2 to one inch in diameter.

A Missouri river stone resting on the front porch of a friends home. Cool and inviting to my foot on a hot day.

small white stones, about dime to quarter size

Or rather COLLECTING stones in Greece. On Vatera Beach, the sand is tan and highly colored by finely ground volcanic matter, making it all spreckled. It is the only beach I saw that was stone covered. They were pebble to hand sized and beautiful. Pure white, black, amazing greens, purples, and some pinks; all shiny even when dry. I collected and hauled back to our hotel room buckets of the beauties. To look at and lust after…. after all, every girl likes rocks, right? Especially on an exotic vacation! Sooo after a lot of thought and repacking of the suitcase AND realizing how early in the whole vacation scheme it was…. aka, how much longer I had to drag my already over burdened suitcase (2 1/2 weeks), I had to get creative.

Viola! “Stone art”. I artfully arranged my pretty gems in numerous patterns on the table on the balcony. The camera had fine telephoto ability and in spite of the fact that I didn’t take shadows into consideration, many of the shots turned out great. Good enough to allow me to replace the stones back on the ocean and keep them as memories.

I hope you enjoy looking at them as much as I did. The small baggy of thumb size and smaller that I did bring home are on my desk at work, being shared and given away to all who come in.

For more pictures in the Stoned In Greece collection click here .

These stones belonged to my friend Susie. She left this world on June 30, 2007. I became the caregiver of these stones. I don't know the location where they came from.

Journey

Getting there. Four wheel drive isn't usually mandatory but it is wise! Take plenty of drinking water as the dessert sun can be quite intense even in the cool season. Snacks or a picnic lunch will make the day more enjoyable.

The torch.

A great shot of the snake head.

A close up of the goddess.

The labyrinth and the spider.

Another good shot of size.

The snake head.

Notice the mining gear on the right side.

Standing right next to the painting, a view back down.

Another overview.

Notice the mining town under the sun, moon and stars. Chloride was and still is a mining town

Reality check on size.

Taken in the late 80's the color is still rich and bright. That is me and my son in front so you can get an idea of the magnitude of this project.

A distant view.

A close look straight up.

From the top of the hill across the wash.

A good overall view.

http://www.chloridearizona.com/

http://www.desertusa.com/chloride/du_chloride.html

http://www.chlorideaz.com/