Quarry Treks - dense foliage...

Kevin Malone stopped by for a visit so I took him to:

1 - The Abandoned Feldspar Quarries

just off Raymond Road in South Glastonbury

Found the perfect spot for playing the flute :-)

Lichen on the Moss 
(reminded my of my model railroading days -
lichen like this was used for trees!)

and then onto...

2 - QuarryView in Portland, CT

it was fabulous!

Meeting True Rockhounds...

There was a short window of nice sunny weather so I returned to the South Glastonbury/Portland quarries with my friend Mike who was anxious to visit them.

Behind Raymond Road

That's an old carriage road behind me

Mike by one of the many quarries in the area

Wiarda/Simpson Quarries

After I gave Mike a tour of the large quarry remnants east of Raymond Road, I took him down to the Wiarda/Simpson Quarries where we encountered a few true rockhounds digging for interesting mineral specimens. They were gracious enough to allow me to take a few photos of some of their findings...

Yep that's Beryll!

Mica 

A good example of Feldspar 
(both beige/pink and white)

We had a great conversation with them re all the minerals present in this quarry as well as a bit about the local history. Truth be told... they had so much info to offer my mind was blown!! It was amazing how much they knew and how easy-going they were when I kept pummeling them with questions!

The Hale House Ruins

Finally when my brain couldn't handle anymore fascinating rock hound info, I showed Mike the ruins of the old Hale House which I had explored before.

This tree burl caught my eye - it looks just like a wizened face doesn't it?

More Quarry Findings

Back in October 2021 I tried to retrace the abandoned portion Old Dayton Road. Crazy Wandering! I returned today with my friend Al to try to locate the abandoned feldspar mine off to the west of the road remnants. Research said there were "orange ribbon trail markers on tree limbs marking a rough path to the Simpson quarry. Even with the trail markers it is rough bushwhacking, along a general bearing of 280º, to get to the overgrown quarry dumps." Well fortunately being wintertime, a barely discernible trail leading to the old quarry was located and we found it!

Simpson Quarry (Wiarda Quarry)

It was more extensive then I thought and the dumps (tailings) were huge.

Dump Area

Rock Close-ups
There were quite a few spots where mica and/or quartz were glistening in the sun

Mica shines!

Quartz

Typical pegmatite rock samples
(note mix of feldspar, mica, quartz, etc.)

-Short Video-

Other Nearby Quarries

I took Al to the pipeline trail off Dayton Road and showed him some of the quarries I had visited previously I'm not a rock hound but.... The weather was sunny and warm - a great. day for a hike!

Off to the left on the descent

Ah yes - the main set of quarries along the carriage road

Al Tinti in front of Quarry #!

Sniffing out the other Dayton Road Quarries

I went back to Dayton Road today for a quick hike and exploration of additional quarries. They are so easy to see in the winter!

Quarry A

Quarry B

Remnants of the old carriage road?

Methinks this is probably a "prospect" and not a actual quarry

Revisiting the Felspar Quarries

I am writing an article for the local regional newspaper on the history of the feldspar quarries and mills in the area so I thought I'd get some better photos in the winter when there isn't any foliage to obscure things.

It was a cold day and--as I remember--a really steep slope to get to the nearby quarries from Raymond Road but I wore my crampons and had no problem!

that's some of the quarry rock dump

the old carriage road

quarry #1

the main rock dump and its retaining wall

quarry #2 - panorama

heading further north to quarry #3

quarry #3

close up below

see the drill marks for the dynamite?

the carriage road continues north
it was made from rocks blasted from the quarries

It was cold but nevertheless, I couldn't resist taking a couple of "sunshine" shots

Another abandoned quarry nearby...

The pipeline trail - see my Prius way in the distance?

Rock Samples

I picked up a few rocks on the carriage road. Note the two on the left are typical feldspar containing shiny mica and bits of quartz, the rock on the right is solid quartz.