Cenizo Journal Winter 2022 | Page 8

Even small finds are exciting on the o6 .

Cut-agates : The agates are arguably more beautiful once they ’ ve been sawed open and polished . by Aaron Thomas These two examples are from the o6 .
Continued from page 5 .
As the family wrestles with how to carry the cattle business forward in increasingly difficult times , James has found solace in soaking up the ranch ’ s wilder corners . Little pieces of it — a shaded canyon that leads to a spring-fed pond — have remained off limits to cattle grazing and offer glimpses of pristine habitat . “ I appreciate being able to see these special places ,” James softly noted .
He happily shares his passion for exploration and has hosted some of Texas ’ s top botanists in search of rare plants and new data for the academic canon . He has even co-authored articles published in the scientific literature .
His curiosity has driven him to learn about the geology of the land and he continues to drop in on science classes at Sul Ross . Additionally , James has hosted classes in both agrostology ( the study of grasses ) and geology on the ranch .
The Trans Pecos Magmatic Province , the geologic context in which the ranch resides , is known for producing beautiful agates in pockets here and there . Agate is a translucent to transparent microcrystalline quartz ( think : chalcedony ), imbued with stripes , colorful banding , plumes , and other

8

Cenizo Winter 2022 variegation . It forms over millions of years in the rich quartz slurry of volcanically active regions . Volcanic activity in the Trans Pecos began during the Eocene epoch , many , many millions of years ago . Different varieties of agate are found in clusters from Terlingua to Balmorhea . Marfa is known for blue and bouquet agates . Areas near Alpine have red plume , crayon , and peanut agate , among some of the colloquially named types . The catch is that the agates are exclusively found on private land . Some ranches have opened to the public over the years , allowing limited paid hunts , but the Kokernot o6 never branched out in that direction . Management was focused on more traditional cattle and hunting operations . “ They ’ ve stepped over the rocks for years ,” James noted . Until recently . In 2019 , James connected with geologist Aaron Thomas , who had moved to Alpine with his family to open the Tri-Lo-Bite food truck as a reprieve from the oil patch .
Aaron had been rockhounding in West Texas for decades and cultivated a knack for mapping his way to sites rich in agates . He amassed a huge collection of cut and polished show pieces in his private rock shop , many of which can be seen on his
Facebook group page Texas Rockhounds .
Aaron is the kind of rockhound with an insatiable excitement for finding and sharing pretty rocks . Part of the fun for him is making sure others are also having fun as they experience the wonders of the natural world . Upon relocating to Alpine , he began helping guide rock hunts on lands where he had access . James welcomed Aaron ’ s insight to the o6 , and together they , along with rockhound cohort Roy Saffel , set out to find the most promising locations for agate deposits on the Kokernot .
Their search was not in vain , as they discovered site after site of agate . Some places have scattered nodules , or “ biscuits ”— another locally coined term — littering the ground . Other sites invite rockhounds to dig in with rock hammers to investigate what lies beneath the surface .
The trio struck a complimentary chord , and a new business venture was soon formed : Take-A-Hike , a team of West Texas professional outdoor guides who lead hikes and rock hunts on the o6 .
It launched the summer of 2020 , and despite being in the throes of a pandemic , the idea took off faster than a buck in deer season . Daylong outings saw groups of up to