Young, long hair, the same rocks as me but even more enthusiasm, if you can believe it...
He's got a couple of claims down south, Ymir, Castlegar way, and has collected a pile of specimens. He's trying to sell them off, I don't need more rocks, not these at least, the same as I have, but he's showing me and talking and all excited that he's got a customer - I spotted his sign on a street corner, "Nelson Rocks", curiosity compelled me, nice to meet a kindred spirit...
He's got the loose specimens, and then some jewelry that he's made, pictures below:
Samples of "Sugar Quartz" - deposited on the mine walls since closing (left), ore samples on right.
Jewelry he'd made, quartz crystals in crudely carved wood settings, sample boards of his minerals.
I buy a couple of pieces of jewelry, I need none of this, but it's nice to meet someone arguably more successful on the same path as me. I ask if he's any other cherished specimens, a great specimen, he runs inside and comes out dragging a 20 gallon pail filled with 60 lbs of rocks, ore, I look through them, bad samples of tourmaline, ore, bad crystals, but, hey, it's the same stuff I got and clearly he values it as much...