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One of the cool things that we were surprised to find moving to this area are a special type of rock locally called Spirit Stones.
Concretions, Spirit Stones, Cook Inlet Concretions, or Fairy Stones as they are called in some parts of the world, are a type of mineral concretions. No one is quite sure how these concretions are formed, though I’ve heard many theories. Update: Scientist figured out how they are formed after I created this post. Decaying organic matter releases chemicals that react with the mineral calcite, and cements together sand and clay to form a hard concretion. Read more in this Forbes article here.
As cool as these stones are, they are pretty rare and not exactly safe to go searching for here.
They are found in the mud flats of the Cook Inlet at low tide, and the mud flats are dangerous. The clay mud is akin to quicksand, and it’s impossible to know if an area is stable before stepping on it. Also, there have been several drowning deaths due to persons getting stuck in the mud and rescue personnel being unable to dig them out before the tide came in. This is the same type of mud that we got our truck stuck in the first time we drove the beach.
Spirit Stones do get pushed up to shore sometimes. Usually you need to go out on the lowest tides to find them. That means tromping through roughly 4 football fields of mud. And making sure to always pay attention to the tide so you can beat it back to shore. The tides here come in so fast it’s possible to actually see them rolling in. Its scary to look up and see there is suddenly water pooled in a low spot between you and shore. Searching for these stones is definitely a two person task for safety.
Personally, I have been stuck up to the top of my hips and had to be helped free.
Kyle was able to slowly work his way over to help get me out. And only one leg at a time! I can see how easy it would be to sink farther if I had panicked. Knowing how dangerous the mud was, I stopped as soon as I sank farther than expected. This prevented me from getting more stuck. Leaning forward to disperse weight (like on thin ice) and crawling also works to get out of sticky situations. Of course, then you end up covered in mud.
Another thing about searching for these, there is no guarantee you will find any. Kyle and I have gone searching and come back empty-handed several times. Most of what we find are these little single bubbles, hence another nickname for these stones – mud bubbles.
Another really cool aspect of these stones it that they polish up really well!
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You are the most dedicated blogger I have ever known!!
Thank you!
Those are some of the coolest rocks I have ever seen. I hope this move continues to be more of an adventure then a trial.