Back from the Field: Our Rockhounding Adventure Through Wyoming & South Dakota

What happens when you pack your gear, water bottles, fluffy cat, love of rocks, and then head off the grid? For us, it meant dirty fingernails, bruises and scrapes, and a whole lot of adventure while soaking in the kind of quiet you can only find where the wild things are.

Ragnar, Supreme Leader of jujujems

We spent 12 days rockhounding in Wyoming, tucked between the Shoshone and Big Horn National Forests, and stretches of the Clarks Fork Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers. After that, we hopped over to western South Dakota for a few final days in the dirt — and came home with stories, treasures, and just a little sunburn.

We weren’t exactly sure what we’d find — but that was part of the fun!

Janet, angling for something sparkly in SoDak

Jim, rockin' at the top in WY

What we did bring back:

✨ A healthy haul of agates, geodes, and selenite 

✨ Several pieces of Wyoming nephrite jade  

✨ A few surprises like fossilized wood and Gryphaea — also known as “devil’s toenails,” which is an ancient oyster with a funky, curved shell

✨ And of course, lots of “what the heck are you?” rocks we’re still happily working to identify!

We will be posting pictures to Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and X as we move along, so stay tuned!

🏞️ Nature, Sweat, and Wonder

The weather blessed us — bright, bluebird skies with temperatures in the upper 80s/90s and a couple over 100. Yes, it was warm (okay, stinking hot), and the terrain wasn’t always forgiving. We worked hard and traversed rocky, steep, and downright dangerous ground, but we enjoyed it all. It was so beautiful everywhere you looked, and the diverse topography was astonishing!

Sprawling and gorgeous Wyoming

Incredible and otherworldly South Dakota

At times, it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere — mostly because we were ...

But surrounded by wild beauty, big sky, and the camaraderie of our incredible Wyoming jujujems Team, Karen and Gale, we never felt alone. We shared so many laughs, moments of awe, and quiet hours alongside running rivers, sprawling land, and mountains — mostly with no one else in sight except pronghorns and mountain goats in the distance.

Gale and Karen, on the hunt in WY

🔎 What Happens Next?

Now that we’re back, the real work begins:

• Cleaning and identifying 

• Cutting geodes and rocks 

• Slicing and polishing 

• And figuring out which pieces might one day make their way to the shop

  
  

  

  The haul!

It’ll take a little time, but these raw discoveries will slowly begin to show up online — some as-is, others transformed into polished slices or giftable gems. Until then, we just wanted to share a peek behind the scenes and let you know we’re back at jujujems HQ (and still brushing the dust off our boots and … other places).

Stay tuned — and stay sparkly!

— The jujujems Team