Out My Backdoor at Night

- Embracing The Night And Unveiling Fluorescent Mysteries

Hey beautiful souls! Guess who’s venturing into the dark for another magical escapade? Yep, yours truly! Things have shifted since our last backdoor rendezvous. The grass is donning its green gown, the temperature’s flirting at 85 degrees—way warmer, huh? No annoying wind to ruffle my feathers, and guess what? The moon’s decided to be a team player tonight.

The Master Plan

Picture this: summer vibes, zero wind, and darkness wrapping around like a cozy blanket. Perfect recipe for hunting glowing treasures, don’t you think? Armed with my trusty long-wave flashlight—brighter and with a longer reach—I’m ready to scan large areas without stumbling over the terrain.

Tonight’s mission? Unearthing some color-changing chalcedony. I’m banking on its fluorescent glow to reveal larger, more elusive pieces that play hide-and-seek during the day.

Unlike last time, I’m geared up to collect and carry back substantial specimens. I’ll work my way through the draws toward the western ridge, down the ridge, onto the bluff’s top, and finally descend over the bluff’s edge to navigate the rugged terrain toward the river. With a rucksack full of glowing rocks, I’ll saunter home via an easy, level route along the river.

Embracing the Night

Now, it’s just me, the darkness, and the intermittent, dull purple glow of the ultraviolet lamp. Once my eyes adjust, I can stroll leisurely without extra light, flicking on the lamp only when rocks come into play—preserving my night vision and conserving battery life.

- Looking Back Towards The Only Visible Light. It’s Perfectly Dark

Midway up the plateau, a peculiar sensation creeps in—a feeling of not being alone. I can’t see or hear anything consciously, but this intuition has never led me astray. It not only senses a presence but also points in a direction. A flashlight becomes a reluctant companion, revealing a faint, distant yellow flicker a mile away. Coyote, bobcat, mountain lion, or maybe even a badger if closer than expected? Perhaps deer or antelope farther away?

Flashlight off, I wait in silence. After a while, movement! The flashlight exposes a small group of antelope eyes glinting in the distance as they contour the ridge. They’ll eventually circle behind me.

I hate turning on the flashlight, as it blinds me to the night. But it’s better knowing antelope, not mountain lions or coyotes, are making their rounds. I go dark, stay hushed, and move on. Ten minutes later, my night vision is back on track.

Illuminating the Rocks

Approaching the intriguing slope from last time, a few fluorescent rocks light up. Nighttime has its own share of fascinating finds, with some sporting a curious dull red glow, reminiscent of less weathered specimens I’ve uncovered miles away.

So far, the standout feature? The absence of caliche glow. Unlike the desert, where rocks are bathed in a bright, chalky peach to white-orange glow, everything here is coal black. Even the faintest fluorescent rock stands out like a beacon.

The ridge gifts me palm-sized chalcedony specimens—glowing gems that escape no watchful eye. Not buried but cunningly camouflaged by their weathered appearance.

- Behold, Palm-Sized Chalcedony Under Natural Light And Full Wave

Believe me, those psychedelic hues are even more vibrant in person—these cell phone images don’t do them justice.

The ridge also reveals fist-sized petrified wood and mammoth specimens too large to fit in anything but a cart—a future treasure for someone else.

- Marveling At Petrified Wood Under Natural And Full Wave Light

Bright white, yellow, tan, orange, and brown septarian nodules show up at the crest, flaunting geometric patterns and a mesmerizing glow—a delightful contrast to the splashy chalcedony.

Some septarian nodules aren’t nodules at all—more than four strides long, cemented with calcite. Bagging loose, fist-sized pieces is easy, but larger specimens would demand a heavyweight hammer and some serious cracking.

Calcite crystals are visible, begging for a snapshot.

- Septarian Strutting Its Stuff Under A Flash

- A Septarian’s Elegant Glow Under Long Wave

My night vision’s been flashed away. Time to sit, be safe, and savor the night near the bluff’s edge—I don’t want to end up as the crazy person who fell to their fate carrying a bag of rocks, wandering alone in the dark. LOL

While waiting, I notice these septarian nodules phosphoresce with three colors. The first calcite generation—bright white and fluorescent—glows an intense lemon yellow. A second generation follows with a longer green glow, finishing off with the remaining calcite shining a lasting, dull blue-white. How neat is that?

Crossing the saddle, the first orange-glowing caliche appears. But halfway down the ridge toward the bluff, nothing—not a chip, not a speck. No caliche. Nada!

This area was a prime target for collecting—diverse types, sizes, and ages of rocks exposed by erosion, spread across steep hillsides and ravines.

I anticipated lurking large chalcedony specimens, but no luck. I worked the entire bluff top, and not a single rock glowed—not even a chip left by a paleo-man. But there were other discoveries.

More Nighttime Wonders

A bright aqua scorpion, a familiar face in the desert, makes an early appearance. Ready for summer, just like me.

- Scorpions Showing Off Their Glow

Unlike the scorpion, this pin cushion-type plant is a rare find. Glowing a vivid blue with hues of dark purple, dark blue, azure, aqua, and bright blue-white gracefully blending into each other. The most stunning fluorescent wild plant I’ve come across, outshining any I’ve seen before.

A handful of these beauties graces the butte, and this particular variant is unlike any I’ve encountered. Rare gems, I suspect, at least in Wyoming.

- Behold The Radiant Pin Cushion-Type Desert Plant

With no glowing rocks on the bluff top, there’s no reason to venture into the tricky terrain below. I head back the way I came.

My bag may be light, but these specimens are pure beauty. No point searching for more chalcedony—it’s rarer than rare. Previous treasure hunters probably nabbed most of it. A few centuries’ worth of erosion might expose a few more.

As this slice of summer slips away, another storm looms on the horizon. We still need that essential, drought-breaking snow. Water is life in this desert, and we can’t afford to gamble.

Well past midnight now, but I can still feel the warm breath of summer. Life is good. With more moisture and time, the wildflowers will grace the landscape. And I’ll be back.

Sending you the magic of the night and the promise of blooming wildflowers. ✨

Cheers,
D 🪨🔥