rock hound

As a full-time rock hound for more than a decade, Major has seen the culture go through something of a crystal craze.

“If you’re looking for crystals, Arkansas is the best in the world,” says Bryan Major, 43, a self-described rock hound from Wilmington, N.C., who spends much of the year traveling the country digging for minerals, gems and crystals.

As a boy, I was a rock hound, and I learned how to identify minerals with the Mohs hardness test, named after the mineralogist who invented it.

“I like to fish; Kathy likes to rock hound,” said Tom, 69, on a recent spring morning in the living room of the ranch house where they still live, surrounded by 250 heads of Black Angus and about 40 cats.

“It does make stuff grow like crazy,” said Nikki Roberts of Rock Hound garden and landscape supply, along Highway 41 and Poleline Road in Post Falls.