By Steven Wade Veatch
The Deepest Secrets of the Earth
They say that a person
starts writing to record history, but they keep writing because they’ve become
a part of it. I still remember the physical toll and the sudden, breathless
reward of a specific dig in the Colorado dirt: my rock-hounding partner and I
had excavated eighteen feet down, a vertical journey through layers of time.
Then, we found it.
Reaching into a fresh rock pocket, my fingers brushed against the cool, sharp faces of blue, blocky amazonite and smoky quartz crystals. The amazonite crystals were stunning. We found over 100 specimens; several amazonite clusters could cover a dinner plate. Some of the smoky quartz crystals were long, elegant scepters; others were stubby crystals larger than an apple. In that moment, I set aside the heavy metal tools for the delicate touch of wooden chopsticks or a small branch, gently coaxing these treasures from their dark berths.
Breaking into a pocket at the Red Elephant. A blocky cluster of amazonite crystals is being held in place by tree roots. Photo date 1997 by S. W. Veatch.
That tactile connection to the Earth is part of the reason I have spent the last thirty-eight years writing for the Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society (CSMS) newsletter. For me, writing isn’t just about documenting minerals, rocks, and fossils; it’s about the human connection—the friends I have made through the CSMS, the field trips I have gone on, and the memories that fill a lifetime.
A
Legacy in the Rock
I write a lot about Cripple Creek. My fascination with the "World’s Greatest Gold Camp" isn't academic—it’s ancestral. When I write about Cripple Creek, I’m not just tracing veins of gold; I’m tracing the footsteps of my own family. Sharing stories of my great-grandfather, who worked at the Elkton mine, allows me to honor the grit it took for him to survive and prosper in the gold-rush atmosphere of the mining district.
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| View of the Elkton mine. My grandfather worked there for over 20 years. Photo courtesy of the Cripple Creek District Museum. CCDM A82-143. |
The same holds true for Boulder
County. Researching my grandfather’s family and their time at the Caribou mine
transformed a cold piece of silver ore into a warm family legacy. Through these
articles, I’ve been able to bridge the gap between the modern collector and the
pioneer miner, reminding our members that every specimen in a display case once
represented a person’s livelihood.
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| Spencer Penrose reshaped Colorado Springs, transforming it into a destination city through landmark projects like the Broadmoor Hotel, the Pikes Peak Highway, and the El Pomar Foundation, leaving a civic and cultural legacy that still defines the region today. Photo form the Collection of S. W. Veatch. |
My writing has taken me back to the stories of my grandfather, who was the personal private secretary for Spencer Penrose. Penrose made his first fortune in the goldfields of Cripple Creek and then his biggest fortune in the copper mines of Utah. My grandfather told me many “insider” stories about Penrose. After Spencer Penrose’s death my grandfather worked for his widow, Julie Penrose, and then for the El Pomar Foundation until his retirement in the 1960s.
From
Dinosaurs to Diamonds
Writing for the CSMS has
granted me a "press pass" to explore the vast geological timeline of
our state. Over nearly four decades, I’ve had the joy of diving into:
- Ancient Life: Documenting the delicate preservation of the Florissant
fossils and the towering giants of the Garden Park dinosaur beds.
- The Mining Frontier: Recording the fascinating and
often rowdy histories of Alma, Buckskin Gulch, Gilman, Victor, and other Colorado
boomtowns.
- Exploring the diamond fields: Finding red garnets, bright green
chromium diopside, and other minerals among diamond-bearing kimberlite
pipes on the Colorado-Wyoming border.
- The Thrill of the Find: Sharing the technical and
visceral excitement of field collecting topaz and amazonite across the
rugged terrains of Park and Teller counties.
The Heart of the Society
While the rocks are the catalyst, the people are the soul. Some of my most rewarding experiences has been working with and being a friend of CSMS members for over 59 years. Recently, I have been writing profiles of past members of the CSMS, individuals who were the stewards of our hobby. By recording their stories, I ensure that their contributions to Colorado rockhounding aren't buried by time. We are a community built on shared wonder, and their stories are just as bright and faceted as the gems they collected.
Why I Keep Digging
People often ask how I
haven't run out of things to say after 38 years of writing for the CSMS Pick
and Pack. The answer is simple: the more you dig, the more you find. Every
article is an excuse to explore a new wonder or unearth a forgotten narrative.
Writing has turned my hobby into a lifelong quest for discovery.
I don’t just write to
fill a page; I write because, like the miners of Cripple Creek or my great-grandfather
at the Caribou mine, I know there is always something precious waiting just
beneath the surface. As long as there are stories left to tell in the shadows
of Pikes Peak, I’ll keep my pen—and my rock hammer—ready.
