Michigan Rocks
Explore Michigan’s rocky beaches, then learn to polish your finds and make beautiful things from them.
Hi, I'm Rob. Most of my rock hunts are on remote and peaceful Great Lakes beaches. I’d love to have you tag along. We’ll tumble rocks, slab them, make jewelry, and do other creative projects together. You can expect more outdoor videos during the spring, summer, and fall and more indoor shop videos during the long Michigan winters.
I have been learning about rocks and how to polish them for over a dozen years. I’m a retired middle school math teacher, and now I’m doing my best to teach others what I know about working with rocks. I have several tutorials on how to use a rock tumbler as well as videos on other lapidary topics.
I am not a geologist, so I'll identify rocks I recognize and admit when I don't know what something is. There is a lot I don't know, so I hope to learn from my viewers too. I think we have a pretty good community growing here. I hope you’ll join us.
Michigan Rocks
If you’ve been thinking about buying some lapidary equipment, this is the time to do it. Highland Park Lapidary has everything on their site on sale for 10% off, with the exception of rough rocks, but I have a discount code that will save you 10% on those too! If you use my link, it will help me out since I earn a commission on sales, and it doesn’t cost you any extra. Thanks!
hplapidary.com/?ref=ROBERTABRAM
Discount code: MICHIGANROCKS
3 weeks ago (edited) | [YT] | 285
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Michigan Rocks
Nancy’s third novel is out! The third book in the Ava Castillo detective series might be my favorite yet. It’s hard to say because I have loved them all. It’s available on all the major digital platforms and also as a paperback at Amazon. If you haven’t started reading Nancy’s novels yet, what are you waiting for? books2read.com/fadedspotlight
3 weeks ago | [YT] | 822
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Michigan Rocks
I finally did it. I opened an Etsy shop. There’s not too much there yet, and we’re still figuring out how it all works. Nancy is doing a lot of the work, making all the listings and doing the shipping. My part is making the products and taking pictures of them. Go check it out and let us know what you think. michiganrocksbyrob.etsy.com/
Also this coming Saturday, October 4, Nancy and I will be at the Besser Museum in Alpena for Fall Festival. I won’t be selling any rocks there, but I’ll bring a few things to display. www.bessermuseum.org/upcoming-events
1 month ago | [YT] | 2,541
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Michigan Rocks
I’m going to be at Besser Museum’s Fall Fest in Alpena on October 4. I won’t be selling anything, but I’ll bring along a few polished rocks that you can take a look at. There is also a fossil park there where you can dig your own fossils to take home with you. It would be fun to meet you, so stop by and say hello to Nancy and me.
www.bessermuseum.org/_files/ugd/d86841_c6383b3c85d…
2 months ago | [YT] | 177
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Michigan Rocks
You might have noticed that I haven't been very good at responding to comments here lately. Last night, Sam and I got home from a nine day camping trip in Canada and Minnesota. We drove all the way around Lake Superior, but didn't stop at any Michigan beaches since we have been to most of those already. Because of this, I'm way behind on responding to comments. I just got the very long grass mowed, so now I'm starting on those.
I have hours and hours of editing ahead of me. The first video will be coming out this Friday with other videos coming out each week. We had an excellent trip and saw lots of great rocks. I think you're going to like these videos.
4 months ago | [YT] | 985
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Michigan Rocks
Big news! My wife Nancy has been very busy writing not one, but two novels, Slinging Bullets and Trial by Bullet. They are being released today on Apple and Amazon and we would be very thankful if you read them. Nancy intended for them to be digital books, but Amazon will print a copy on demand if you prefer a physical copy. If you enjoy the book, please leave a review and tell your friends. If you don’t enjoy it, there’s no need to tell anyone!
Apple: books.apple.com/us/book/slinging-bullets/id6747844…
Amazon: a.co/d/3TerOHB
4 months ago | [YT] | 1,058
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Michigan Rocks
The Thunder Bay Island Lighthouse Preservation Society will be selling some Petoskey stones that I polished at the Alpena Farmer's Market this Saturday, July 5th. Some Petoskey stone pendants that Sam made will be available at his family's stand. His profits will go toward his college education. Neither Sam nor I will be there, but if you happen to be in town and would like to buy some Petoskey stones that would be a good place to do it.
4 months ago | [YT] | 471
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Michigan Rocks
I went out rock hunting recently with Craig the Geologist. My video of this day will be out Friday, but in the meantime, check out Craig's video. He has some great drone shots plus some geology lessons that I think you'll enjoy.
5 months ago | [YT] | 98
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Michigan Rocks
I posted a video of tumbling this rock that has gotten a lot of discussion about what it is. I found it at Vermillion Point on Lake Superior in Michigan's eastern U.P. My guess (I'm not a geologist) was tourmaline (schorl) in either quartz or quartzite. A lot of people have commented that is instead rutile or dendrites.
Based on my amateur understanding, rutile and schorl are both minerals. Dendrites are a crystal shape, not a mineral. I read that both rutile and schorl can form dendrites, so it could be both schorl and a dendrite. But to me, these don't look like dendrites at all because they're not shaped like fractals or little trees or plants.
As far as quartz vs. quartzite, I can't see the little grains that should be visible in quartzite. Quartzite is metamorphosed sandstone, but I don't see that here. I'm not very sure of myself on this point though.
What do you think? Also, if you have any actual training as a geologist, it would be helpful to mention your credentials.
Here's the video: youtube.com/shorts/cwqjKBAMDVw
9 months ago (edited) | [YT] | 528
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Michigan Rocks
I've been wondering something for a long time. I make basically two types of videos: outdoor rock hunting videos and indoor shop videos. Do you watch primarily one or the other or do you watch both? I ask this because I want to keep improving this channel. Feel free to give me other suggestion in the comments. Don't be afraid to respond to each other's comments too. I'd love to see a good discussion. Thanks for your help!
10 months ago | [YT] | 534
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