Hello, I am John.
I am the average rockhound in that I will and often do, search to the end of the earth for a mineral specimen. However, I am one of the few that will divulge the tricks of this mysterious trade as I know them.
I like to influence people to go out and hunt for rocks because I think if you tried to simply explain the sense of adventure, surprise, and jubilation involved in searching for and finding a specific mineral specimen, a large percentage of people would cock their head at you, confused. The only way to understand is to go searching for yourself.
I’ve been collecting rocks ever since I was a small child. I grew up in Slovakia, a beautiful, small country that catches the eastern corner of the Alps. Back then I’d bring rocks home from hikes in the mountains with my family. Now I am 31 and have gone rockhounding in Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Iran, and all around the USA.
I’ve spent 3 summers in Minnesota, New York, New Jersey, and Florida, and I look fondly at the finds from those areas in my collection. Some of my favorite finds ever are opals in the famous opal mines near Presov, Slovakia, and Czech garnet in Czech Central Mountains.
I am an active member of a Facebook group called ‘Rockhounds‘ where I answer other members’ questions and post articles from time to time.
My Personal Goals
I keep several personal goals for my future aside from the world of rockhounding:
- To be a good husband and father.
- To rockhound in the treasure haven of Oregon.
- And to climb a mountain higher than 5000m.
If you have feedback on the content here or suggestions for articles that you would value, please contact me at john@howtofindrocks.com (I can’t guarantee I’ll respond, as I try to focus all my time on creating more comprehensive content for this website).
Website’s Expert Supervision
Articles published on this website are under the supervision of gemologist experts, passionate rockhounds, and gold prospectors. You can read more about them on this page.
Happy hounding!