DEMING — Don Smith likes shiny things. Crystals, druzy quartz, geodes. That’s why he joined the Everett Rock and Gem Club.
“My daughter told me I’m just like a bird,” Smith said. “Anything shiny I always pick up.”
Last month, Smith sat shotgun in a minivan full of fellow rockhounds, the trunk packed with pickaxes.
The rocky banks of the Nooksack River waited for them. Jon Elmgren kept his eyes on the road, winding through rural Deming, past goats grazing under the sun.
He explained how he got into stones in the first place. He was 6 years old when his dad brought home a shoebox full of them. Now he’s the president of the club. He brings treasures to his day job so fellow bus drivers can carry the lucky charms on their routes.
Jon Elmgren holds an unsuspecting rock that contains olivine, a mineral that is uncommon through