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It was almost time for another rock trip.
When the people came to the edge of the mountains just after the rainy season, she would take two or three of the strongest men or women and go up into the mountains to gather rocks for the rest of the year.
Small ones for decoration and as rattles for musical instruments. Mid-size ones for tools and work surfaces. Big ones for anchoring tents in the wind. Every few years, she would arrange for a large rock to be carried back by two people. It was a lot of person power to devote to one rock. These would be the ones left at the stopping points to be used the next time the people passed that way.
She knew them all. The tiny. The large. The pretty ones. The plain ones. Which rocks would last. Which would shatter along the appropriate fault lines to make smaller, more useful rocks.
She had all that knowledge in her head. What she didn’t have was an apprentice to transmit that knowledge to.
It was easy enough to get people to go once, particularly young folks who were willing to look at it as an adventure. It was good for them to see the mountains and the rivers. To live briefly in other environments. It helped them understand what the desert demanded of the people, and what it gave to them.
It was difficult to get folks to go a second time. It was a rough trip. Lots of walking, lots of carrying, all of the people were used to that. But this was walking up and down hills on hard terrain. That was tough on feet and legs unused to those conditions. She was not in any better shape for the march, but the rocks drew her, as they did not draw the others.
The hardest part of the trip was that every pound carried for food or clothing or shelter meant fewer rocks carried back. It was a lean trip. Again, she didn’t mind if it meant more rocks. Not everyone felt the same.
She found rocks fascinating. She knew the capacity and purposes for each type. The rest of the people were happy to use the rocks and let her get on with keeping track of them.
She had hopes for the new girl. Although a bit young to be coming out on a rock gathering trip, she’d been hanging around asking questions. Maybe seeing where the rocks came from would inspire a lifelong interest. She hoped so. She really needed to get started training an apprentice.
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Afterword
Rocks of the outside world. “Alabama’s mineral diversity relates to the rock types found in the state.” Encyclopedia of Alabama: Minerals of Alabama.
Rocks from the revetment of the Black Warrior River
October 2026
Although the rocks in this photo are being used for a structural purpose, the idea of contained rocks gave me the idea of rocks being valuable.
Onwards!
Katherine
