Rocks are cool and all, but I'll be honest: I wasn't losing sleep thinking about them until I started following Alison Jean Cole's Instagram account. Cole's enthusiasm for rocks brings up all sorts of questions. What is a thunderegg, really? And have I missed my calling? Should I have been a professional rockhounder, traversing the orangey badlands and desert canyons wearing a wide-brimmed hat and a bolo tie?? I am still wondering these things, and maybe you are, too. If so, head to the Oregon Natural Desert Association’s last 2024 High Desert Series talk in Portland, where Cole will chat about obsidian, jasper, opal, petrified wood, and other treasures of the Oregon desert. (I also recommend grabbing Cole's new book, Beautiful Rocks and How to Find Them, which covers all things rockhounding.)