This tale is called the prospector鈥檚 lament.

Two newcomers to the north, who thought they might want to go prospecting, sat down with a grizzly old timer, in a bar, possibly the Gold Range bar. They bought him a beer and asked 鈥淲hen is the best time to go prospecting?鈥�

The old timer stroked his beard and said, 鈥淲ell that鈥檚 a tricky one.鈥�

In the winter, it is way too cold to work outside and besides most of the rocks are covered in snow. So, prospecting in winter is really not very productive or much fun. While summer can be way too hot, and you don鈥檛 want to get sunstroke, heat stroke, become dehydrated and have one of them other types of strokes.

Some days it鈥檚 way too windy to take a boat out on the lake or if you are in the bush a tree could blow over and knock you out. Actually, it could kill you, but that doesn鈥檛 happen often. Other days it鈥檚 way too calm and there is no wind to keep the flies away. The flies can literally suck the blood right out of you. Mosquitoes, black flies, bull dogs, no see ums, deer flies, moose flies and some flies that ain鈥檛 even been named yet.

If it鈥檚 raining, the rocks are incredibly slippery. If it鈥檚 hot and dry, the fire conditions get extreme and you don鈥檛 want to get caught out in the bush with a forest fire nearby.

Also, if you see signs of bears in the area, you may not want to work there. Unless you are carrying bear spray, pocket flairs an air horn, or if you have a rifle and a bear hunting licence. If you have a licence for bear before you shoot one, it makes things easier.

Yup, there are a lot of hazards to prospecting.

Now that I think about it, there are only three or four days in the year that are really good for prospecting and the question is, do you want to waste them lugging around big heavy packs full of rock samples or would you rather go fishing?

Mind you there is nothing that says you can鈥檛 do both.

The newcomers bought the old-timer another beer and left. Once outside, one of the fellows said to the other one, 鈥淗e has some good points.鈥�

鈥淵ea,鈥� the other said 鈥淲e could just go fishing and do a little prospecting on the side.鈥�

The first replied, 鈥淧rovided, it鈥檚 not too hot, too buggy, too windy or looking like rain.鈥�

There are lots of people who just like good-looking rocks. Often called rockhounds, It鈥檚 a hobby much like bird watching or identifying plants or collecting odd unusual things. Some of my favourite rocks aren鈥檛 valuable, they just look good or interesting: like a rock I found in the Mackenzie Mountains that looks like a piece of cake or a fossil from Norman Wells that reminds me of our geological past.

Rocks have stories to tell if you can read them correctly. Not only is a good-looking rock fun to find but it tells the story of the planet鈥檚 geological past. So now that it鈥檚 summer and the rocks are not covered with snow, it鈥檚 a bit of a hobby to find an interesting-looking rock. You just never know what you may find and before you know it you will have a collection of interesting rocks.

There are many other interesting things you can find in the great outdoors: feathers that birds have molted, old artifacts of human history, interesting plants or you may see a bird or animal you have never seen before. The more you look, the more you see. So, challenge yourself this summer to find something interesting every day. The summers are short so enjoy the great outdoors while you can.