The Collector: She’s been digging hobby for decades - Carol Boisjolie has interesting array of rocks

Carol Boisjolie has traveled a rocky road and she wouldn’t have it any other way.

As a teenager, she was introduced to rock collecting through a babysitting job.

“The family traveled to Oregon to dig holes in the ground,” she said. “I watched their boys while they dug for rocks.”

A short time later, her then-boyfriend gave her an agate necklace.

“I still have it,” she said.

But she didn’t begin her collection until she and her husband, Robert, bought a lake cabin on the Spokane River near Porcupine Bay in the early 1980s.

“We had a boat and we traveled up and down the river, and I’d pick up a rock here and there,” Boisjolie said. “Mother Nature is very generous.”

From the Spokane River to Idaho, Montana, Arizona and points in between, she gathered the stones that caught her eye

.

“The rule was if I could lift it, I could have it,” she said.

Rocks became foundational to her home and yard.

“We fronted our house with lava rock when we remodeled in 1985.”

In addition, two rock gardens grace the front of their house in northwest Spokane. She pointed out a large chunk of obsidian with a glossy black sheen in one of the gardens.

“I bought that one,” Boisjolie said. “I think obsidian is one of the most interesting rocks. It’s rare, you don’t just find it out in the wilderness.”

The landscaping along one side of their home is lined with cobblestones from the streets of Spokane.

“They came from an old outdoor fireplace that was here when we bought the house 58 years ago,” she said.

Their backyard features a quartz garden filled with peach, white and rose quartz, some of which belonged to her mother.

“It’s a way to keep my mom’s memory,” she said.

She also created a sparkling geode garden in one corner. Geodes are spherical rocks that contain hollow cavities lined with crystals. Bright winks of color catch the eye when the sun plays across the geodes.

“The colors just depend on what Mother Nature wants to put together,” she said.

A low rock wall against an outbuilding became another rock garden.

Boisjolie pointed to several flowering plants.

“I didn’t plant those. They just showed up!”

Pots filled with rocks and petrified wood line their back porch. Inside the home, smaller rocks and gemstones fill jars and containers.

There are opals found during a dune buggy trip to Idaho and lots of garnets discovered on visits to the Gem State.

“We found amethysts in Idaho, too,” Boisjolie said. “And sapphires in Montana, and turquoise in an old mine in Arizona.”

She and Robert have panned for gold many times and belong to the Gold Prospectors Association of America, but they’ve yet to find a sizable gold nugget.

“So, I bought some at a pawn shop for his birthday,” she said.

Her knowledge of rocks grew when she worked for the Northwest Mining Association.

“For eight years I provided educational material for schools,” Boisjolie said.

Despite the thrill of finding glittering gemstones, she said her collection has never been for a monetary purpose.

“It’s just the enjoyment of it. Rocks are interesting and decorative and they serve a purpose. Plus, you get a lot of exercise!”

The couple enjoys geocaching and has logged 6,000 finds, but Boisjolie laughed.

“While everyone else is watching their phones looking for the cache, I’m watching the ground looking for rocks.”

That said, she insisted she doesn’t collect much anymore.

“Well, I did just get some at Waitts Lake last week,” she said. “The true joy is discovering the way Mother Nature has evolved over the years. It’s just an adventure!”