Best place to find free river rocks in Austin? (store, beach)

[justanothercalifornian]

good grief. be nice people! I highly doubt this person is is out to steal bucket loads of river rocks.

[SacalaitWhisperer]

Heh, a rock hugger thread.

[critterface]

Hey party pooping rock protectors: So, the ones at Lowes and Homedepot that you can buy, you think someone made those? Where do you think those came from? How is that better than just taking a few from remote locations during a trip to the river. The only difference is that when you buy from the hardware store, you pay for the gas used to transport the rocks, the middle man and for it to likely come from another state helping pay for huge excavations of rocks from likely concentrated locations, which most definitely has a larger impact on the environment than a few souvenir rocks carried off by individuals without dump trucks.

[Komeht]

Originally Posted by critterface

Hey party pooping rock protectors: So, the ones at Lowes and Homedepot that you can buy, you think someone made those? Where do you think those came from? How is that better than just taking a few from remote locations during a trip to the river. The only difference is that when you buy from the hardware store, you pay for the gas used to transport the rocks, the middle man and for it to likely come from another state helping pay for huge excavations of rocks from likely concentrated locations, which most definitely has a larger impact on the environment than a few souvenir rocks carried off by individuals without dump trucks.

This is an old thread but kind of amusing how people get their panties in a wad over a few stones. Truth is the guy can't even find those around here for free - so everyone can relax. Those are Mexican Beach pebbles and they're beautiful and kinda pricey. I know I've been eyeing my neighbor's...maybe if I take just a few at a time he won't notices...I digress. As for the river gravel around here you can get it cheap at almost any landscaping materials supply place and they'll take the trouble to deliver it for you ...and since that stuff is heavy, well worth it.

[critterface]

My neighbor just stole a native rock out of my yard (I just moved here a couple months ago) and they think I didn't notice. They put it in their side yard in plane view (geniuses). So that's maybe too awkward to call them out on it...so I am looking to replace it and maybe add one or two more of similar size (9"x12" white pitted limestone). This is how I found this ancient thread.

I collect fossils all the time from local hill country rivers and use them in my garden from rivers/creeks where no one ever goes that are littered with trash. Walnut creek is a great place to find all sorts of rocks (not the park area-other areas like under overpasses and such). Its pretty riddled with trash so I doubt taking rocks from there will limit anyone's ability to appreciate the trash dams that have formed throughout the dried up creek or the random sewer caps that pop up in the middle of the creek that the city so thoughtfully placed. Oh and also, it stinks so prepare yourself...oh and some of those overpasses have homeless tents under them so don't let that scare you either. Oh the beauty!

[TexasHorseLady]

Originally Posted by critterface

My neighbor just stole a native rock out of my yard (I just moved here a couple months ago) and they think I didn't notice. They put it in their side yard in plane view (geniuses). So that's maybe too awkward to call them out on it...so I am looking to replace it and maybe add one or two more of similar size (9"x12" white pitted limestone). This is how I found this ancient thread.

I collect fossils all the time from local hill country rivers and use them in my garden from rivers/creeks where no one ever goes that are littered with trash. Walnut creek is a great place to find all sorts of rocks (not the park area-other areas like under overpasses and such). Its pretty riddled with trash so I doubt taking rocks from there will limit anyone's ability to appreciate the trash dams that have formed throughout the dried up creek or the random sewer caps that pop up in the middle of the creek that the city so thoughtfully placed. Oh and also, it stinks so prepare yourself...oh and some of those overpasses have homeless tents under them so don't let that scare you either. Oh the beauty!

Does anyone else see the internal inconsistency here? What, it's naturally occurring trash?

Also, if your neighbors stole your rock after you moved in, and you can see it, just go take it back. What are they going to do, say you stole the rock they stole?

[critterface]

I do actually pick up trash whenever I see it on the ground, as much as I can carry anyway. To this day I have never seen one person in Austin parks pick up trash if they see it on the ground or in a creek, they just walk by it and I come up behind them and pick it up. My point was, if you want to find some rocks and not have people get pissed that you are supposedly destroying natural habitat that the city of austin takes a dump on every day, you can go behind the scenes in walnut creek and find a few. I never said trash was naturally occurring, so I don't get your point. Im not using the evidence of trash to justify taking rocks, just as an indicator that no one gives a 'dam' in those areas - pun intended. If you see trash you should pick it up. I'm amazed by the beauty of the creeks around Austin and amazed by how poorly they are maintained by the city and the parks services when you venture beyond the popular public areas. Its really sad.

[EzPeterson]

The OP was seemingly referring to bulk quantities of river rock. As for the naturally occurring limestone, construction sites are awesome for scavanging these. I've had very good luck just asking the building superintendent, they've all just pointed at their slag piles and said "have fun". A few minutes of digging around and I've found some real nice ones.

[Trainwreck20]

no one ever goes that are littered with trash.

"Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded" - Yogi Berra

[Rwsample]

Gee whiz. I never thought picking up a few rocks or shells from the beach or river was a crime. I think it fun looking for them and like to paint them. I like to find a handful not a truck load. I realize that if everyone did it there wouldn't be any left, but is everyone doing it? I've bought rocks in the store but would really love to be able to find some on my own. When coworkers go on vacation, I ask them to bring me two stones. I'll paint one for them and one for me. I have a small collection from all over. Is that really horrible of me?