THERMOPOLIS — Rockhounding is a popular Wyoming hobby and rock enthusiasts are allowed to hunt for certain fossils, semi-precious gems and pretty rocks on nearly all the 18 million acres of public land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
These rockhounds collect agates, garnets, petrified wood, diamonds, Wyoming jade, opal, sapphire, quartz and jasper.
“Collecting it is the fun part. Then the work comes in when you come home,” self-taught geologist Eddy Cole said. “That's why people are always trying to sell rocks that aren't cut and polished, because of the time and work it takes.”
For over 50 years, Eddy and his wife, Ava Cole, have been collecting and polishing rocks and fossils. They have spent countless hours in the field and in their workshop, fueled by a passion for learning.
Their discoveries have been featured in museums and universities worldwide and Ava even has a horned dinosaur named after her, the Avaceratops lammersi, which resides at the Upper Musselshell Museum in Montana.
Today, most of their time is spent working on the rocks they have collected and bought from others to sell in their store in Thermopolis, Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop.
First Gold Strike
It all began in 1971 when the couple and their toddler son were panning for gold near Spearfish, South Dakota.
“It was all her fault,” Eddy said. “We were panning up Iron Creek and were getting some specs in our pan. I'm down there just busting this rock out when Ava called me. I went upstream, and here she had a pan that was yellow with gold. That's not an exaggeration. It was yellow with gold.”
“I just took a bunch of roots off the side of the quick and just switched them out full of little gold pieces,” Ava said, smiling.
The couple had been working at Homestake Gold Mine near Lead, South Dakota, but this marked the beginning of their adventure as entrepreneurs with rocks of all kinds.
“We went and researched the land, and it was open, so we filed a claim on it, and we had a mine just like that,” Eddy said.
“We were up there all summer, but made more off the tourists than the gold,” Ava said. “Gold was only $32 an ounce then but there were always the tourists around. We had to go into the hardware store at Spearfish, get some pans and some little bottles. It was $5 and you can get your pan of gold. We’d tell them ‘There's some dirt, get it out of there.’ No one left disappointed.”
The Rocks
The gold strike soon led to another discovery and a new business venture.
“Ava found some rocks in the sluice that were real pretty,” Eddy said. “She started picking them up. She took them to Marge Price who had a rock shop in Deadwood, and Marge told her that she should go out and look for Fairburn Agates.”
The Coles were unaware at the time, but Fairburn Agate are the most coveted of all agates due to their colorful banding and rarity. They are even scarcer today and well-regarded in the rock community.
“We went out and I wasn't into it, looking for rocks with patterns on them,” Eddy admitted. “I went wandering off, and I jumped down off this ledge, and right behind me was a skull of a dinosaur just laying there.”
Cole sold the skull for $20 and started studying geology in earnest.
School Of Life
“We couldn't afford a formal education,” Eddy said. “We did a lot of studying geology in every facet of it. I had a friend that was the curator of Mineralogy for the South Dakota School of Mines, Willard Robert, and he showed me lots of things and told me what to spend my time studying on.”
Now, with over 50 years of studying, Eddy has become a consultant for the mines and universities who seek his expertise.
“Ava has consulted with people who bring in jewelry to get an appraisal,” Eddy said. “That happens quite frequently after 50 years of doing the jewelry.”
Ava and Eddy Cole cut and polish rocks in their workshop in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop is located in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
This Wyoming Jade has been tumbled in the Cole’s rock tumbler and is ready to be fine-polished by Ava Cole for her use in jewelry she sells at Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Eddy Cole is a self-taught geologist respected by universities and others in his field world-wide. Over the last 50 years, he has collected rocks, fossils and dinosaur bones that he has sold to collectors, museums, and universities. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Eddy Cole uses a microscope when he is doing the finer work on polishing rocks. He also repairs watches in his workshop in Thermopolis, Wyoming located behind Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Once the rock is collected, they must be cut and polished. The rocks go through several stations to finish them into a product to sell in their Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop in Thermopolis, Wyoming. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
After tumbling rocks, Ava Cole will put on a final polish on the small rocks to create her unique jewelry. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Ava Cole’s personal lathe that she uses to make her jewelry for Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop in Thermopolis, Wyoming. She said that most people just love to collect the rocks and want to avoid the tedious job of polishing and creating something out of the rocks. (Cowboy State Daily Staff) 
Ava Cole collects, polishes, and turns rocks of all types into pieces of jewelry to sell at Ava’s Silver and Rock Shop. She does not sell her creations on the internet so you must come by in person to buy one of her one-of-a-kind creations. (Cowboy State Daily Staff)
The Art Of Jewelry From Rocks
Ava’s foray into jewelry making happened almost by accident. She had some tiny fossils she was trying to sell and had no buyers.
“I had these little trilobites that were perfect but little, so they were unsellable,” Ava said, “I just glued backings on and they sold. Then this lady out of Utah taught me how to silversmith. She told me to go home and do it. At first, all I'm making was little balls.”
Ava persisted in trying to learn and was hired to make more jewelry while Eddy was out collecting interesting rocks and fossils. Overtime, her experience has expanded into creating small pieces of art from the rocks they have collected and bought.
“I can carve out crosses and other designs,” Ava said, demonstrating one of her many tools in their workshop. “I use a diamond saw and make curves. You can twist it around in there and cut a circle.”
“I do just whatever she can't do and if she needs help,” Eddy said. “She makes the stuff look good. I just repair things.”
Rock Shop
The Coles eventually moved to Thermopolis where Eddy had discovered dinosaur bones on a scouting trip. They have since made mining claims in the region and started selling their rocks and jewelry in their own rock shop.
They have a workshop set up in the back of their store where they spend countless hours cutting and polishing rocks and fossils. Eddy contends that the time they spend perfecting their craft and continuing to learn about rocks and fossils is what sets them apart from other rockhounds.
“For instance, when I polished the big Jade out front, that took 60 hours of straight polishing to get that done,” Eddy said. “You have to be willing to spend the time in order to make these rocks shine.”
The Cole’s also encourage amateur rockhounds to stop by with their own rock treasures for identification and see if they can, “Stump the Geologist.” They are eager to share their knowledge and love of Wyoming’s unique rocks with the next generation of rockhounds.
The rocks and fossils the Coles are surrounded in their small rock shop speak of a hobby that has become a Wyoming legacy written in stone.
Jackie Dorothy can be reached at jackie@cowboystatedaily.com.
