Freshly back home from our 40-day road trip, this is my second post in which I’ll share about our visits and adventures. You can read more about our California Poppy experience here.

Truth be told, I had no idea what I’d have to share in photos for this color challenge. Raise your hand if you don’t think quartz crystals or diamonds are colors. You wouldn’t be wrong. But there are only so many colors to use for 12 months of color challenges, so I went with April’s birthstone, diamond. And added quartz for fun, although quartz also comes in many colors. The image below shows an example of the colors I’m looking for, filed under “April” on the far right.

“Quartz is the most powerful healing and energy amplifier on the planet.” – Judy Hall

On a previous trip to Arizona, I snapped this photo of a gem shop sporting labeled bowls of gems. Note the bowl of quartz crystals on the far right. So, those are the “colors” we aim to discover this week.

Found at Glass Beach, the “Gem” of the Northern California Coast

“Rocks and minerals make up the very fabric of our planet, reminding us of the power and beauty of nature.” – John Muir

Many of the next images were taken on Day 35 of our trip in the coastal town of Fort Bragg, Northern California. We stayed overnight at the Weller House, a charming old mansion built in 1886. After a 4-hour drive from San Francisco along Hwy 1, a VERY winding road, we barely had the energy to check out Glass Beach.

A short drive from the hotel, we entered the beach parking lot and were greeted with a cloudy sunset of sorts. Diamonds glittered across the waves.

“Simplicity is a jewel rarely found.” – Ovid

We hiked down to the beach “sand,” although non-descript in this image, you can almost see bits of color…

“Every gem is a story of evolution; every crystal embodies a piece of knowledge and time.”
– Walt Whitman

A treasure trove of gems (quartz and “diamonds”) was found on Glass Beach, part of MacKerricher State Park, a protected area where collecting is strictly prohibited.

… upon closer inspection… 120 years worth of erosion… created this!

How Did Glass Beach Form?

According to this SOURCE:

“Between 1906 and 1967, residents of Fort Bragg used the coastal bluffs as dumping grounds, tossing everything from bottles, cans, and household goods to larger items like appliances, batteries, and even old cars over the cliffs—a common practice in many seaside communities at the time.“

Over the decades, the ocean slowly took over, breaking down the debris. Glass shattered, tumbled in the surf, and was gradually worn into smooth, colorful pebbles. What’s left today is a kaleidoscope of polished sea glass in shades of green, amber, white, and red.

“Like all magnificent things, it’s very simple.” ― Natalie Babbitt

On our recent trip, we discovered more crystalline beauty north in Bandon Beach, Oregon. More about that trip next time, but we discovered this while shopping….

An Ocean Wave Sand Art kinetic sculpture made by Klaus “Sandman” Bosch.

We bought it and took it home. Simply by adjusting the sculpture, the sand and water mix to form incredible shapes. Here is a close-up of the shimmering, fine crystalline sand.

Living one state away from Oregon, we frequently see the beautiful diamond shape of Mt Hood looming in the distance near Portland. This image was enhanced by the Google filter.

A Marine Gem That Will “Blow” Your Mind

I saved the best for last, an image of a colonial organism called “By-the-Wind Sailors.”

Say what now, you ask?

These clear, jellyfish-like marine organisms, Velella velella, commonly known as by-the-wind sailors, are often encountered floating on the ocean’s surface. During the spring and summer months in the Pacific Northwest, windy conditions cause them to wash ashore, leaving them stranded in huge piles on the beach.

I created this AI-generated image with CoPilot so we could all see what they might look like before they’re washed up on the beaches.

I had never heard of these little windsurfers, each only 1-2 inches long. Their bright blue bodies and crystalline “sails” seemed to fit this color challenge.

“Velella velella are hydrozoans within the phylum Cnidaria, not true jellyfish. They are colonial organisms, meaning each “individual” is a collection of specialized polyps living together. These polyps are connected by a shared canal system and have distinct roles, including feeding, reproduction, and defense.” SOURCE

While they look similar to jellyfish, by-the-wind sailors are more closely related to the Portuguese Man O’ War.

“The sea is a treasure chest of wonders, each creature a gem waiting to be discovered.” – Unknown

This week, I’m linking to Dawn’s Spring Festival, Johnbo’s Cellpic Sunday, Pepper’s One Step, and Kym’s WQ: Simplicity.

All images in this post were taken with Samsung Galaxy Cell Phones

Sunday Stills Photo Challenge Reminders

The Sunday Stills weekly-themed photo challenge is easy to join. You have all week to share and link your post. Please use your own original images, whether new or from your archives.

• Remember to title your blog post a little differently from mine.
• Entries for this theme can be posted all week.
• Tag your post “Sunday Stills.”
• Don’t forget to create a pingback to this post so that other participants can read your post.
• I also recommend adding your post’s URL to the comments.

If you are participating in the photo challenge, I look forward to seeing how you interpret this month’s color challenge theme! Creativity is encouraged, so please share your own photographs (old or new), poems, original short stories, and music inspired by the theme.

Many thanks to both Susanne and Cathy, who co-hosted Sunday Stills while we took our 40-day road trip.

If you need more inspiration for this color challenge, check out Susanne’s 2024 post and her visit to the Smithsonian. She went with literal quartz crystals, but only your imagination can decide what works for this color challenge.

I can’t wait to see how you interpret the various shades of crystal, diamonds, and quartz for the April monthly color challenge. Please join me next week as we explore Earth Day (April 22).

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