2019 DAY 4: Quarry Field Trip

A snippet from the scavenger hunt given to campers to familiarize them with the quarry.

Having learned about the aggregates used to make concrete on the third day, campers would spend the fourth day learning more about these and many more aggregates. Such product is mined and sold out of quarries, and thus for the fourth day campers would load up on buses in the morning for a field trip to the CC Aggregates Quarry, just 30 minutes outside of Round Rock!

On the way over, campers were given a brochure about soil and rock in the Austin area to peruse. Campers were also given a link to an interactive game created by a RangerACE Instructor that walked the player through the drilling and blasting process used at the quarry. Shortly before arriving, instructors directed campers toward a scavenger hunt in their field manuals that campers would be able to fill out as the day went on.

Upon arriving at the quarry, campers were greeted by Curtis Griffin, owner of CC Aggregates, as well as RangerACE Pros Jeramie Cross, Hamilton McRae, and Ryan Davis. After a brief introduction and overview of the quarry, campers split up into 3 groups going to 3 different “stations” set up around the quarry.

Campers posing in the bucket of a dozer with Curtis Griffin and Jeramie Cross.

Station 1

Curtis Griffin led the first station, where he gave campers a tour of the quarry and its operations from the up top, looking into the quarry. Campers were able to connect all of the trucks and equipment in use in the quarry to the puzzles they completed on the 3rd day of camp as well as ask Curtis questions to their heart’s content. As the owner, Curtis knew every in and out of the quarry and offered campers knowledge on equipment, quarry output, as well as the business side of running a quarry.

Station 2

Jeramie Cross led the second station, where campers got to actually go into the quarry and get their hands on the rock blasted out of its walls. This station was all about DOING; instead of just looking at equipment, campers were given the opportunity to go up in cabins and sit where operators would. Campers also got to sift through rocks and bring any finds they wanted identified to Cross. Between all 3 of the groups, campers found everything from calcite to fossils.

Station 3

Hamilton McRae and Ryan Davis headed up the third station, where campers were able to watch a specialized drill dig out samples of rock to be tested. The drilling rig went deep into the ground and pulled out a small cylinder of rock that would be sent to a lab and analyzed, much like how concrete is sent off to be tested. It was in the quarry’s best interest to test rock all around the quarry in order to find the most profitable area to blast next.