Update: That riverbed agate is still on my mind
I was hiking near the old mining area last month and found this really pretty agate half buried in the gravel. It was so shiny and colorful, I just had to have it. So I picked it up and stuck it in my pocket. Later, I remembered that some places have rules against taking rocks, even small ones. It's not like I stole from a park, but it feels wrong somehow. That agate was part of the landscape, and now it's just sitting on my desk. I keep wondering if I messed up a natural spot for future hikers or rock hunters. Maybe it's no big deal, but it bugs me every time I look at it. Now I think twice before grabbing cool stones I find out there.