Only the Rocks Last Forever

It’s been nearly ten years now, since my first book, Flint Chips and Pottery Shards, waspublished. At the time, I had no idea just how many people, with whom I would becomeacquainted, due to their interest in the book and our shared avocation.Subsequently, I wrote a second book, entitled, Mostly Sand and Gravel, which included anumber of artifact adventures on the rivers Platte—both South and North. Had it not beenfor my association with other collectors, I might not ever have learned about river hunting.My artifact collection would be much poorer without the river, and the many hours myfamily, friends, and I have spent canoeing these timeless waters as they flow swiftly out ofthe mountains and then meander across the arid plains, has been a godsend. I would like tothank my many readers who shared with me their secrets for successful hunting. Yourthoughtful comments and observations have enriched my artifact life significantly, both interms of the processes and the product.This new work, Only the Rocks Last Forever, is an anthology of artifact adventures, sitereports and essays on various aspects of artifact collecting. Each chapter in this book is aseparate or “stand alone” piece, and a sequential flow between chapters is not intended.Indeed, the discerning reader may, on occasion, note some minor redundancies in several ofthe various chapters. I have attempted to keep this to a minimum, but in the interests ofgiving each chapter its full due, some duplication was unavoidable.This may well be my last “artifact adventure” book. I recently retired, and although Iplan on spending a goodly portion of my time in pursuit of all things ancient, I find that I amgetting much more interested in the “archaeology” of my collection, rather than merely theacquisition of artifacts. I have a lot to learn about archaeology and I think it will be sometime before I’m ready to share my thoughts and ideas in writing with others. I will, however,pursue my writing career in other ways, and am presently working on several books,including a novel and a children’s book.I would like to take a moment and thank several people for their contributions to the joy Ihave experienced as an artifact enthusiast. I would first acknowledge my late father,Reverend Thomas Westfall, and my first wife, Valerie. Sadly, both of these wonderfulpeople passed on before I began telling tales of the wild places. They both played aprominent role in the development of our family hobby.My children, Grayson and Erin, (and Erin’s husband, Michael) have spent literallyhundreds of hours with me, both on the fields, in the rivers, and in the Jeep, riding to andfrom both. There were days when the last thing they wanted to do was to go“arrowheading,” as we often called it, but they had a deeply developed sense of “family,” andthis is one of the things our family did together. They went along because it was the rightthing to do, and now both enjoy the hobby both as an interesting way of connecting with theprehistory of this magnificent land, and as a getaway with the promise of some relaxationfrom the respective duties as Doctors.