Photo courtesy of 307 Rocks Facebook page. Photo credit: Rodriguez Lynn
If you’ve been on Facebook recently, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a post from one of your friends, or even one of your friends’ friends, of pictures of colored or painted rocks. Some posts mention the locations where rocks were found. Others show newly painted rocks that are ready to be hidden. With the amount of posts each week, the movement seems to be catching on.
So, how did it all start? What is this trend of painting, hiding, and/or finding rocks?
According to Rock Springs resident Sandy Cheeseman, the administrator of the Facebook group 307 Rocks, it all started when she was on a trip to Craig, CO. She found a painted rock near the Wal-mart and soon joined the local rock group in that area.
Photo courtesy of 307 Rock Facebook group. Photo credit: Stephanie Marie Thompson.
Cheeseman decided to join a local rock group in Wyoming, but she quickly learned no such group existed. Around April or May, Cheeseman decided to take matters into her own hands and start a Facebook group herself.
“At first it was really, really slow. We couldn’t get anybody to join, and nobody to paint rocks or anything,” said Cheesman, “And then I advertised and it’s just blown up since.”
If you’re looking to join in on the fun, it’s pretty easy. All you need are rocks and a way to paint them.
“I just use acrylic paint and some kind of clear spray paint or sealant, and that’s it,” said Cheeseman. “And the rest is just all your imagination and going out and finding rocks.”
Photo courtesy of 307 Rocks Facebook group. Photo credit: Bonnie Dycus.
According to Cheeseman, you can paint whatever you want on your rock (keep it PG for the kids), put the group info on the back, i.e. 307 Rocks and/or where the rock originated from, and then hide it in a public place in the community.
Once the rock is found by a passerby, one of two things can happen: the rock can be kept by the finder, or it can be hidden again in a new location.
“We really don’t encourage either way. We just write it on the back ‘keep or rehide’,” said Cheeseman. “I mean, rehides are nice because then the rock kind of takes a little trip. We’ve had rocks that have gone all the way to Ohio. We’ve had Rocks at Mount Rushmore and Oregon, I mean all over the place.”
To learn more about 307 Rocks and to see images of existing rocks, visit them on Facebook.
