D. Hoye Eargle, George Pinkley, and Paul de Vergie led and co-authored the first field trip to the Karnes Uranium District for the South Texas Geological Society in 1958, nearly 50 years ago. Since then, various field trips have been held to this area by different groups. Additionally, there are a wealth of research and papers on the uranium geology of the area, mostly by the USGS, and the University of Texas/Bureau of Economic Geology. A few of the early geologists who worked there in the 1950s are still working and have some fascinating stories of those times. Ernie Baker, still with the USGS in Austin, recalls when Hoye Eargle hired him to conduct some of the earliest geologic surveys of the area, and finding the type locality for the Stone Switch Sandstone right before a heavy downpour. Texas was also in a major drought at that time. Jim Underwood (and others), still a member of the AGS, tells stories of benches set up over the ore, where people would come and sit and place their feet in boxes full of the radioactive sands for medicinal purposes. These, and dozens of other tales help make the lore of uranium what it is.

Having worked in Texas Uranium, and even lived in the area as far back as the 1970s, provides the authors with a unique understanding and appreciation of the geology of the Karnes Uranium District. There are very few places where one can study and see resource mining geology and history, stratigraphy, mineralogy, hydrogeology, and environmental issues all rolled into one. The original discovery site, old mill site, reclaimed open-pit mine, and un-reclaimed open-pit mine will all be visited in an effort to introduce another generation of geologists to an area that helped make Texas the third leading uranium producing state in the U.S. The distance from Austin to Karnes County makes for a long day and less time in the field. However, the authors will provide plenty of background and stories to make the drive pass quickly enough. Those of you old enough to remember, think back to a time when Buddy Holly and Roy Orbison (a geology major at one time) were just starting out on their singing careers, there were no computers, drive-in theaters were just coming into their own, and Austin was still a sleepy college town.