Sounds lovely---who does the trip? Where?
Actually, I can't complain too much...I have retired in geology heaven--Mt. Shasta. My back yard is filled with great volcanic rocks and behind our house (which sits on Pleistocene pyroclastics!)are the Klamath Mountains. From my yard, I can see a giant stratovolcano, a quadruple dacite plug (Black Butte), the granites of Castle Crags and Mt. Eddy in the Marble Mountain wilderness (more or less.)

What kills me is that I'm too darned old to climb Shasta. I sit with my binoculars and look at the various remains of at least four classic volcanic cones up there...and can't map 'em.

Most of the rocks in my yard (with the exception of the compost!) would be classics in a geology lab. Some of the "streambed rock" filler is from the Trinity and Josephine ophiolites. I sip my wine in the yard on warm summer evenings and ponder deep time. Makes me feel young!

Sigh. Still have longings for the old Brunton, mapboard, rock hammer and the hot gritty wind of Poleta.

And yeah...I've always liked the "clink" of ancient rocks. Makes me feel young!