Very Rare!
Check this one out! Chances are that I will NEVER find another one like this! This is considered to be "THE" Fairburn of Fairburns! I know of only one other that is in existence, and it is in the Smithsonian. It is known as an "Albino Fairburn". Its color is white w/light shades of pink in areas. The darker fortification lines you see are also white but an off-white color. The patterns cover this specimen everywhere. It took much manuvering with the light to get this picture to show you the fortification lines, and in doing so they came out much much darker than they actually are, but I had to show you the pattern the best I could. This one came from the Railroad Buttes area of South Dakota, about 8 miles off the beaten path. I remember the days well. It took two days to get in and back out. But what a "glorius feeling" on the way back to civilization. This Fairburn, one of the larger ones, measures a full 4" x 4". What a spectacular find!
Semi-rare
Heres another whose color is much sought after! The "yellow" patterned Fairburn. This also came from the same area my "Albino" came from and was found on the same trip as is the next Fairburn you will see.
Another Semi-rare one!
The "yellow" Fairburns certainly don't come along very often. When they do, they are certainly a "bonus"! But, you do have to "walk" to get to them, sometimes many miles. I am sure there is more out there, and one of these days I will strap on the sleeping bag, and ample provisions, and head out again in the summer time. It is "spooky" out in that "Badland" country. There are ravines 300' deep out there. The "sneering coyotes" alone, following you, and occasionally "sneaking" a look at you from the top of a 40' deep ravine will make your hair stand on end, no doubt about it! While out there, you may come across a fence line with a sign "Badlands National Property Line". There is absolutely NO collecting to be done past those fence lines. Don't even try it! That is not from the voice of experience talking, rather it is my personnal policy to respect the laws in any collecting area. Don't let your foolish actions cause our present collecting sites to be shut down because you "stretched the limit"!
