Rock hunts rocking area

A local Facebook page promoting the painting, hiding and finding of rocks recently hit 7,600 users from all across the nation.

Jill Foster McCall of Olton, Texas, one of three sisters who started the Tex New Mex Rocks page, said she got the idea from a nationwide craze.

“We add tons of people every day from all over. We have members from other states, and we had a rock posted from Belize and the Bahamas,” said McCall.

She said she visited her sister, who lives in Ohio, and saw that they had a page for this rock-sharing hobby — a page with over 130,000 followers.

The Tex New Mex group, which began in March, has had over 6,000 pictures posted, some with as many as 30 or more rocks in a single picture, McCall said.

“I know my mom has painted over 400 rocks since March. I have put in over 300,” she said.

McCall said a struggle they have faced is getting users to embrace the electronic element.

Rockers generally design the rocks and hide them, leaving a hashtag on the back for people to tag them with on Facebook once the rock is found. McCall said most rocks go untagged.

“I love the electronic element; it’s awesome,” said Sandy Fields of Portales, an avid rock painter and McCall’s cousin. “It is the only way to make the group grow rapidly and keep up the enthusiasm.”

Although McCall lives in Olton, the rock-painting trend has been born in Portales as much as Olton thanks to Fields being a Portales native.

“I have been there since day one,” said Fields, adding that she loves rock painting both alone and with a group.

“I love painting on my own to relax, but we’ve also had a ball painting at family gatherings,” she said. “Even the 2 year olds participate.”

Rhonda Davis, a Portales resident, said she loves how age inclusive it is.

“It is a family-oriented deal. All ages can be involved,” she said.

Davis uses her rock painting to spread religious messages, an act that brings her a lot of joy.

“Rock painting has meant everything to me,” she said.

Davis said she has seen her rocks go across the country with the most recent rock traveling to Indiana with a group of missionaries.

Painted rocks traveling nationwide is not uncommon.

Joe Welch, a resident of Southern California, said a friend of his from Portales introduced him to rock painting, an activity that changed his life.

“I got a call from my brother in Northern Utah that he only had a couple of days to live. I was able to spend two quality days with him before he passed,” said Welch. “Then I had an epiphany.”

Welch’s brother, Eddie, was born in Clovis and graduated high school and college in Portales. Welch decided to use rock painting to remember his brother.

He said that family members from all over the country painted Tex New Mex Rocks, hashtagging them with “#HonoringEddie”.

Everyone participated, he said, from Eddie’s 5-year-old great grandson to a 78-year-old stroke victim, Eddie’s brother-in-law.

“My main point is that being a part of this group turned a stressful, unpleasant experience into a happier one than anyone expected,” Welch said.

Clovis Civic Center is hosting an event for rock painting from 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Friday.