Q: Quartz

Fort Collins sits at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and there's plenty of quartz in them thar hills. After all, quartz is the second most abundant mineral in the Earth's crust. (After that snooty feldspar.) Quartz can be clear, black, or almost any color in-between. Some of its prettiest and most popular forms are amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, citrine, and tiger's eye. 

For you metaphysical types, clear quartz is known as the universal crystal. Amethyst is meditative and calming...and was used by the ancient Romans to prevent intoxication. (Yeah, good luck with that.) Rose quartz is the stone of love, kindness, and tolerance. If that's true, every one of us should be walking around with a piece in our pocket.

I'm not a geologist, so it was a lot easier for me to find quartz in one of my local rock shops. (These pictures were taken at a fun shop called Nature's Own.)