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Here's a friend-making hobby that ROCKS Diana Gibbons, of Gold Hill, and her 4-year-old grandson Benjamin hide a painted rock in a canoe in Gold Hill Friday. [Mail Tribune / Andy Atkinson] Tuesday Jul 25, 2017 at 12:01 AM Buffy Pollock for the Mail Tribune Bounding from one end of the Gold Hill library playground to another, 4-year-old Benjamin Graybeal clutched a brightly painted rock that had been transformed into a yellow chick peeking out of a broken egg. “Where’s a good place to hide the chicken, Benjamin?” asked his grandmother, Diana Graybeal. The pair were on their latest rock-sleuthing adventure sponsored by rock painting groups in the region. The mission at hand, to paint and hide rocks and to find rocks hidden by others. Clues to hidden rocks — and pictures of those found — are posted on Facebook and rocks are often re-hidden and pop up in cities in other counties and states. Initiated last fall, “Grants Pass ROCKS” was the first local group formed, followed by “Medford ROCKS” and similarly named groups for Rogue River and Jackson County. The Grants Pass group boasts more than 2,700 members while the two smaller groups are newer and have about 300 each. A larger West Coast Painted Rocked group predates the local offerings, which all seem to share members. Graybeal said the new hobby, which she learned about from a friend, gives her and her grandson a fun activity and a way to make people smile. “My friend said she was walking through the park one day and found a painted rock and she turned it over and it said ‘Grants Pass ROCKS,'” she said. "I just think it’s awesome. It brings the community together instead of separating them. People you didn’t even know existed in your community, you get to know them and then you become friends on Facebook. “We do it pretty much everywhere we go. People take their rocks to the coast. We hid one in Rogue River that we saw online that’s traveled up to Roseburg now.” Grants Pass resident Charlyn Witcher, who helped start the Grants Pass group, said the painted rocks make their rounds from one city to the next and bring a feeling of community. “Ours was the first one in our region,” she said. "I heard about it from a friend back in Texas. I loved the idea and I wanted to start something like that here." Witcher's partners in the rock hunts have ranged from grandchildren to elderly friends. Some members only paint and hide their creations while others prefer to hunt. A founder of the Medford ROCKS group, Carolyn Miller said she’s a longtime rock painter and the social outlet was a fun way to share her art. Miller recently posted various heart- and flag-covered rocks and several googly-eyed minions. Those offerings were joined on the Facebook page by rocks bearing everything from green ladybugs and tree silhouettes to dragonflies, sunsets and inspirational quotes. Proof that the rocks “make the rounds,” Miller said her first minion was found at the Central Point water spray park and re-hidden in Grants Pass. “It’s something that if it makes the kids happy this summer, that’s the best reason to do it. I’m hoping it’ll continue through fall and winter. I’m envisioning holiday-themed rocks,” Miller said. “I’m one that I don’t have any desire to hunt for them but I love painting them and putting them out for other people to find. I’ve been painting rocks a long time. It’s a lot of fun and you never know. It could be the right time someone needed to find your rock.” Deneen Lodato applauded the group’s helpful nature and ability to connect rock hounds from various towns. “I joined it because I just moved here to Medford and I wanted to start making friends and I like to do art and paint and draw. I was already painting on rocks for myself so when I found the group I thought it was great,” said Lodato. “I hide them wherever I go. I live in Medford but today I was in Grants Pass so I took some to hide. It’s just a really great thing because it brings people together and it’s something unique." At firest stymied in finding an ideal location Friday for the yellow and white chicken, Graybeal tossed the rock back into her bag before coming up with another idea in Gold Hill. Making her way across the street, Graybeal offered a larger rock, boasting a bright green, grinning fish on one side. Her tiny charge placed him in a hanging canoe as Graybeal pulled out her phone to post a clue on Facebook. “We’re going to say, ‘Looking for a friend to swim with?’” Asked why he was hiding the fish-covered rock, the 4-year-old smiled. “For someone to find it and be happy.” — Buffy Pollock is a freelance writer living in Medford. Email her at [email protected].