>>2082463Get a couple rockhounding books for your area and scope out the places they talk about. They often have information about how the cool finds formed, and you can use that as a starting point to learn about geology and plan your own trips/prospecting adventures.
That's how I got my start and it went pretty well. As for tools, rock hammer and a chisel will get you basically anything you need. Picrel's from a fossil clam, brachiopod, and calcite trip.
