Leave no stone unturned to find Lake Wylie Rocks

Forget Pokémon Go, that’s so last summer.

Peek up from that phone and really take a look around in the Lake Wylie, Steele Creek and surrounding areas. You’d have to be living under a rock to not see them. They wink from flower pots, church parking lots, trees, restaurants, parks.

It’s Lake Wylie Rocks, and everyone is invited to play.

Inspired after a visit to her native Washington state, Mary Sauer brought back a trending idea seemingly taking over the planet. This summer she launched Lake Wylie Rocks, painting rocks and hiding them in plain sight throughout the area for others to find. Using the Facebook page that has grown to more than 600 members, she and a growing cadre of painters/hiders are secreting artsy, whimsical rocks all over the place “just to brighten someone’s day.”

Unlike Whidbey Island surrounded by stony beaches, finding rocks here is a bit tougher. She’s even bought some from home improvement stores.

“I might have to contact some landscape suppliers,” said Sauer who moved to the RiverPointe neighborhood with husband Ron two years ago.

It’s growing so popular, at least one group in Gastonia has already splintered off, she said. One group, Brownie Troop 1743 in Lake Wylie, reached out to invite her to come and paint rocks with them at a meeting at Good Samaritan United Methodist Church.

“She’s doing a very interesting thing for Lake Wylie, leaving painted rocks with uplifting messages, art, etc. around town and asking people to keep or hide the found rocks again,” said assistant leader Jan Smith.

Now she wants more rock painters and hiders, and rock finders who will post a photo on the Facebook page.

“It’s a fun thing to get the community involved in,” she said while adding the final touches to a stone.

Rock hiders can often track the histories of their rocks on the page, but finders don’t always post photos, she said.

“It’s exciting to see your rock has been found,” she said. “But some we don’t see. Either they’ve not been found or no picture has been posted. It’s kind of sad when we don’t know, but we always hope the finders enjoy the rocks.”

Rock finders may choose to keep a special stone or re-hide it.

“Anyone can join,” Sauer said, “and you don’t have to be an artist to paint rocks. There are lots of ideas online you can copy. I do.”

The rocks are usually painted with base coasts and decorative words or illustrations, then sealed for durability. Her husband helps handle that step. On the back, finders are asked to post a comment and photo on the Lake Wylie Rocks Facebook page.

Mary’s daughter, Renée Golz, has caught the bug. She and her children, Jared, 11, and Addyson, 5, painted rocks at grandma’s house then hid them. When a photo appeared on Facebook, “It was wonderful to see the kids’ joy at seeing someone find it,” Golz said.

She’s also getting students involved at Tuckaseegee Elementary School, where she is vice principal.

“It’s fun and builds character,” Golz said. “They learn about giving. And life can be so simple and beautiful if you let it.”

This story was originally published October 14, 2016 at 1:20 PM with the headline "Leave no stone unturned to find Lake Wylie Rocks."