Last month, geologist and gemstone hunter Houston Wade began the hunt for funding his educational TV pilot, “Get Your Rocks Off with Houston.”

By the close of his campaign on Friday, July 26 he exceeded his Kickstarter goal by $2,520.

“I basically didn’t sleep for two days, I was so excited,” Wade said. “I’ve been just a fumbling, goofy guy.”

Since 2007, Wade has taken trips from Bainbridge Island to places like Colorado, the Dakotas, Nevada and Utah on gemstone hunting expeditions.

Wade recently launched the Kickstarter to transform his hunting adventures into a Discovery Channel-esque TV series.

He had 30 days to fulfill his goal of $24,500 and went to such lengths as to offer donors a chance to be a guest star on the show and to receive some of his most precious finds, such as an 8.53-carot Brazilian Alexandrite (one of 100 in existence at that size and clarity).

The campaign paid off. The more than $27,000 Wade has raised will be used to take a crew out on a hunt and film for the series this September. It will pay for gas, food, equipment and safety incidentals.

“We just can’t waste time, because it wouldn’t be fair to the people who are supporting us,” Wade said.

In the pilot series, tentatively dubbed, “Get Your Rocks Off with Houston,” Wade will take viewers from their couch to Western Utah where he will visit the Wah Wah Mountains and Thomas Range in search of Bixbite, considered the rarest gem in the world.

“My goal is to demonstrate that people have an innate curiosity,” Wade said. “And if you give them smart TV, they’ll feel something from it.”