What do I need to do to prepare the ground to start a rock garden? Are there any specific intructions available anywhere?

One site that I found extremly intresting, I am going to post a bit from one site here. http://www.susansgardenpatch.com/rock3.htm (with some editing out the unecessary stuff)

Choose a day when the soil is reasonably dry. Strip off turf and remove weeds. This weed removal is absolutely vital as bindweed, couch, etc. can ruin a rock garden. Dig out the roots and if the site is badly infested you will have to use an appropriate weedkiller. Good drainage is another vital need. With a sloping site in a non-clayey area no extra preparation will be required, but if the subsoil is heavy then a drainage layer will be necessary......

From a different site, I saw a suggestion that when you go to kill the weeds, you cover the area with plastic, preferably in the summer. This way the heat will be trapped under the soil and will kill the weeds.

another link

http://www.alpinemtecho.com/news1.htm
http://landscaping.about.com/cs/rockgardens1/

if you want me to look for anything else just let me know.

Thanks, I think I will do the weed pulling and lay plastic and start with a pretty white sand, then add my rocks as I find them. I am hoping to find a few geodes, but may need to travel to find them because there are none here that I know of.