Lapidary / Gemstone Community Forum

What are your plans for summer rock collecting?

We have already had a few snow free days for walking field rows and collected some agates.
Hope to make it to Thunder Bay for amethyst digging and a trip to U.P. of Michigan
copper mine dumps.

 Where will you be digging?

Getting too old for all of that hiking & digging stuff. My digging will be done in my storage shed once it thaws out around here. lol15

I'm leaving 2 weeks from today (March 19th) to spend 9 days in the Wileys Well area.  Mostly looking forward to just sitting by a campfire and sleeping under the stars each night, but the rocks will be plentiful.

I am going to Trumble Peak. It's near Yosemite NP and MinDat says that there is some benitoite up there. I seriously doubt it, but it would be fun to look. It also mentions a barite lens in the same area. Might be some crystals or something.

The benetoite sounds exciting  but if it has to be etched out it could be very hard to find. I may walk for the first time in 5 years and a certain 18 mile long canyon full of jade has been on my mind all those years. We shall see.

I have to find someone with a 4wd that wants to go. It's not an easy place to get to. You can see it from the highway, but you have to go way down river, cross, and then take a road called the "Burma Grade", then a maze of dirt roads, and end up with some sketchy map coordinates. OR, go into Yosemite and out a locked gate. I work there so I have the key to the gate.

Would make for a fun day though.

We have some jade nearby too. There's a chunk about 3 feet wide, 6 feet long, 4 feet tall. Every rockhound in the area knows exactly where it is. No one has a helicopter to get it out so it just sits there.

How about Agate Creek, North Queensland.

Just need the temperatures to drop as well as the water level in the Robertson river and Mecca will be accessible. 

I would  love to see your fossiking pictures from Agate Creek.

Boley agate area, maybe Crater of Diamonds (agate, jasper and hopefully amethyst ), Mt Ida for quartz crystals, and hopefully the Zapata Texas area.

Wonderstone mt by fallon Nv. may be the first trip. a lot depends on work and if I can get away. Was planning on a trip to the Cady mt by Barstow Ca.
Will go to the Monte Cristo Mt, I make a trip there at least once a year. Will try and make the trip with the rock club to Fairview mt NV. I also need to run over to a place near Nevada City Ca. for some serpentine for spheres. I have so many places I can go that it will all depend on time and the rock club has a field trip at least once a month. I might do a Virgin Valley opal trip if I have time

As many places as I can make it to.

Tony

Just got in, got all unpacked and am set to explore a little this afternoon and tomorrow before work starts on Tuesday. Heading for a black soft material with agate bands (Frank you cut some for me once and I love the beads from it) and a rough-edged orange material with gas bubbles. We'll see where the day goes!

Richardson Ranch, Carey, Idaho moss agate and going to hunt for some Fairburns and might try to hit up some lakers

Sounds like you're going with the same plan I am... dancer27

This years wish list is pretty similar to last year. Heading for the Cady Mtns next weekend. Tried to go today and tomorrow but major storm passing through. I don't mind the rain, but it makes for some nasty flooding once in a while,

I'm going to try to do a McDermitt/Owyhee trip, and another trip to Texas with Teri Smith. I'd like to get farther south towards Falcon Lake, too. I'll probably crawl around Arizona some as well. 

Craig

Good luck out there rock people! Have fun and take some photos if you can, it sure is fun seeing them here.

 

Planning a trip to southern CA in early May.  I have scientific conference in Palm Springs to attend.  Thinking about going before and after for a few days exploring in the area, particularly towards the Needles area.  The BLM site lists a bunch of spots and of course the rockhounding books list more site (probably all picked over though!).   Hoping to find some agates and jaspers. 

Anyone know of any collecting one can do with a rental car within a 2 hour drive of Palm Springs?

I have to make that yearly pilgrimage to the Yellowstone River. Might wander south a ways and lurk around Northern Wyoming. Can never have too many Montana Agates.

I went silver picking yesterday at a friend's house.  He became the exclusive distributor for Coyamito agates from Mexico.  Got to search thru several 100 pounds of mine run material looking for cutting material and pulling out specimen material for Jeff to cut and finish.  Only other trip planned is to the Agate Expo in Cedarburg, WI this summer to sell my cabs and jewelry.

Bob Johannes
The Amethyst Rose

Would like to dig through some Coyamito's.

Jeff should have a new shipment in from the mine in time for the Agate Expo in Cederburg, WI this summer along with all the specimens that he and his family have been cutting out of this batch.  Wish I could have afforded to buy more material but I need to save up enough for travel money out to the expo as well so we can sell cabs and jewelry. 

I didn't even look at the several hundred pounds of specimen grade nodules they had set aside for cutting and sale.  If you want the contact info, send me a PM and I'll get back to you

Bob Johannes
The Amethyst Rose