The Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Silver City, Grant County, New Mexico

Rolling Stones Awards Funds to GCEC

2011-10-03T10:31:00.004-06:00

The Rolling Stones Board recently awarded Gila Conservation Education Center (GCEC) a check in the amount of $500.00 to be used for the education of students at the Gila Water Festival. For those of you that are not aware of it, the Rolling Stones in the spring of each year has a station at the GCEC Water Festival in which we acquaint the students with information and techniques on how and where to pan for gold. It is a very popular station at the water festival. Students pan for gold (aka brass BB’s) and many of the kids take their treasures home with them.

The Board of the Rolling Stones decided that the GCEC is a worthwhile cause as it educates the students of Grant County in the Ecology and Geology of the Gila River. The award will be used to purchase supplies and to help with transportation costs for the project.

Club Assists Geology Program At WNMU

2011-09-14T08:11:00.004-06:00

At the regular meeting of the Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society in 
September a check for $500.00 was presented to Dr Mary Dowse, Professor 
of Geology at Western New Mexico University.  The recent Gem&  Mineral 
Show at the Business & Conference Center is held each year to raise 
funds to provide scholarships for Geology Students at WNMU and other 
educational projects in Silver City and New Mexico.  The Rolling Stones 
are committed to helping students, faculty and the general public learn 
more about geology and the earth sciences.

Dr. Dowse stated after she was presented with the check by Marcia Fisch, 
Rolling Stones Treasurer, "The recent donation from the Rolling Stones 
Gem and Mineral Society will help to defray some of the extra costs of 
field trips for students.  This fall's donation will cover some of the 
costs of a joint trip with faculty and students from the School of 
Education.  The goal is to strengthen future teachers knowledge and 
interest in geology and encourage them to consider including activities 
related to geology when they begin teaching.  I am deeply grateful for 
the continuing support of the Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society for 
students in the Geology Program at WNMU."

Club Treasurer Marcia Fisch presents check to Dr. Dowse

Great Vendors At Show

2011-09-01T09:23:00.002-06:00

By Karen Blisard - Club member and Vendor Manager

An exciting array of rocks, minerals, fossils, gems and jewelry will be on display at the Grant County Business and Conference Center Labor Day weekend. The occasion is the 28^th Annual Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show. There will be a total of 45 vendors, 13 of whom are new to the show. Twelve of the vendors are from the Silver City area, and six are from Deming. Vendors are coming from all over New Mexico, as well as from Texas, Arizona, California, Arkansas, and even from China.

Mineral and fossil specimens are an important part of every gem and mineral show. Veteran dealer John Scully of Scully’s Minerals in Albuquerque offers a variety of specimens from New Mexico such as azurite, rainbow fluorite and Triassic cycad wood replaced by copper minerals. He and his wife Laurie travel to places like Brazil, Namibia, Madagascar, Morocco, and the Dominican Republic to purchase specimens at the source. Specimens include topaz, tourmaline, dioptase, Brandberg amethyst quartz, as well as many others.

One of the new vendors is Tom Hales of Tom Hales Minerals in Deming. He features minerals and cutting rough from the USA, Mexico, Canada and many worldwide locations. The minerals range in size from thumbnail specimens (over 2,000 in stock) to large cabinet specimens. He specializes in Mexican minerals and has many rare and beautiful examples.

In addition, a group of mineral dealers from Jinan, China will provide a new source of exotic specimens. The Jinan Chinese Mineral Trading Company specializes in gathering minerals directly from mines all over China.

A large selection of jewelry, both silver and gold, and featuring cabochons and faceted stones, will be on display. Karen Blisard, of Radiant Gemstones in Silver City, is primarily a facetor of gemstones, and displays jewelry made with gemstones she has cut herself. She also has a wide variety of rings and earrings featuring commercially faceted stones set in silver.

Another long-time vendor, Sharon Szymanski from SanTan, AZ, will be selling jewelry (fine as well as costume). She also offers rock carvings from around the world, wood carvings from Bali, as well as collectibles for the home.

For the lapidary enthusiasts, there will be rough material for cutting, as well as lapidary equipment and supplies. For those who like to make their own jewelry, there will be all kinds of beads and pearls, and of course, faceted stones and finished cabochons.

An exciting addition to the show is wildlife artist Tony Zenan from Cottonwood, AZ. Tony paints beautiful portraits of animals and birds on slabs of agate and petrified wood. Local artist Barbara Nance will be displaying rock carvings and sculptures.

The show this year should be bigger and better than ever. The show is open 10:00 am to 5:00 pm Saturday and Sunday September 3^rd and 4^th, and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday September 5^th.

The members of the Grant County Rolling Stones look forward to seeing you there.

Vendor Opportunities - last minute!

2011-08-30T14:28:00.002-06:00

We have a couple of last-minute cancellations. If you are interested in being a vendor, please call Karen Blisard at 575-654-5034.
THANK YOU - WE ARE NOW FULL

Show Field Trips

2011-07-22T08:52:00.007-06:00

By Kyle Meredith

The Grant County Rolling Stones Annual Gem and Mineral Show is a popular event where people come to buy and sell mineral specimens, jewelry, lapidary equipment, and other rock-related items each year over Labor Day Weekend. In addition to buying and selling, there are fascinating displays of local and museum-quality rocks and minerals.

One exciting facet of the show includes field trips offered each of the three days. The morning trips are set up to take rock hounds to nearby locations to look for and collect rocks and minerals for display or working into pieces of jewelry. This year for the first time we are offering afternoon tours with knowledgeable guides who will provide information about the underlying geology and history of our area.

Morning trips will depart from the Show venue at 9:00 a.m., and afternoon tours will depart at 1:00 p.m.

On Saturday morning, September 3^rd, we will be going to Saddlerock Canyon in the Burro Mountains where we will find dark gray limestone nodules with golden iron sulfide crystals embedded inside. They can be cut and polished into impressive cabochons. The area also offers occasional fossils including ammonites, and many people have carried out some curious yard rocks. The drive takes about 20 minutes from town. There will be some driving in a sandy wash but high clearance is probably not necessary. The walk from your vehicle is relatively easy up a draw over natural terrain not more than a half mile. Saturday afternoon's tour will be led by Dr. Mary Dowse. This field trip will look at the layers exposed along Highway 152 from Fort Bayard to the Mimbres. Participants will see different kinds of rocks of nearly all of the geologic ages of the Earth, and will have the opportunity to collect fossils as well. The trip will visit outcrops along the highway and there will be a limited amount of walking along the highway or up to the outcrops.

Sunday, September 4^th, we'll head south of the Cooke's Range to the Green Spar Mine to look for a variety of different stones, including colorful banded rhyolite suitable to cut and polish, fluorite, and attractive yard rocks. WARNING: In past years we have encountered trappers, so it is advisable to leave your dogs behind or have them closely monitored on a leash. The road definitely requires a high-clearance vehicle and good tires. The terrain is (unsurprisingly) rocky, and there are steep slopes. Sunday afternoon you can join Kevin and/or Sylveen Cook (proprietors of Royal Scepter Gems and Minerals) for a walking tour of the geology and ore deposits of the Boston Hill Manganese District. The nice exposures there and the relationship of that deposit to similar settings at Lone Mountain and Georgetown will be a great hands-on learning experience about the regional ore deposition. It requires a short drive across town. The walk is on a winding, sloping path with little shade.

Monday morning, September 5^th, we'll take a quick trip down the road toward Ft. Bayard to look for orthoclase crystals. We'll be parking right by the highway, and the walk is an easy trail of about a half mile with some low hills to explore. Monday afternoon will be a bus tour of local mines, so space is limited to first come, first served.

All morning trips will depart from the Grant County Business and Conference Center in Silver City on Highway 180 East (next to Ace Hardware) at 9:00. Afternoon trips will leave at 1:00. Carpooling is recommended when possible. Rain can cause a trip to be canceled, but it's best to show up if you think there's any doubt. Most morning trips are over by lunchtime, but it's always a good idea to bring snacks or a lunch and plenty of water. A rock hammer and bag or bucket are suggested for each trip.

You may email kyyote@msn.com for more information.

Agate Rendezvous 2011

2011-07-15T07:29:00.000-06:00

The Chaparral Rockhounds from Roswell, NM invite all rockhounds to join them for their annual event August 27 through September 5, 2011 at Apache Creek. It includes 7 days of fun activities, that could easily be combined with a visit down to Silver City for the Labor Day Weekend Show. More details here.

Not long till our annual show!

2011-06-29T07:33:00.001-06:00

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society
28th Annual Gem and Mineral Show
Labor Day Weekend
September 3, 4, and 5, 2011
10am-5pm on Saturday and Sunday, 10am-4pm on Monday.

Grant County Business and Conference Center.
180 US Highway East in Silver City (next to Ace Hardware)

A great FREE family event

Wheel of Fortune and Silent Auction
Large assortment of vendors, several new entries this year.

Ever-popular rockhounding trips at 9AM each day
New this year, educational trips at 1PM each day

Food services provided by the Silver City Lions Club
Educational displays from NM Institute of Mining & Technology & NMSU’s Zuhl Collection

Thank You Mama's Minerals

2011-06-01T13:49:00.001-06:00

We would like to give a big thanks to Mama’s Minerals in Albuquerque for their generous monetary donation to our Club. We are currently studying ways in which to use this donation to further the interest of Rockhounding in New Mexico.

Rockhound State Park

2011-03-21T10:04:00.003-06:00

Attention all rockhounds:

The New Mexico State Parks Division (NMSPD) has proposed to disallow rockhounding in Rockhound State Park near Deming, New Mexico. Rockhound State Park is best known for its fantastic thundereggs, some with multicolored agate in addition to well-formed quartz crystals. Also scattered about the park are rocks and minerals of volcanic and hydrothermal origin; including quartz, chalcedony, agate, common opal and banded and brecciated rhyolite. The 1,100 acre park was established in 1966 as the first in the United States that allowed collecting of rocks and minerals for personal use.

Check out the new proposed Management Plan . Comments on the proposal must be received by April 18, 2011.

Rolling Stones Visit Shakespeare

2011-03-04T12:51:00.000-07:00

by Lee Stockman, Club VP

Grant County and the Silver City area is the most mineralized part of New Mexico but that does not keep the Rolling Stones from occasionally slipping across the county line on one of our monthly field trips. In February, Trip Leader, Ansel Walters set up a visit to the old Silver mining town of Shakespeare, down in Hidalgo County. One might argue that this trip was in keeping with the Grant County part of the Rolling Stones name, since, at the time that Shakespeare was a boom town it was still in Grant County.

Rolling Stones make a mad dash for the Murphy Saloon as soon as it opens

Manny Hough, Shakespeare proprietor, lead the 35 of so who participated in the field trip through the remains of the town and shared many interesting insights and tales. Standing beneath the nooses in the handing room, we learned about Russian Bill who died from a “throat problem”.

The tour began with a visit to the one remaining saloon and continued into the hotel, livery stable, assay office and concluded with a visit to the museum. To learn more about the town of Shakespeare visit the February issue of the Desert Exposure at: http://desertexposure.com/201102/201102_tw-shakespeare.php

Manganese dendrites

Following the tour the field trip participants went on south of the old ghost town and visited several hills pockmarked with diggin’s for fluorite and other prospective minerals. In these hills, dotted with creosote brush and cacti, many a hard working miner had followed his eye and dug where an outcropping of mineral showed promise. Chrysocholla and other green stains told of copper minerals. Black manganese stain led miners to dig for ore, exposing some beautiful dendrites.

Fluorescing calcite

Fluorite appears to have been the one possible commercially viable mineral dug from these hills. In some of the holes were calcite veins interspersed with the fluorite and some of the calcite fluoresces.

Despite a brisk wind, which occasionally made the Rolling Stones appreciate the rocks that had accumulated in their pockets, the temperatures were moderate and it was an enjoyable outing. Thanks to Trip Leader Ansel and his crew for a good time that was had by all.

Shop at Mama's Minerals in March and Help Our Club

2011-03-04T06:03:00.000-07:00

Visitors to Albuquerque in March are encouraged to visit Mama's Minerals where a portion of proceeds this month will benefit our club! The store is located at 1100 San Mateo Blvd NE at Lomas (San Mateo exit south off I-40 after Constitution). Mama's is celebrating their 25th Anniversary this year, so each month has a theme such as Prospectors in January and Beaders in February. March will be their Gem and Mineral Club month, and we have been selected to be one of their recipients. Keep an eye on their web site for more information and just click on 25th Anniversary Specials and Events! You can also follow them on Facebook and Twitter. You can also visit the Santa Fe Plaza store at La Fonda Hotel. Both stores are open every day.

Mama's is a really fun place to shop, so check it out! Spread the word and help our Club!

Supporting a Sister Club

2011-02-02T13:43:00.001-07:00

42nd Annual Jewelry Gem & Mineral Show
Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club
by Judy Allen, Rolling Stones Member

The Albuquerque Gem & Mineral Club will hold their 42nd Annual Jewelry, Gem & Mineral Show March 18-20, 2010 Friday and Saturday the 18th & 19th from 10am to 6pm and Sunday the 20th from 10am to 5pm. The theme is Treasures of the Earth. The Show will be at the Creative Arts Center, New Mexico State Fairgrounds, San Pedro Drive NE, Entrance 4. Admission $3.00 for Adults & Seniors, Under 13 free. Admission on Friday is $1.00. Geode Cracking, Door Prizes, Raffles, Silent Auction and much more. Keep this in mind as a great place to visit in March, and support a sister New Mexico Club.

Mary Dowse speaks to the Club

2011-02-02T13:40:00.002-07:00

by Lee Stockman, Program Coordinator

The January Program for the Rolling Stones Meeting was presented by Dr. Mary Dowse who talked about the geology of the Gila River Drainage and its adjacent areas. Beginning in the Proterozoic and working toward the present, she discussed the accretion of the North American Continent in which several segments including the Mazatzal Provence, came together where southwestern New Mexico is today. These segments adhered and built what we know as North America.

Mary discussed the periodic ocean incursions into the area, the building and erosion of mountain ranges, violent volcanic eruptions and the effect of the spreading of the North American Continent as each contributed to what we have around us today. The talk was an expanded version of the presentation Mary made to the Gila Symposium last year.

Rockhound on the Road - visits with FSG in Cape Coral, Florida

2011-01-16T06:29:00.001-07:00

by Marcia Andre

We had a fun evening out recently, attending a meeting of the Southwest Chapter of the Florida Society of Goldsmiths (FSG).   We've been searching for information about silver-smithing, when an internet search turned up the FSG. We sent an email to Chapter President Robert Small who warmly invited us and welcomed us to a meeting.    This is a small, but very active group, who dispenses with business quickly in their monthly meetings.   They have a number of special activities such as regular jewelry labs at the Cape Coral Art Studio, Sunday Fun-Days geared toward stone cutters, special competitions such as next months "Hearts and Roses" theme, plus an extensive array of classes in silver-smithing, wire wrapping, and precious metal clay.

We took along a few of the rack cards for our 28th Gem and Mineral Show to the meeting and told members a bit about our club.   After the meeting Alan did a show and tell with his cabs, then Robert gave us a terrific tour of the Art Studio.    Here is a link to the fall FSG newsletter that you may find interesting. http://www.fsg4u.com/FSGfall10.pdf

There was lots of talk and planning about Wildacres, an event sponsored by the Eastern Federation who, like us, are AFMS affiliates.   Intrigued by this, I later researched Wildacres and learned that extensive lapidary and jewelry-making workshops are offered during two annual sessions. Here's link for more information for anyone who might be interested in Wildacres which is held in a beautiful retreat setting - http://www.amfed.org/efmls/wildacres.htm

When you're on the road, consider a visit to a fellow club. And please do drop us a note so that we can include you in our occasional Rockhound-on-the-Road columns!

November Field Trip to Old Hachita

2010-11-22T08:33:00.009-07:00

submitted by Kyle Meredith

Like last month's trip to Tres Hermanas, we had another small group heading down to Old Hachita to look for turquoise. It was an outstanding day, even with the breeze that picked up when we got there. I didn't look at everyone's booty (treasure, that is), but if someone didn't find anything, they weren't trying.

True, most of the obvious specimens were quite small, but with not much effort you could pick up a choice nugget or two. Josh and I found several worthy pieces, and as soon as we find a place to buy waterglass (sodium silicate) we're ready to stabilize what we found—small pieces for mosaics and larger ones for jewelry.

After lunch, most of us headed back toward home with a couple of stops, one at the old American National Mine ruins, and one at the ghost town of Old Hachita. (Of course it was just “Hachita” until a post office was established at “new” Hachita in 1902. Clear?)

In addition to being known for turquoise since the 1870s, other minerals were mined including silver, gold, and copper. It makes me wonder if there wasn't some politics involved in extending Grant County down to include what is called the Eureka (the original name for Hachita--that is Old Hachita--uh, you understand) Mining District.

And that concludes the tenure of Kyle and Josh as Field Trip Coordinators. There will be no field trip in December, then in January Ansel takes the reins. I hear he has eight (out of 10) field trips lined up already for 2011. It goes to show he's a lot more organized than we ever were. We're very grateful that Ansel stepped up, and have complete confidence in his abilities. And remember, if he ever leads the group down the wrong road, well, it's in the job description. Good luck to Ansel, and good fun for all!

Report on the 31st Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium

2010-11-15T20:34:00.001-07:00

by Lee Stockman

The 31st Annual New Mexico Mineral Symposium drew a record number of geologist, mineralogists and rock hounds to Socorro for the two day meeting. Sixteen speakers presented discussions ranging from mining artifacts and papers to discussions of mineral collecting and history in various localities from Quebec to the Kearney Mine at Hanover. Mineral and mining knowledge was interspersed with humor, beverages and good food making the Symposium a worthy event.

Some of the presentations dealt with mineral collecting sites in Quebec, Michigan, Arizona, Colorado and Utah. Other parts of New Mexico were discussed in three reports and Grant and Hidalgo Counties in southwestern New Mexico was more than adequately represented with reports on four localities.

Ron Gibbs reported in a short talk about some rare and only recently identified minerals collected at Granite Gap. Robert Walstrom reported on mineral collecting in the Apache Hills, east of Hatchita, Travis Cato told about collecting at Mt. Watson, in what we call the Turkey Creek Fluorite area, and Jack Burgess reported on the fabulously rich zinc ores and the operation of the Kearney (pronounced Karney) Mine at Hanover. Talks were illustrated with numerous photos of mineral specimens, a significant number of them, micro minerals.

If you are particularly interested in minerals you may wish to check this web site for an organization, Friends of Mineralogy, at: http://www.friendsofmineralogy.org/

For the last two years, several of the presenters talked about mining artifacts and memorabilia including carbide lamps and blasting supplies and containers. Ross Arrington reported on the paper documentation of mining operations, and how he found some reports from the old mine of Carlisle signed by a young mining engineer, Herbert Hoover. Those interested in mining artifacts should check the internet magazine at: http://eurekamagazine.net/

Abstracts of the talks at last year’s symposium are available at: http://geoinfo.nmt.edu/publications/periodicals/nmg/downloads/31/n4/nmg_v31_n4_p107.pdf

Abstracts of this year’s Symposium will be published in the quarterly New Mexico Geology later in the year.

I came away from the Symposium with two major impressions. One, there sure is a lot more I need to learn about nomenclature and crystal structure of minerals, and Two, the quality of the presentations that we, the Rolling Stones, have at our meetings, while maybe not as deep technically as those at the symposium, are professionally presented and we should be proud of the fine job our speakers do.

Fall Happenings

2010-10-20T15:06:00.001-06:00

The Steering Committee for the 3rd Natural History of the Gila Symposium would like to thank members of the Rolling Stones for participating in their recent event at Western New Mexico University. A special thanks to member Mary Dowse for her terrific presentation "An Introduction to the geology of the Gila River Basin in NM."

Planning is already underway for the 2011 Gem and Mineral Show. Due to popular demand, we have again booked the Grant County Conference Center. We have enlisted the help of a local graphic and Plein Aire artist, Patricia Taber, who has produced a wonderful design for promoting next year's show. Patricia will also be producing our posters and print ads. If you can help promote our show, drop a note (see "how to contact us") and we'll mail you a few of the new rack cards. Here are images of the rack card currently in production.

Show Field Trip Report

2010-09-22T16:26:00.002-06:00

Submitted by Kyle Meredith

We had three fine days this year (for a change!) for field trips during our annual Gem and Mineral Show with 15-22 participants on each trip. I think everyone had a good time, and I hope they went away with some mementos of their experience.

Saturday we went up to the Bear Mountain Geode Claim to look for fortification agate and fossils. We found some of each without much difficulty, but nothing that knocked our socks off. New member Alain found a cantaloupe-sized sphere that looked to us like nothing more than a mud ball, but when Josh cut it for him, it turned out to be a septarian—the first we’ve see at that site.

The second day, we went to Fluorite Ridge for a miscellany of rock collecting, including some carnelian and surprising specimens of fluorite. Along toward mid-afternoon most people had left, but Jane and Suzanne from Albuquerque wanted to explore another mine they had read about, so we drove toward it until the road became impassable. We walked a ways then determined it was too hot to finish hiking up to it. But now we have another place to check out in the future!

Greg led the third trip out to Saddlerock Canyon and reported a good day there. In addition to the iron sulfide crystals in limestone, another nice ammonite specimen was found.

We met many new people and had a lot of fun. Our thanks go out to everyone who contributed to the success of the field trips and the Show in general. Let’s do it again next year!

Gem and Mineral Show Photos

2010-09-14T18:14:00.001-06:00

Thanks to a talented member, Marcia Fisch, we have a few more photo to share. There were so many beautiful things available at the Gem and Mineral show. Here are a few of the Product Highlights. Plus there was just a whole darn bunch of fun. Here are a few of the Fun Photos.

A Few Show Highlights

2010-09-08T08:35:00.004-06:00

Lequita Lett welcomes our arriving vendors.

More Show photos can be found here.

What a Wonderful Show!

2010-09-07T07:07:00.001-06:00

Perfect weather, a terrific new venue, and record attendance resulted in a wonderful 27th Annual Gem and Mineral Show this weekend. Thank you to all the Vendors, Volunteers, and Visitors! Stay tuned, as photos and more will be posted very soon!

AND WE'RE OFF AND RUNNING!

2010-09-02T17:40:00.012-06:00

Day 1 of Set-up - We get the keys and start moving into the Conference Center. How exciting!

Tomorrow we make it look like this diagram!

Great Show Coverage in Today's Silver City Sun News

2010-09-02T11:08:00.001-06:00

4,000 expected attend 27th Annual Gem and Mineral Show

By Terrance Vestal Sun-News reporter

Posted: 09/01/2010 11:49:21 PM MDT

Click photo to enlarge

Grant Smith, of Alma, demonstrates a method for recovering gold from... (Christine Steele/Sun-News)

SILVER CITY - The upcoming Labor Day weekend in Silver City is going to rock - literally.

Organizers of the 27th Annual Gem and Mineral Show, which will run from Saturday to Monday, say they expect the event to bring 4,000 to 5,000 people into town throughout the course of the three days.

An informal survey of area hotels, including the Holiday Inn Express, the Comfort Inn and the Econo Lodge, show that rooms will be scarce in Silver City.

Marcia Andre, the show chairwoman for the Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society, which is sponsoring the event, said Wednesday that the group is excited about holding the show in a new venue - the Grant County Business and convention center on Highway 180, next to Ace Hardware.

"We've always been at the Rec Center and while saying good-bye to the Rec Center was hard - the staff always was very good to us - the new venue gives us more room and room to grow," Andre said.

The show, which offers free admission, will be open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday. Vendors from throughout the Southwest will fill 115 tables with rocks and minerals and related equipment for sale.

Karen Murphy, publicity chairwoman for the event, said vendors expected to attend include regulars who have been at previous shows as well as some new vendors.

"People will be able to find all kinds of things at the show," Murphy said.

While the Convention Center allows the event room to grow, Andre said the group still has "a long waiting list" of vendors who would like to participate.

New this year, Andre said, is the NMSU Zuhl Collection of petrified wood, which will be an educational display. Andre said a museum curator for the Zuhl Collection will be on hand for the weekend.

There also will be exhibits provided by locals as well as New Mexico Tech's Mining and Mineral Museum. The Silver City Lions Club will provide food. Daily field trips, a silent auction and the ever-popular Wheel of Fortune also will be featured.

Andre said the Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society took on a different approach in promoting the show by teaming up with Silver City MainStreet, which is having its First Friday in the downtown area on Friday, and the 18th Annual San Vicente Art Fair, which also is downtown on Saturday and Sunday. The three entities bought advertising in combination to try to promote Silver City and not just a single event.

Recently, the Silver City Town Council and the mayor have expressed concern regarding the spending of lodgers tax funds in wanting greater accountability and, ultimately, a marketing plan in place for the area.

"We hope this shows the mayor and the city council that we are trying to do what they are looking for," Andre said. "We're trying to promote Silver City as a whole."

Terrance Vestal can be reached at (575) 538-5893, ext. 5803.

If you go

•What: The 27th Annual Gem and Mineral Show

•Where: Grant County Business and Convention Center on Highway 180

•When: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday

•Information: E-mail, rollingstonesgmsshow@gmail.com or visit http://rollingstonesgms.blogspot.com/

Our Confirmed Vendors!

2010-08-17T08:34:00.003-06:00

Judy Allen and Lee Stockman
Henry and Charlotte Andazola
Edward and Pamela Bell - Bell Custom Jewelry
Greg and Sue Berglund - Spankys
Fred Bishop - 2 Guy's Rocks
Karen Blisard - Radiant Gemstones
Harry and Carol Bruntz - Uniquely Yours
Steve and Susan Cody - Colorstone Gemworks
Ginger Coombs
Dolores Crabb
Dave Douglass - Douglass Minerals
Bill and Jeannine Fencil - William J Fencil Co
Sue Fischer Jewelry from Sue
Bill and Dorothy Gerk - B&D Magnetics
Charles and Pat Grimes - Country View Boarding
Joe Harris - NM Joe's Trading Post
Karen Flanary - Glenkara
Therese Higgins - The Jewelry Lady
Jun Lin Ho - Gemstone Station
Bill and Linda Horton - Misty Mountain G&M
William and Emily Jaeger - Endless Mtns Minerals
Patsy and Jerry Kastner - Kastner Gems & Supply
Ron Kellner - RK Enterprises
Debbie and Ernie Leschner
Barry Mercer - Elemental Energy Center
Randy and Keitha Miller - The Miller-ite
Thomas and Edna Murphy - Prym Jewelry
Edna Murphy - Prym Jewelry
Jay and Amy Penn - El Chivo Viejo
David and Jody Prell - JD Creations
RuthAnn and David Rinsch
Sylveen Robinson-Cook and Kevin Cook - Royal Scepter
Kathy Rowe - Kai's Cabs and Slabs
Stephen Rudd - Stephen Rudd Beads
John Scully - Scullys Minerals
Jesse and James Searcy - Black Hat Trading
Yogi and Chan Shah - Johnson Brothers
Emilie and Roy Smith
Paul and Kim Sugar - Beads 101
Sharon and Bill Szymanski -Never Enough Karats
Roy and John Trobaugh - Rocks by Nature
Virginia Wilkinson
Bob and Linda Woods - R&L Enterprises

New show addition!

2010-07-29T10:34:00.002-06:00

The Rolling Stones welcomes an exciting new addition to this year's Gem and Mineral Show. Everyone will want to make a special visit to the exhibit from NMSU's Zuhl Collection of petrified wood. Curator Matt Dawkins will be there to discuss the displays and answer your questions.

Don't miss our SHOW!

2010-07-28T13:15:00.002-06:00

Show field trips schedule

2010-07-23T07:54:00.006-06:00

A free field trip is offered each day of the Show, September 4,5, and 6. Everyone is welcome! The trips depart each day at 9:00 AM from the Grant County Business and Conference Center. Some areas require a high-clearance vehicle, and car-pooling is encouraged. Be sure to bring plenty of water, hats, sunscreen, a bag or bucket, and perhaps a small rock hammer or shovel. Perhaps a light snack as well.

Saturday’s trip is Bear Mountain, not far from Silver City, to look for fortification (banded) agate in rhyolite nodules and fossils

Sunday's trip is to Fluorite Ridge, south of Silver City near Deming for a variety of minerals such as botryoidal psilomelane, beautiful conglomerates and breccia and occasional carnelian chips.

Monday's trip is to Saddlerock Canyon in the nearby Burro Mountains to search for dark gray limestone nodules that occur with golden iron sulfide crystals embedded inside that can be cut and polished into impressive cabochons, as well as perhaps fossils and other interesting minerals.

Displays in the works

2010-07-13T15:38:00.003-06:00

Josh, Kyle, and Alan meet to discuss the components
of our ever-popular club displays for the Show.

A Full House for the Show!

2010-07-11T11:01:00.005-06:00

All of our vendor slots have been filled for this year's show, and we have several vendors already on our waiting list. Here's our first draft.

July Field Trip

2010-07-10T09:33:00.000-06:00

Report prepared by Club Member Kyle Meredith. This trip will also be provided free of charge during the upcoming Gem and Mineral Show.

“Ammonites” was the word of the day for our field trip to Saddlerock Canyon. Oh, I’ve found a couple of ammonites before—from one whole tiny impression to a segment from one that was probably a foot or more in diameter—but several people found ammonites in many different forms, including Denise’s rock that seemed to be a kind of ammonite jam with many sizes all jumbled together.

We also found the limestone with the iron sulfide crystals. The piece I brought home has a rusty-looking nodule about the size of a golf ball that I’m going to try to release with a bath in muriatic acid. If it’s any good, I’ll be sure to bring it to the next meeting. I also picked up a pretty yard rock. Whether it’s tuff or rhyolite or something else altogether is beyond me, but it has some dramatic banding.

I hope everyone found something worthwhile, but if what you took home was a disappointment, we’ll be going back on Labor Day at the Rock and Gem Show. Of course, you’re always welcome to revisit any of our field trips on your own. That is, if you can find your way there!

Gem and Mineral Show Update

2010-06-15T07:20:00.002-06:00

Volunteers are being recruited for all the jobs needed for the upcoming Gem and Mineral Show on Labor Day weekend. Donations are needed for the Silent Auction. Mark your calendars - we're on the final count-down!

For more information contact rollingstonesgmsshow@gmail.com

Members Tour New Venue

2010-05-21T18:42:00.004-06:00

The 2010 Gem and Mineral Show Committee hosted a tour of the Grant County Business and Conference Center today where our Show will be held on Labor Day Weekend. Members talked with the Committee about layout and operational considerations for our upcoming event. It was obvious that Club members are very excited about our move to this new venue. Photos taken previously of the new venue can be found here.

Gold panning with the kids

2010-05-17T09:57:00.002-06:00

2010 Children’s Water Festival by Kyle Meredith

For club members who missed gold-panning at the Children’s Water Festival in April due to obligations with the Tour of the Gila, well, maybe next year. As usual we had a lot of fun with the local fifth-graders by the Gila River, teaching them how to pan for gold (using BBs as a substitute.)

The day couldn’t have started out better, but before the last session around 2:00 the wind was getting up to the point that it was dangerous to be walking under the cottonwoods as they lost some rather large branches. We hurried out of there and battled the wind home, crashing through a herd of tumbleweeds crossing the highway at Saddlerock Canyon.

I want to thank everyone who showed up to help, including Josh Reeves, Greg Conlin, Buzz Montgomery, and especially Roger Dombrowski who explained and demonstrated the panning technique to the kids. He also documented the day with these photos that show some of the fun we had.

Club Members Tour Scheduled

2010-05-07T08:18:00.000-06:00

We had a great Show Committee meeting in mid-April, where members provided updates on their areas of responsibility. Long story short, it appears that our show will be bigger and better than anticipated! We are getting an enthusiastic reaction from our vendors, many of whom are requesting more tables. And, we have a waiting list of new vendors requesting space.

We have scheduled a Club Tour of the new Grant County Business and Conference Center on Friday, May 21 at 11 AM. It's located at the intersection of Hwy 180 and the 32nd St. By Pass on the east side of Silver City. It's right next door to ACE Hardware. If you'd like to tour the new venue and visit with the Show Committee about show layout and operations please come.

Also, make sure that you have the dates of our show on your calendars. Set-up will start on Friday, September 3 with the show on Sept. 4,5, and 6. We will need LOTS of help this year from ALL members. Don't forget the Vendor dinner on Sunday, just after the close of the show. We hope that everyone will plan to stay, eat, and visit with our vendors. It is always such a fun occasion, and something our vendors really look forward to and appreciate.

Only 4 more months!

2010-04-30T19:39:00.001-06:00

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society’s 27th Annual Gem and Mineral Show will be held in Silver City, New Mexico on Labor Day weekend. The hours are: Saturday & Sunday, September 4 and 5 from10am-5pm, Monday September 6 from 10am-4pm. The location is the new Grant County Business and Conference Center, 3031 Highway 180 East, Silver City. Admission is free. Over 55 dealers from throughout the United States, Mexico, Asia, and elsewhere will have their wares for sale. Activities include free daily field trips, Silent Auction, and the Wheel of Fortune. Food service is provided by the Silver City Lions Club. For more details, contact Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society, Vendor Manager L. Lett at 575-538-3216 or rollingstonesgmsshow@gmail.com

Geology of Kilbourne Hole

2010-03-02T05:59:00.002-07:00

Kilbourne Hole by Lee Stockman (Vice President for Programs)

The February Field Trip visited one of New Mexico’s more unusual geological features. Most geologic formations developed over eons. Kilbourne Hole was not one of these, but a spectacular event that was sudden. It has been described as “One of the worlds most perfect example of a maar.” A maar is a volcanic event which occurs when magma comes into contact with water below the surface. About 28,000 years ago when the weight of the overburden could not hold in the pressure generated by the super heated water a violent explosion sent the overburden flying.

The hole left in the ground had hardly any crater walls above the surrounding land. Those who were on the field trip may have noticed the hard light colored material deposited in layers on the inside of the crater where we climbed down to collect. These layers are deposits of the ash that was expelled at the time of the explosion. An unusual characteristic of the magma that produced the explosion is that it contained peridot crystal pockets which came up with the magma from the Mantle originating some 7 miles deep in the earth. Today when we walk along the walls of Kilbourne Hole we find the peridot in the cooled pockets with a coating of the magma on the outside.

The garnet granules in with the Peridot have been dated by the uranium lead method at 1.375 billion years so it had formed long before the explosion that brought it to the surface. What the Crater looked like just after the explosion, we will never know but it must have been deep. Other maars in New Mexico had craters almost a mile deep. But during the ensuing years alluvial deposits have buried the bottom of the crater and today we see a playa and even evidence of human occupation in the form of a foundation for a building.

February Field Trip

2010-03-02T05:46:00.004-07:00

Kilbourne Hole by Kyle Meredith Field Trip Coordinator

The day started out a little cooler than I expected, and never really got as warm as I hoped, but it was still a great start for the twentyfive or so people who showed up for our trip to Kilbourne Hole. I don’t know if anyone showed up in Tyrone due to the misinformation printed in the Daily Press, but let me emphasize here that the reliable information is always in the Beacon. If you’re not receiving your copy, please contact our editor, Elaine!

We had no difficulty reaching our first stop where we looked for yard rocks, some of which contained crystalline quartz with an amethystine quality. However, as I led us forward to Kilbourne Hole for lunch, I had forgotten which turn to make (my GPS unit had just kicked the bucket), and the map was worse than useless. Fortunately, we had other competent leaders who got us on the right road, and with one additional turnaround we made it to the overlook where the wind almost blew us over the edge.
After a quick lunch, we drove around to the other side of the Hole where we hiked a short ways to a superb collecting area. My disparaging assessment of what we could find was proven wrong—there was way more interesting stuff than just sandy peridot crystals, and Lee even found a larger crystal than I’ve ever seen come out of there.

As I predicted, though, the wind was fierce, and only got worse as we drove into it on our way home. By the time we got to Deming, we were driving through wind and sand, then wind and rain, and finally wind and snow. If you’ve never been to Kilbourne Hole, it’s worth the drive, but go with someone who knows how to get there. And expect wind.

February Show Update

2010-02-22T14:05:00.005-07:00

One of the advantages this year is that the entire Gem and Mineral Show will be indoors. Do you recall in past years just how bad those sudden rain storm were for outside business? This year, everyone will be inside the new Grant County Business and Conference Center nice and dry, which should make for more consistent shopping opportunities for all of our visitors.

This year, in response to our vendor's feedback, the highly popular vendor dinner will be held on Sunday night when most restaurants are closed in Silver City rather than on it's traditional Saturday night. Club member Jeanne Martin will again be in charge of the meal, so will be looking for volunteers to help provide and serve the meal . Our thanks to Jeanne for taking this on again!

Club member Sandra Ho, who has helped in the past, has agreed to be our Greeter Manager. She'll be lining up volunteers towards summer. Thanks to Sandra for taking on this leadership role.

Many of you haven't met JR Calkins yet, a new club member who is serving as our Site Manager this year. JR is the Assistant Forest Engineer on the Gila National Forest and possesses a great deal of skill and experience with facility management. During the days immediately following the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center, he served in a critical role on site managing the receipt and distribution of emergency supplies for all the rescue and recovery workers. He also serves as a Type 1 Incident Management Logistics Chief, so we are quite fortunate to have his expertise as new part of our Show Committee.

January field trip

2010-01-19T16:59:00.000-07:00

by Kyle Meredith (Rolling Stones member, Field Trip Coordinator)

I want to thank Wade Cave for leading a successful (and LARGE) field trip to Round Mountain! He told me there were 36 people on the trip, and as best as he could tell, everyone found something, and some people found A LOT of somethings.

I guess there was a bit of a snafu in finding the turn-off from the highway, but with a little guidance from Lee, everyone got back on track and made it to the collecting site. I can relate to that—I have certainly led us astray on previous trips. You just have to accept those little adventures with good humor.

After lunch, Wade and some others decided to do the loop, looking for geodes, but without much success. It is a vast area, but many people have collected there over many years, and in most cases the easy pickings and impressive finds have been taken away.

That’s something we really need to consider when we do these trips. I’ve been to many sites where there is little evidence of the material we went to find. Part of our mission as a gem and mineral society is to share our interest with others, including the generations that come after us. It’s hard advice to follow—I know from personal experience as a collector—but we should limit ourselves in what we collect. It seems ridiculous to think that the opportunities at Round Mountain will ever disappear, but how many buckets does it take to strip an area, especially with as many people as we draw on our trips? Legally, we are each limited to 25 pounds per day (plus one piece) with a total limit of 250 pounds per year.

Additionally, according to information on the BLM website, “You may not collect any artifacts, ancient or historical, on public lands [including] ARROWHEADS OR FLAKES, pottery or potsherds, mats, rock art, old bottles or pieces of equipment or buildings.” This is something I hope EVERYONE will consider on all our future trips.

Welcome to the new members that joined, and I hope we see you at the meetings and other club functions! Remember, the Rolling Stones is more than just field trips.

2010 Show Update

2010-01-14T06:41:00.003-07:00

The 2010 Gem and Mineral Show Committee has been organized and is up and running! Our biggest accomplishment to date is booking the new Grant County Business & Conference Center as our venue for the show, which will provide so many things that we’ve had on our “wish list” these past few years. More and better parking! More room! Plenty of nice bathrooms!

We’re in the process of figuring out just how much of the Events Center we will need. As an example, the Committee hopes that we can provide programs as part of our event, similar to the wonderful programs we have at our Club meetings.We also have more room for displays or demonstrations or perhaps even events for children. We would very much like to hear your ideas, so please drop me an email, or visit with another of the Committee members. If we are going to provide these activities as part of our show, we must move forward quite soon so that this can be included in our promotional materials.

This year’s committee, in addition to myself as Chair, consists of Lequita Lett as Vendor Manager, Karen Murphy as Publicity Manager, and JR Calkins as Site Manager. We very much still need to fill the role of Hospitality Manager, so please contact me if you’re interested or just have a few questions. In addition, each of the committee members needs an assistant. Last year, we had a much larger committee and quite a few meetings. We are doing things just a bit differently this year, with a much smaller committee and less frequent meetings.

In addition to a Hospitality Manager, the Show Committee needs a part-time Publicity person -someone who can cover the responsibilities while Karen is away during the probable months of April and May. In addition we also need volunteers who will commit to managing the:

Vendor dinner
Greeters
Displays
Programs and Demonstrations Children's events or crafts
Name tags for volunteers and vendors

Thankfully we have a few folks who are willing to continue with Show responsibilities, which we appreciate very much. They include:

BJ Burch - Silent Auction
Lee Stockman Food Services
Ginger Coombs Wheel of Fortune
Josh Reeves and Kyle Meredith - field trips

The 2010 Committee will be hosting a special field trip to the Event Center in a few weeks to discuss show lay-out and design, so we’d like to get these roles identified as soon as possible. If you’d like to participate in that field trip, drop me an email.

We plan another great show, and are so excited about the new venue and all of the possibilities that it affords!

The Benefits of Membership

2009-12-17T14:59:00.006-07:00

Members of the Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society are currently conducting a poll to describe the benefits of being a member of our club. Check back to see the on-going results.

Members - You can participate using the submission form for this poll.

November Field Trip Report

2009-12-16T07:15:00.001-07:00

by Kyle Meredith (Rolling Stones 2nd V.P. for Field Trips)

The day started out with over thirty enthusiastic
rock hounds meeting in Hillsboro on a delightful
November morning. A local man walking by
commented that we had almost doubled the
population of the little town! It certainly seemed
that way as we milled around signing up new
members and greeting all the regulars.

Our first stop to look for jaspeite went smoothly,
and I think everyone found promising material
without having to venture very far off the road. We
quickly gathered everyone together to caravan to our
next stop—the Copper Flat mining area. I had a
sinking feeling as we pulled up to a locked gate with
a No Trespassing sign clearly posted. It wasn't there
last year, or even just a few months ago when David
R. had visited the site.

Not having a Plan B, we had to come up with
something fast. Some members decided to stay in
the area and look around in other places on their
own, while Sandra suggested we could reconnoiter
back in Hillsboro and she would lead us to a place
along Highway 27 to look for calcite crystals, and
Greg suggested looking for fossils farther down the
road. As we gathered again, Hal (one of our newest
members) found out from one of the locals whom to
talk to about getting a key to the gate.

What luck to find the guy at home! He called the
manager for permission and gave us the key, and we
all piled into our vehicles and retraced our route to
Copper Flat. By that time, we had lost a lot of
collecting time, so we all headed straight for the
highlight of the trip—the blue lagoon. The
unnatural blue color engendered a lot of speculation
as to how it got that way, and the selenite
crystallization occurred around the pond in many
fascinating forms to collect.

On the way home we noticed some Rolling Stones
taking their own side trips along the highway cuts.
Others had asked directions to the fossil-collecting
site. I haven't heard what kind of success they had,
but what a fine day to be a rock hound!
''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''

3rd Natural History of the Gila Symposium

2009-12-04T07:19:00.005-07:00

Here is a great opportunity for members to share their geology skills and interests.

3rd Natural History of the Gila Symposium
Western New Mexico University (Silver City, NM)

Presentations: Thursday, October 14 (1:00 PM – 5:00 PM) & Friday, October 15 (9:00 AM - 5:00 PM) 2010 Field Trips (8:00 AM -1:00 PM) on Saturday, October 16 2010

ABSTRACTS and POSTERS on RESEARCH and MANAGEMENT PROJECTS are encouraged in all topics related to archaeology, botany, conservation biology, ecology, ethnobotany, forest management, geology, hydrology, stream restoration, ichthyology, herpetology, ornithology, mammalogy, entomology, and similar subjects of southwestern New Mexico or regions of Arizona affected by the Gila River

Send abstracts (not to exceed 150 words) to Martha Schumann Cooper (mschumann@tnc.org) by May 15 2010. Publication of accepted papers in proceedings for this symposium are planned

Partners for this symposium include: The Nature Conservancy of New Mexico, Native Plant Society of New Mexico, Native Plant Society of New Mexico - Gila Chapter, the Audubon Society (SW New Mexico Chapter), The Gila Conservation Education Center, United States Forest Service, Western Institute of Lifelong Learning and Western New Mexico University.

Steering Committee Members: Marcia Andre, Carol Campbell, Jack Carter, Richard Felger, Kelly Kindscher, Frank Merritt, William Norris, Martha Schumann Cooper, Roland Shook, Ellen Soles, Art Telles, John Titre

Rockhound on the Road - Utah and Nevada

2009-12-02T11:12:00.020-07:00

Alan with a chunk of the blue gray quartz

Alan and I decided to test drive two more rockhounding books since we enjoyed our September sojourn to northern NM. We purchased two books by William A Kappele, Rockhounding Nevada and Rockhounding Utah and headed out. Just east of Zion National Park, we stopped at Joe’s rock shop in Orderville, Utah where we were given a free map and quick lesson on finding Septarian Nodules. We headed out to Joe’s claim and within a couple of hours we found several keepers.

The next two sites were duds in spite of the authors rave reviews. It was then we realized that the two books were published 12 and 13 years ago! The obsidian site near Milford was as described, and was quite interesting. We picked up a bag of fist-sized chunks.Before heading into Nevada, Alan highlighted all of the book’s sites on our map, which made route finding so much easier. While both books have good detail maps of the sites, the state-wide maps are much too coarse of a scale to effectively plan a trip.

After spending a night in Ely, we headed to Garnet Hill just outside of town reported to have good signage into the site. As a result the directions in the book were sketchy. We easily found the Garnet Hill sign on the highway but all of the other signs had been destroyed. We found sign remnants here and there, but after searching for a couple of hours, we gave it up and continued west.

We enjoyed the scenery along Highway 50, the state-proclaimed “Loneliest Road in the US”, for a couple of more hours. With some exploring we found the Bench Creek Fossil site where the book said “you will have no trouble finding leaf fossils on the white hill.” We found the white hill, climbed all over it for a couple of hours, and found 2 very small, poor quality fossils. From there we headed to the wonderstone sites east of Fallon, but with heavy rain falling, we pushed on to Reno for the night.

After a week in California, we headed home this time down the west side of Nevada on Hwy 95, and again found beautiful views and little not quite ghost towns. The petrified wood site near Mina was a wash-out, but we found lots of Jasper there. At the Kernick Mine we found several small pieces of Selenite, but not the foot wide pieces described in the book. Following a night in Tonopah, we located the Carrara Mine which produced the lovely blue-gray quartz as described in the book, but in very limited supplies with no jackhammer.

We gained new appreciation for this stark and wild country, enjoyed some interesting spots, and met a few crusty rock shop owners along the way. And as always, we just like hitting the road!

Admiring the Many-Headed Barrel Cactus with the Carrara Mine in the background

Ahhh, the Open Road!

A new venue for the show!!!!

2009-11-06T11:02:00.002-07:00

Yesterday, the 2010 Gem and Mineral Show Committee met with Grant County officials and confirmed the location for our next show at the new Event Center. Stay tuned for more information!!

Rockhound on the Road - Sedona Show

2009-10-26T13:45:00.004-06:00

Vendor list

From Sedona Pines

Karen and copper

Name the mineral?

Kid's corner

Vendor name tag

Outside show

Raffle announcing

Around the show

Rockhounds on the Road

by Karen Murphy & Tim O’Donnell (club members & newsletter co-editors)

Imagine our sheer pleasure that the Sedona Rock and Mineral Club had its 10th annual show while we were visiting Sedona! We’re reasonably certain they didn’t hold the show on purpose for our visit, but we felt honored nevertheless. Held at the Sedona Red Rock High School Cafeteria on Saturday October 17th and Sunday October 18th, the show provided enough parking for all visitors. In addition to free admission, there was something for everyone, speakers, kids' crafts, meteorite and other displays, raffles, mineral identification, sphere making and other demonstrations, rocks, gemstones, minerals, fossils, beads, jewelry.

Our first impressions were the size of the show, the layout, and the tables and carpeting. The 40 vendors displayed their wares inside the cafeteria and outside under the clear sky. The layout was interesting - something we might want to institute if we’re in the new civic center next year. The layout was sort of a patchwork quilt, with square tables and round tables, almost no long lines of rows, and ample light. People were able to zig-zag around from table to table. All of the tables were covered with blue table covers. The entire indoor part of the show was carpeted, which didn’t seem to hamper the sales. Think back-when you ate in the school cafeteria, was it carpeted? Many of the vendors had rented multiple tables. The outdoor part of the show was on cement walks, some with shades. Every vendor and assistant had a name tag displayed, and in back of the name tag was a card with cell phone information of the show chair.

What did the vendors offer? Lots of jewelry! Beads, equipment, fossils, slabs, and polished specimens all abounded. Very few large rough specimens were available. Children enjoyed the free Kids’ Crafts booths, making their own beaded jewelry. One adolescent entertained her instructor with stories and jokes throughout the procedure. Did we say that there was lots of jewelry?

The Speaker sessions were a first this year. We went to a fascinating session on meteorites by Club member Dr. Carleton Moore from Arizona State University. The Club also paid for a paleobotanist, Mr. Walt Wright, to visit from southern California. He showed numerous examples of petrified wood and shared information about discriminating between coniferous and deciduous wood. He had also made a presentation at the club’s October meeting.

The hourly raffle tickets cost $1 per ticket or $5 for 7 tickets. I won the first raffle that I entered. All of the hourly raffle tickets were put back into the bucket for the drawing at the end of the show for the three grand prizes. We’re glad we didn’t win the alligator head! Maybe we just haven’t been notified of the other grand prize yet.

The annual show is their big fund raiser. The club awards $1,000 scholarships to two high school students each year. Apparently the publicity paid off. One vendor described a show for which he had been publicity manager. He sent between 20 and 30 flyers with the contract to each vendor, asking the vendors to distribute flyers at shows they went to. Some did, some didn’t.

The temperature reached a high of 87 degrees both days, and the clear sky was as awesome as our own skies. The difference is the red rocks of Sedona. Sedona is beautiful but very commercial. We prefer our little side of the world better, but when you need to get away, this area is first-rate.

This was clearly a very successful and fun show, and the 150-member Sedona Gem and Mineral Club worked hard to insure its success. See http://www.sedonagemandmineral.org/ for club information and past issues of the newsletter.

Moonstone - the target for October field trip

2009-10-18T17:28:00.004-06:00

Field trip leaders Josh Reeves and Kyle Meredith - photo by Roger Dombrowski

October Field Trip Report

by Kyle Meredith, Rolling Stones Field Trip Leader

I didn't expect a huge crowd to show up for the Rabb Park Moonstone field trip after I emphasized the difficulty of the hike. All together eight of us showed up at the meeting place, including two new members—visitors from Florida who joined the Rolling Stones just for the trip. I think in spite of the altitude we'll see them again when they return next summer. We enjoyed having them along.

As we were on the trail, David showed up to lead us to his "secret" location, and he gave us some tips about where to look and what to look for. I have to admit that I found more moonstone than on any of my previous trips, and this time I was (usually) able to tell the difference between that and the quartz. (A bright blue sheen leaves no doubt when you see it. The word of the day was "adularescense.")

In the end, I think everyone would agree that it was a challenging hike. After supper I was barely able to pull my creaky bones up off the couch. If you thought you might not be able to do this hike, you were probably right. Myself, I brought home a mere palmful of tiny moonstones, but Josh found a remarkable stone that David said could facet down to a respectable 1½ carats. Roger tried to photograph it, but the color is elusive in a photo. David and some of the others also found some good stuff, plus it was an excellent day for a hike in the woods, so all in all I'd say it was a successful day rockhounding.

More, More, More

2009-10-07T15:29:00.004-06:00

The biggest complaint we heard at the Gem and Mineral show this year was about its location. It's the same story every year. More room! More and better parking! Better bathrooms! Places to sit down! A more convenient location!

A few of us had a chance to explore the new Grant County Event Center next door to Ace Hardware. This venue definitely has more of everything!

Right now, it is configured with two very large carpeted rooms, plus a few smaller rooms. The kitchen area has a large eating space, plus access to an outdoor area configured with picnic tables.. The bathrooms are huge, and quite nice!

Be sure to let our County Commissioners and staff know that this is important to us. It would be wonderful to be able to use this new venue in 2010!

Rockhound on the Road - Northern New Mexico

2009-09-28T22:05:00.007-06:00

We decided to hit the road the week following the Show, in part to test-drive a Show purchase, the Falcon Guide to Rockhounding New Mexico, by Ruta Vaskys and Martin Freed. We based with friends and family in Santa Fe and Albuquerque and sought out a number of sites described in the book.

We bought the book, in large part, due to what appeared to be excellent directions and maps. We were not disappointed. We first checked out Site 10 Abiquiu Dam and found small pieces of agate as described in the book, but not the jasper. The view was spectacular, and we enjoyed the fall flowers.

The authors indicated that there are many good collecting sites nearby, so we took a short side trip down a side road to Cañones. Here we found big chunks of gorgeous agate. Working with Charlie Grimes these past few days, Alan has managed to cut some beautiful cabs from this material.

We traveled north as far as Tierra Amarilla, and enjoyed the beautiful rock formations near the Ghost Ranch.

Another day was spent in the Jemez Mountains where we particularly enjoyed the amazing landscape at Valle Grande, also known as the Valles Caldera Preserve. If you haven't seen this incredible place it's worth the trip. The caldera's geology is a story in itself.

Instead, I'll describe the book's Site 15 where huge chunks of obsidian are visible all along the road. We found snowflake and mahogany obsidian as well, and brought several chunks home. This photo shows a very large piece, probably 4 feet across, with interesting bands of color.

Our last stop of the day was at Site 12 - Soda Dam, also a very interesting geological formation. While no collecting is allowed here, it's very interesting to see the natural dam formed by mineral deposits of calcium carbonate from the waters of hot springs.

We look forward to exploring more sites in New Mexico with the help of this terrific book.

A few show photos

2009-09-13T07:55:00.003-06:00

The Monday morning field trip is ready to hit the road.

One of many tables of beautiful mineral samples

Vendor Manager Lequita Lett browses a vendor table.

What a Show!

2009-09-12T17:14:00.007-06:00

Wow, is about all that we can say after a fantastic three days! Stay tuned for some photos of this years show and more information once we compile the results of our survey. In the meantime, this wonderful article published in the Silver City Sun-News will tell readers a bit about the show. Thanks to everyone for making the 2009 Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show a rousing success!

Gem and Mineral Show caps Labor Day weekend

By Christine Steele Sun-News Bureau Chief and contributor Beau Hefley

Posted: 09/08/2009 01:00:00 AM MDT

SILVER CITY -- The parking lot of the Silver City Rec Center was overflowing with cars Monday on the final day of the 26th Annual Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show.

With 50 to 60 vendors set up inside and out, and 5,000 attendees, the event has long outgrown the 6,000 square-foot space at the Silver City Rec Center and organizers hope to find a larger space to host next year's show.

Parking is definitely a problem at the current location, said vendor manager Laquita Lett, whose husband, Jim, organized the show for 10 years before he died several years ago.

The new 67,000-square-foot business and conference center that the county will soon be refurbishing with a recently received $2 million grant would be more than sufficient to host the show, organizers said, and would offer more parking and better visibility at its location on Highway 180.

The building, which was recently purchased by the county, was originally a Wal-Wart and was most recently used by Teleperformance as a call center.

Many area hotels were sold out over the weekend including The Drifter, Holiday Inn Express, the Econo Lodge, Motel 6, and Super 8, with visitors coming to town for a combination of events, including several weddings, a family reunion, a Senior Softball Tournament, WNMU Mustang's first football game of the year, and the annual gem and mineral show. The Palace Hotel had only one or two rooms left each night.

The gem and mineral show brings thousands of visitors to Silver City over the Labor Day weekend including vendors like Linda Woods, from Phoenix, who has been doing the show with her husband, Bob, since 1996.

Woods sells a variety of items at her booths including lapidary items, potpourri, Casas Grande pottery and other trinkets and gifts. She said she has seen a dip in spending compared to the last three years, and attributes it to the economy.

"Most of the vendors expect it to be down," she said, and the majority say they are down as much as 50 percent.

Lett said many of the dealers tell her the Silver City show is the nicest they have attended. Many have been coming back for a decade or more.

Julia Ruiz and her husband, Trinidad "Trini," have been coming from Chihuahua, Mexico to sell their wares at the Silver City show for the past 15 years, Julia said.

She said attendance seemed down a bit this year as well, but attributed it more to the weather, which may have affected them more since they were one of the vendors set up outdoors behind the rec center.

Visitors included Patricia Huband and her husband, who have been coming to the show for the past three years from their home in Las Cruces.

"It's become a Labor Day Weekend tradition for us," Huband said.

After stopping in at the show on Saturday, Huband said she and her husband planned to head downtown to visit some of Silver City's antique shops and wrap up the day with some Christmas shopping.

Terry Kinter and his wife Gail, both of Silver City, also attended the show on Saturday and have been coming since it first started.

"We have a great time walking around and looking at all the handmade jewelry and the one-of-a-kind pieces offered by all the different vendors," said Terry Kinter.

The biggest complaint organizers hear, Lett said, is that so many of Silver City's restaurants and antique stores are closed on Sunday and Monday.

Folks who come to town - both vendors and tourists alike - would like to dine out or shop are area stores, but not much is available to them over the holiday weekend.

"That has been a complaint for years," Lett said.

First-time visitors to the show Iris Castagna and Peggy Warner were also visiting Silver City for the first time. They came to town from Albuquerque in their RV to explore the Gila Cliff Dwellings and saw the signs for the gem and mineral show and stopped in on Monday.

"There's a nice variety," Warner said, of the variety of wares available at the show.

The pair said they were staying four days and enjoyed Silver City's downtown. They dined out at Isaac's and the Red Barn, Warner said.

"We've left some tourist dollars."

As part of the three-day show, the Society also offered three field trips - one each day - to area sites to hunt for specimens.

Two of the field guides, Joshua Reeves and Kyle Meredith, both experienced gem and mineral hunters, took a group out to a pre-designated spot, and after taking the time to make sure that the less-experienced hunters have a clear idea of what they were looking for, help them dig out their finds and identify what they have uncovered.

"We change the location of the hunts to keep it interesting for people and so they have a chance to find a wide variety of gems and minerals," said Reeves.

Once the treasure hunter is satisfied with their cache of gems, they can stop by the WNMU campus, where Ginger Coombs, who manages the lapidary lab there, will show them how to use the cutting, grinding and polishing tools to achieve the look that they want.

The annual show is the largest fundraiser for the organization, which uses the money to give out two $500 scholarships a year -- one per semester -- to a student at Western New Mexico University studying Earth sciences, and to put on next year's show.

Christine Steele can be reached at csteele@scsun-news.com; (575) 538-5893 ext. 5802

Revised club constitution

2009-09-01T14:58:00.003-06:00

Constitution

Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society, Inc.

Silver City, New Mexico

Objectives

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gen & Mineral Society Inc shall be dedicated to the advancement and enjoyment of the earth sciences and related subjects. Its primary purpose is the exchange of information and the furtherance of the knowledge of mineralogy, gem cutting, geology, and to stimulate interest in the development of these studies. It is composed of individuals who have chosen gems and minerals, and these afore stated related interests as their hobby.

Article 1: Name

The name of the organization shall be: The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Inc.

Article 2: Affiliations

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Inc is affiliated members of The Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies, Inc, and The American Federation of Mineralogical Society, Inc.

Article 3: Officers

The Officers of the Society shall be: President, Vice President, Field Trip Chair, Show Chair, Treasurer, Historian, Newsletter Editor and one Member at Large. The Officers of the Society and the Past President shall constitute the Board of Directors. The elected Officers of the Society shall be: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, Historian and Member at Large. Additional members of the Board of Directors shall be Past President, Field Trip Chair, Show Chair and Newsletter Editor. These Members shall be appointed as necessary by the Board. The six elected Officers shall serve for no more than two (2) consecutive years in any one position with the exception of the Treasurer who may serve up to three (3) years.

Article 4: Annual Meeting

The annual meeting shall be held in December at which time the Officers previously elected shall be installed.

Article 5: Right to Vote

Members in good dues standing, 18 years of age or older, are entitled to vote. A majority consisting of at least (25) twenty five members must be present in order to complete any business this Gem and Mineral Society presents at its regular meetings. Proxy voting will be allowed. Proxies must be submitted to the Secretary any time prior to voting.

Article 6 --- Dissolution

In the event of the dissolution of the Society, after the payment of all debts and liabilities, the assets of the Society shall inure to the benefit of the Western New Mexico University Geology Division of the Earth Sciences Department for the granting of scholarships.

Revised club by-laws

2009-09-01T13:59:00.002-06:00

BYLAWS

OF

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Inc.

ARTICLE ONE - MEMBERSHIP POLICY

1.1 The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society Inc. shall be non-sectarian and non partisan. We shall not discriminate against any person because of race, creed, color or religion.

1.2 Membership in the Society may consist of three classes: Regular, Junior or Life.

1.3 Regular Members are those paying the full amount of current dues.

1.4 Junior Membership shall consist of Dues Paying Members less than 18 years of age.

1.5 Life Membership ‘MAY’ be conferred upon anyone nominated by the Board of Directors and approved by a majority of the members attending.

1.6 When a Member has become two (2) months in arrears in dues he shall be dropped from the membership rolls.

ARTICLE TWO - DUES

2.1 Dues shall be set by the Board with the approval, at the annual meeting, of a majority of the Members present.

ARTICLE THREE - FISCAL YEAR AND ANNUAL MEETING

3.1 The Fiscal Year of this Society shall correspond with the Calendar year, from January 1^st through December 31^st.

3.2 The Annual Meeting shall be the meeting at which the Officers for the New Year are installed and assume their respective offices.

ARTICLE FOUR - NOMINATIONS AND ELECTIONS

4.1 The President shall appoint a Nominating Committee by August of each year. The Nominating Committee shall select a complete slate of Officers and present their nominees at the meeting which shall be held in October. At this meeting nominations for each Office may be made from the floor. The election of Officers will take place in November and the new slate of elected Officers shall be installed at the December meeting.

4.2 All Members in good dues standing, 18 years of age or older shall have voting privileges.

4.3 All voting at elections shall be by ballot or show of hands. The Officers receiving a plurality of votes for each office shall be elected.

4.4 At least twenty-five Members of voting status must be present to vote and insure a legal quorum.

ARTICLE FIVE - DUTIES OF THE OFFICERS

5.1 The duties of the Officers shall be such as are implied by their respective Titles and such are specified by these Bylaws. All Officers shall keep records of their work and turn these records over to their successor in office.

5.2 The President shall direct all affairs of the Society for the best welfare and in the best interest of the Society. The President shall preside at all meetings of the Society and of the Board of Directors. The President shall appoint such committees as may become necessary to carry on business that is needed for operation.

5.3 The Vice President shall perform the duties of the President in the absence of the President and shall be Program Chair.

5.4 The Field Trip Chair shall be in charge of field trips. He/she shall provide/lead monthly field trips for Members and provide/lead field trips at the Annual Show.

5.5 The Show Chair shall direct/perform the duties necessary to put on the yearly Labor Day weekend Show.

5.6 The Secretary shall keep minutes of all meetings of the Society and shall ensure that they are published in the Club Newsletter; shall incorporate in full all amendments to the Constitution and Bylaws in the minutes of the meeting at which they were adopted; shall ensure that an accurate classified list of the names and addresses of all Members of the Society and of all Chairs and Members of Committees are kept. The Secretary shall also maintain an accurate up-to-date copy of the Constitution and Bylaws as amended and shall furnish Officers and Board of Directors with copies of same. The Secretary shall conduct the correspondence of the Society as directed by the President and shall preserve a file of all records and correspondence of value to the Society and its presiding officers. These records are to be given to the successor, in this office.

5.7 The Treasurer shall have custody of all monies of the Society and shall receive all funds, giving a receipt for same. The Treasurer shall pay all expenditures approved by the President subject to review by the Board. After approval of bills by the Board of Directors, the Treasurer shall keep an itemized record, in a permanent file, of all receipts and expenditures and shall give a report of same at each monthly meeting. The Treasurer shall submit all records to an auditing committee as soon as the books are closed for the past year, but no later than February 1 of the upcoming year, or at any other time as requested by the Board of Directors.

5.8 It shall be the duty of the Board of Directors to consider the affairs of the Society in accordance with the Constitution and Bylaws, and policies necessary to the good welfare of the Society. They shall report matters of interest to the Members. They shall fill vacancies in offices for the unexpired term when no provision has been made by the Constitution and Bylaws.

5.9 The Historian shall keep a complete and accurate history of the Society activities, including honors won by the Society and individual Members. The Historian shall maintain and update a scrap book to be made available to the Members at every meeting.

ARTICLE SIX---- MEETINGS

6.1 Regular and special meetings shall be held as specified by the Board of Directors.

6.2 Special meetings may be called by the President or the Board of Directors or at the request of any five (5) Members, providing the entire membership has been notified of the date and place of such meeting. The call for a special meeting must state the business to be transacted and only that business shall be transacted.

6.3 Executive Board of Directors meetings are called by the President and are contingent with the business affairs of the Society.

ARTICLE SEVEN -----QUORUM

7.1 At least (25) twenty five Members of voting status must be present to vote to insure a legal quorum.

ARTICLE EIGHT-----AMENDMENTS / REVISIONS

8.1 These Bylaws may be amended at any regular meeting by a simple majority vote of the Members present, or with submitted proxies, providing a legal quorum has been declared present or represented. The amendment to be voted on must have been read at one (1) previous meeting, published in the Newsletter and read at the meeting prior to the vote.

ARTICLE NINE ---- DISSOLUTION

9.1 In the event of the dissolution of the society, after the payment of all debts and liabilities the assets of the Corporation shall inure to the benefit of the Western New Mexico University Geology Division of the Natural Science Department for the granting of scholarships.

The Countdown is on!

2009-08-23T17:24:00.002-06:00

Less than two more weeks until the start of the Gem and Mineral Show! The Committee is putting the final touches on the event plans. Volunteers have been recruited to fill many important slots such as serving as an event Greeter, staffing the crowd-favorite the Wheel of Fortune, or helping prepare the annual Vendor Dinner. One volunteer is coming all the way from Hawaii to help with the Show.

It's going to be an awesome show this year!! Will YOU be there?

Gem and Mineral Show Door Prizes!

2009-07-19T09:11:00.010-06:00

Visitors to the 26^th Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show on Labor Day Weekend in Silver City will be asked to fill out a brief survey when they arrive. The survey, which takes only a moment, automatically enters the visitor free of charge in a drawing to win one of three fabulous door prizes. Winners will be drawn at the close of the show, and notified by telephone or email.

Among the door prizes is a lovely slab of mineral called Selenite from Mexico that was purchased at the Quartsite show by club members Lee Stockman and Judy Allen. It is approximately 12 x 14 inches and includes a display stand. Gypsum is another name for this mineral, but the colorless, transparent form is called Selenite, from the Greek, meaning "moon stone".

Thanks to a generous donation from Kevin Cook and Sylveen Robinson-Cook, owners of the Royal Scepter Gem and Minerals in Silver City; another door prize is a unique Swan Valley Copper enameled bowl. The artists, Roger and Jerry Watson, have perfected the ancient technique of cooper enameling creating deep color tones and a beautiful porcelain surface with solid copper welded edges and filigree designs.

Rockhounds at all levels of experience will appreciate a door prize that consists of two excellent publications: the New Mexico Geological Society publication Geology of the Gila Wilderness - Silver City Area and the New Mexico Geologic Highway Map.

The survey provides important information that helps plan future shows by demonstrating the diverse demographics of visitors. It provides information that is used to direct advertising efforts and to support the request for funds from the Lodgers Tax. It is also useful in attracting and retaining high quality show vendors.

In the last survey almost 35% of show visitors came from outside of Grant County, encompassing over 20 different States. A telephone survey of local motels indicated full occupancy during the show weekend. Some visitors indicated that they stayed for multiple days. Although the Show was their primary reason for the visit, visits were extended to enjoy the other area amenities.

Gem and Mineral Show Field Trips

2009-07-15T08:52:00.002-06:00

The Grant County Rolling Stones (no affiliation with Jagger and Richards) are once again hosting their popular Annual Gem and Mineral Show at the Silver City Recreation Center on Labor Day Weekend.

Although people come from far and near to buy and sell mineral specimens, jewelry and other mineral related items, some people may not know that an exciting part of the show includes the field trips offered each of the three days. They depart from the Recreation Center parking lot at 9:00 Saturday, Sunday, and Monday morning.

The trips are set up to take rock hounds to nearby locations to look for and collect local rocks and minerals for display or working into pieces of jewelry. In the past, the Rolling Stones have visited sites near Georgetown, Ft. Bayard, Fierro, and they always offer a trip to the club's own claim on Bear Mountain to look for geodes and the famous banded fortification agate. This year, in addition to the Bear Mountain claim, the trips include Saddlerock Canyon and Turkey Creek Road.

The Friday trip to Bear Mountain is a short ways out of town, and most of the material found is well-suited for jewlery-quality cabochons. Fossils are also found in the area, but not everyone goes away with one of those prizes.

On Saturday, Saddlerock Canyon in the Burro Mouuntains has a lush, unique little drainage where dark gray limestone nodules occur with golden iron sulfide crystals embedded inside. They can be cut and polished into impressive cabochons. The area also offers occasional fossils, including ammonites, and many people have carried out some curious yard rocks.

On Monday, the club will visit fluorite mines along dramatic Turkey Creek Road outside Gila where rock hounds might find green or purple fluorite crystals or banded massive fluorite that makes colorful specimens or can be tumbled or cabbed.

A high clearance vehicle is recommended for all three trips, but people can usually find someone to ride with if they are reluctant to drive. Rain can cause a trip to be cancelled, but it's best to show up if you think there's any doubt. Most trips are over by lunchtime, but the Turkey Creek Road trip is farther than the others, and it's always a good idea to bring snacks or a lunch and plenty of water. A rock hammer, small shovel, and bag or bucket are suggested for each trip. You may email kyyote@msn.com for more information.

In addition to the field trips, the Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show includes an eye-popping selection of things to admire and buy, an on-going silent auction, the wheel of fortune, door prizes, and educational mineral displays. It takes place on Labor Day weekend. Sept. 5-7. Hours: Sat. & Sun.10am-5pm, Mon. 10am-4pm. Location: Silver City Recreation Center, 11^th and Gold Streets, Silver City, NM. Admission is free.

by Kyle Meredith

Membership grows!

2009-07-15T06:46:00.005-06:00

The Club continues to grow with more new members each year. As of this month, according to Club Treasurer Marcia Fisch, we have 218 members, with a total of 138 families. This includes 30 who are Life Members.

July club meeting

2009-07-10T17:59:00.005-06:00

Last night's club meeting began with a wonderful potluck, followed by an action packed meeting. As the show approaches, there were many items of business raised by the show committee members. Everything is on track for a bigger and better-than-ever Labor Day Gem and Mineral Show. Members signed up for an assortment of tasks such as set-up and take-down, greeting visitors, delivering posters and brochures, and helping with our vendor dinner. Everyone's help is needed, so members who are still without show jobs should consult their July Beacon for needs and contact information. The meeting closed with a great presentation on rock tumbling by our own expert, Ginger Coombs.

Gila Water Festival Report

2009-05-21T19:50:00.002-06:00

Gila Water Festival Report
by Kyle Meredith (Rolling Stones 2nd V.P. for Field Trips)

The 6th Annual Gila Water Festival at the Lichty Center outside Cliff took place about a month later than in past years. That made it very pleasant to set up along the river, without the near-freezing temperatures that we had to endure previously. The redwing blackbirds were still there singing for us as we prepared for the groups of fifth-graders to come learn how to pan for gold throughout the day.

Our first group showed up on schedule at 9:15, and we began our routine as I talked a bit about the history and consequences of gold panning and mining, followed by David Rinsch showing the kids some gold he had found a week earlier. Then Roger Dombrowski talked about the physics and technique of gold-panning before we turned the kids loose with a pan of sand and BBs and a tub of water. Some learned very quickly while others struggled before getting a feel for the method to separate the BBs from the sand, but I think most of them eventually succeeded in accomplishing the task. Undoubtedly they (and we) all had a lot of fun.

I want to thank all the volunteers who showed up. Besides Roger and David, we had Ansel and Shirley Walters, George Skiba, Greg Conlin, and Josh Reeves. We wouldn't have had enough pans and tables if not for Ginger and Ed Coombs, and thanks to Judy Allen and Lee Stockman for the use of their pans, as well.

Emory Pass Field Trip Report

2009-05-21T19:40:00.004-06:00

May Field Trip Report
by Kyle Meredith (Rolling Stones 2nd V.P. for Field Trips)

Sometimes a Rolling Stones field trip isn't just about the rocks. Although people were carrying bags and buckets of rocks up the steep, more-than-half-mile trek back to the vehicles, the quality and quantity of collectible material at this site wasn't that impressive.

But did I say I was disappointed in the trip? No way! We were at the bottom of a narrow, shady canyon with a stream bed to pick through and ominous mine shafts to peer into. There were apache plumes, yellow flowers that I still can't identify, maples, and a sweet fragrance in the air that no one could quite put their finger on. The creek was dry where we entered it, but those who hiked up the limestone (and marble?) chute came upon clear, flowing water that we followed up to a spring pouring from a crack in the rock.

Some of us along that hike saw a bat lying in the path, a toad in a pool, unusual butterflies, and best of all, snakes! Now, I'm not talking about rattlesnakes or garter snakes. As the small group of us was coming down from the spring, Bob Cwik was standing ahead of us looking at something on the bank. We cautiously approached, and he pointed out two gorgeous red, black, and white kingsnakes twined together. He had already taken some photos, and others photographed them as the amorous snakes slowly sought out more privacy in the rocks. I looked them up when I got home, and they appear to be Sonora Mountain Kingsnakes, which, according to the Peterson Guide, are entirely out of their range here.

It's too bad that not everyone got to witness this special event, but I got the impression that everyone had a fine time. When anyone asks why you're a rock hound, you can say, "It isn't just about the rocks."

Wheel of Fortune

2009-05-08T11:40:00.013-06:00

What makes a great Gem and Mineral Show?

I thought in this thread we could show some of the individual parts that will work together to make the 26th Annual Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show a great success.

The Kid in all of us loves the
Wheel of Fortune

Everyone wins
Choose the mineral or polished stone you most admire
Pay your 25 cents
Give the wheel a spin
Urge it to space where you want it to stop

Collect your winnings

Wheel of Fortune manager, Ginger Coombs collects and tumbles stones all year long to provide a clever variety of possible winnings for the Wheel. She is always happy to receive tumbled stones or especially pretty stones to assure that there are plenty of prizes for the more than 2000 spins of the Wheel expected for the 26th Annual Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Show.

2009 Gila Water Festival

2009-04-16T09:08:00.004-06:00

This will be the fifth (maybe sixth) year that the Rolling Stones will participate in the Gila Water Festival. It's an educational field trip for fourth-graders to the Gila River at the Nature Conservancy's Lichty Center east of Cliff put on by the Gila Conservation Education Center.

For our part, we teach the kids the hobby of gold panning. Throughout the day we have about ten groups of fourth-graders for about 20 minutes each. We give each child a pan of river sand salted with "gold" BBs , then show them how to remove the sand, leaving the "gold" at the bottom of the pan. You can't believe how excited they get when they find the BBs!

WE NEED VOLUNTEERS (the more the merrier) to help set up and demonstrate the technique. Experience is not necessary—remember, even the fourth-graders pick it up quite easily. We'll meet on Thursday, May 14th, at the Lichty Center about 8:30 to set up, and start with the kids about 9:15. We usually wrap things up about 2:00 or 2:30. PLEASE try to join us. Contact Kyle ASAP at kyyote@msn.com or 538-5706. It's a great way to spend the day by the Gila!

Board Meeting Report

2009-04-16T07:01:00.007-06:00

As the new Blog manager, I attended a board meeting at BJ’s house on April 15. Board members and attendees, if I didn’t get anything just right, please let me know. Members, please feel free to post comments about these notes.

Ginger Coombs reported out on the annual cost of tumbling our own stones for our Wheel of Fortune as compared to the cost of purchasing the stones. As a result, the Board decided that from here forward we would purchase most stones needed to operate “the Wheel”. Members are still welcome to donate tumbled stones, but the bulk will be purchased.

The Board also decided to not participate in this year’s 4^th of July celebration. The cost of the booth would be $50, and the potential profits from the “Wheel” do not justify the expense.

Treasurer Marcia Fisch reported that our current balance is only $1,341.17, the lowest in a long time. We took on additional show advertising with the promise of $2000. from the Chamber. This money has not yet been reimbursed, contributing to the current low figure in our account. Judy Allen reported that every effort is being made to collect those funds.

Marcia also reported that the club has an opportunity to reduce our insurance costs, due to a new type of group policy available through the RMFMS. (Rocky Mtn. Federation of Mineralogical Societies) Note that I have added a new link for the federation over in the links section of the side-bar.

See the blog sidebar for the calendar of events items discussed.

The Board decided that it was time for a review of our by-laws, largely due to requirements associated with our tax-exempt status. Members who are interested and available to serve on a review team should contact BJ. This will be a short-duration project, not a permanent team. Once the team has prepared its recommendations, any changes must be voted on by the membership.

The Board decided to honor Mary Dowse and Jack Cunningham with life memberships. Congratulations to Mary and Jack!

Charlotte Rice, Co-Chair of our annual show, reported out on the Show Committee’s activities and discussed the show budget with the board. Charlotte and Roger will attend an upcoming meeting of the county commissioners to ensure they understand our interest in using the new conference for future events.

The Board would like to extend their sympathy to the Weaver family for the hardship they are currently experiencing.

March Field Trip 2

2009-04-15T14:19:00.007-06:00

This map shows how to get to the parking area for primary collecting and also marks the marble area visited in the march field trip

NOTE: To see the map full screen (or any other photo in the blog) just click on it.

March Field Trip

2009-04-12T09:47:00.003-06:00

Here's a photo of parking at the March field trip. 20+ vehicles

Recent club meeting

2009-04-11T07:10:00.000-06:00

We sure enjoyed Thurdays' club meeting! Jack Cunningham's program on volcanos was very informative and interesting. And, didn't you think that potluck was exceptionally good? We were pleased to see the big turnout for the meeting, and all of the new members!

Travels with Tim and Karen

2009-04-03T17:17:00.000-06:00

Lets see how this works. This is the east rim of the Grand Canyon. It is rocks right?

We had a good time.

Field Trip Fun

2009-04-03T07:40:00.002-06:00

Collecting on field trip to Turkey Creek. Handle that specimen with care!

Show Committee meeting notes

2009-04-03T07:25:00.001-06:00

Gem & Mineral Show Committee Meeting March 18, 2009 6:30 pm

All updated the status and action item list.

Lee reported that we need a lodger’s tax logo on our flyers and brochures. Karen will get the image and put it on future printings. Judy will apply for lodger’s tax monies from the city. Judy reported that there is still ~$612 Lodger’s tax money that can be spent on brochures and postage by 6/30.

The advertising reimbursement from the tourism committee has not been received. Judy will continue to work for it. By motion we agreed to provide the tourism committee with show information and let them advertise in Las Cruces and El Paso if they like.

Karen and Tim shared a packet of Deming Chamber material that was given to vendors at the Deming show. Lee will contact the SC Chamber to see if they can provide a similar packet for our vendors.

Lequita reported that she has sent out vendor invitations and has received some registrations All are due by June 1^st. Since the show appears to be fully booked for vendors additional ones will have to wait until after that date to apply.

Ginger reported that she has rented the sign at US 180 / Swan from Aug 17 until the close of the show. She also reported that Lee and Judy purchased 110 # of dyed & tumbled stones in Quartzsite for our Wheel of Fortune.

Tim will wait until our e-mail list is updated for 09 members before he distributes it.

Marcia A. is asked to contact Ansel Walters to make door prizes for the show.

Marcia F. is asked to provide a financial statement from past shows and to help us budget for the 09 show.

Judy asked about plans for the Wheel of Fortune at the 4^th of July event since it impacts the prizes we have available for the show. Ginger will contact the Chamber for schedule and cost and we will plan accordingly.

Next meeting: May 6^th, most likely at the Grant County Administration Building. Charlotte will arrange venue and Roger will draft agenda. It was decided to have a potluck starting at 6:00 pm.

How to contact us

2006-12-16T07:21:00.006-07:00

Please contact us with any questions or comments that you have about this site, the Club, or its events.

Send us an email

You can also write to the Club at this address:

Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Soc.
POB 1555
Silver City, NM 88062-1555

Our affiliations

2006-12-16T05:47:00.000-07:00

American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies