Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society : February 2017

Come join us!

New members are welcome! There is a membership application included with our monthly newsletter, or you can join at either a meeting or a field trip. Also see the link in About The Club for an application.

Our meetings are always the 2nd Thursday of the month at our headquarters at 2045 Memory Lane in Silver City. They start at 6pm with an optional potluck, followed by a short business meeting, and then a program.

We also have field trips on the 3rd Saturday of each month. You do need to be a member for the field trips, but dues are very inexpensive and you can join at the field trip usually. No experience is needed, although it's helpful to have a bucket and rock hammer. Our newsletter is generally posted by the first of the month, so you can read all about the upcoming program and field trip details at that time.

Annual Show on Labor Day Weekend

Have you ever been to the Rolling Stones Annual Gem and Mineral Show?

Well, for anyone who has been in Silver City on Labor Day weekend, the answer is probably yes.

What do you remember most?

The silent auction of incredible specimens, slabs, cabochons, and pretty rocks? Every half hour! Or maybe you remember your kids asking for quarters at the Wheel of Fortune. (You know you liked it as much as they did.) Every spin’s a win, whether it’s colorful tumbled agates or chalcedony roses or something you’ve never seen the likes of!
I hope you didn’t miss the Room of Displays. I know it’s kind of hidden (hey, we didn’t lay out the center), but if you followed your nose, you discovered not only the Lions Club “restaurant”, but an incredible petrified wood collection from NMSU (and someone to talk to you about it), a case of rare mineral specimens from NM Tech, and displays from the club members. This year we’ll have the Deming Desert Panners talking about GOLD, and who isn’t interested in that?

Oh, did you forget the vendors?

Well, walking the aisles is like being in a natural history museum, except you can buy the exhibits! There are beads for the beaders, slabs for the cabbers, and jewelry from funky to exquisite. TWO rooms full. Yes TWO. Plan on at least a couple of hours or you WILL regret it.

Did you go on the field trips?

This year the educational (read: fascinating) tours start at 9:00 all three mornings: a caravan for roadside geology, a bus tour of the local mines, and a walk among the old mines above the town.

You must have gone on at least one collecting trip—I think I saw you there—although they’re not for everyone. You have to enjoy being outdoors, and even a little bushwhacking at times. Highlighted this year are Bear Mountain agates and fossils, something you’ve never heard of (vesuvianite), and green, purple, and blue fluorite, all in the same rock. Be there at 1:00 Saturday, Sunday, and Monday.

Did you forget anything? You know how to get there—it’s out east on Highway 180 (3031, to be exact, next to Ace. Our hours are a little different this year, 9-5 on Saturday, 10-5 on Sunday, and 10-4 on Labor Day. (We WILL chase you out! Sorry!) I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society

Sunday, February 5, 2017

February Newsletter

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