Where does Silver City get it's minerals?

A great program was held at last week's club meeting by Ron Pharr that included a discussion of the formation and evolution of the geology of the region. Here's a photo taken after the program with our speaker and retired geology professor Jack Cunningham.  

Februrary Newsletter - 2015

The new Beacon for February is Hot Off The Press.   Check it out!

Show Vendor Showcase

Club member Andy Anderson reports that he always looks forward to our annual show because David Douglass brings in some spectacular mineral specimens.  One of them was purchased by Andy and is shown in this first image on the left. It is Stilbite on Chalcedony. This specimen came from Nasik, India.  Andy thinks the color reminds him of cantaloupe!   Thanks for the great photos Andy! 
 
 

Alert! Mineral Specimens Stolen

Dr. Mary Dowse, Professor of Geology at Western New Mexico University in Silver City, New Mexico, reports the theft of mineral specimens.  10 or 12 Crystal Specimens that were on display in Harlan Hall at WNMU were stolen over the weekend.  The glass in the display case was broken.  Keep alert for someone trying to dispose of the specimens.  It is feared that the thief could attempt to dispose of these specimens at the upcoming Tucson Gem and Mineral show. 

Contact the webmaster if you should see anything suspicious.  The stolen minerals include:

 

January 2015 Club Meeting Highlights

GRANT COUNTY ROLLING STONES GEM & MINERAL SOCIETY

• The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem & Mineral Society met on January 8, 2015, at 6 PM at the Silver City Senior Citizen's Center.  They shared a pot-Luck Supper.
• The meeting was called to order by the new President, George Skibo.  New members and guests were introduced.
• The Minutes were approved as published in the Beacon.
• Marcia Fisch gave the Treasurer's Report.  The Starting balance was $ 16,796.14.   Income was:: Dues - 195.00, Donations - 137.06. and Lodgers' Tax (repayment of what was spent on advertising for the Show) - 2,702.44.   Expenditures were:  Beacon Printing Oct-Nov - 106.90, and membership in the SCGC Chamber of Commerce for 2015 - 135.00.  The Balance for January 2015 was $19, 588.74.   So far this year membership of 45, with 33 households.  (25 life members).  There were 49 members at the December meeting.
• Ansel Walters reported on the January Field Trip on January 17. 2015.  The Trip will be to Granite Gap from the Arizona side. There are mines there with specimins of Malachite, Galena, Chrysocholla, and Chrystals.  (For further details see the January Beacon
• A letter was read from Marcia Andre, the WEBMASTER.  She needs your help with information and articles for the Website. If it not interesting, it will not be looked at.
• The Library Case has been repaired and is ready for members to check out and Return books to now.  We need a new Librarian to take care of the case and books.
• Tickets were available for the raffle at the Rockhound Roundup in March in Deming.
• Thank - you notes were read from: our Student at WNMU receiving the Scholarship, the Daily Press and WNMU for our year-long support, and The Geology Department at Tech at Socorro for our support of the Mineral Symposium.
• The December Party Quiz was read and answers solicited from the members present.  They did quite well.
• It was announced that Karen Blisard's mother had just passed away. Our condolences to her.
• The Name-Tag Drawing was won by Paul           .
• The Rock draw was held with spirited competition between ticket purchaser's.
• The Program did not show up because he thought the meeting was the 14th.  This program will be presented in February.
• The meeting was adjourned.

Secretary, Mary Margaret Soule'

Rolling Stones Scholars

Jamey Shepard

Mr. Jamey Shepard and Mr. Isaih Reynolds are the Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral society Scholarship recipients for 2014-2015. 

Jamey, a previous recipient of the scholarship, is a senior majoring in Forestry & Wildlife with a geology minor and expects to graduate in May. Jamey is an Army veteran, who has worked in many areas of the west before returning to school to pursue a degree. He is currently looking for a career job, but has not ruled out the possibility of additional education once he graduates.

Isaih Reynolds

Isaih is a junior also majoring in forestry & wildlife with a geology minor. A native of Hawai’i, Isaih’s principle interest is in wildlife, but is also very interested in volcanology.

The Grant County Rolling stones has been providing funds for scholarships at the Western New Mexico University for geology minors for many years.  This supports the basic purpose of the Society, which  is the exchange of information & furtherance of the knowledge of mineralogy, gem cutting, geology, and to stimulate interest in the development of these studies.

The two scholarship to  WNMU of $750 each, a continuing fund to help with field trips for students taking geology classes at WNMU, a $500 donation to the Grant County Search and Rescue, a $500 donation to the Gila Conservation Education Center,  and a $1000 donation to The New Mexico Mineral Symposium are only some of the activities funded by the Grant County Rolling Stones from money raised by the annual Gem and Mineral Show. 

Beacon Blooper

OOPS!
The Beacon should have said, " The January Meeting is on Jan 8th "  In case you have not caught this error.  Remember the Rolling Stones always meets on the second Thursday of the month.  this January that day is the 8th.  See you there.  Everyone is welcome!

Our January 2015 Newsletter

Be sure to check out our first newsletter of the year.

Whew! The SHOW is over for another year!

Our vendors report that this was a great show!

Are you ready for the SHOW?

Set-up started today!  It's going to be a busy and fun weekend.  Here comes the tables for the vendors!

Show Field Trip Schedule

Field Trip Schedule for the show:

Sat. Aug. 30th- 9am: Geology Trip with Mary Dowse

Sat. Aug. 30th -1pm: Collecting Trip to the club’s Geode claim with Richard Gillmore & Don Tennis

Sun. Aug. 31st- 9am: Geology Trip to Boston Hill with Sylveen Robinson-Cook.

Sun. Aug. 31st- 1pm: Collecting Trip to Boston Hill with Alain Duverge.

Mon. Sept. 1st- 1pm: Gold panning with Dan Harold at the 49rs Gold Claim in Pinos Altos. This trip is limited to 12 people.

Vendor NEW Update!

Our vendor list this year looks great!   Returning vendors this year include the Armando Barrera family with their wide selection of cabs, spheres, and eggs, as well as carvings such as bears and buffaloes.  Art and Tilly Nichols are returning with their cabs and jewelry, and our old friend Bill Fencil will be back with jewelry, beads and cabs.  New vendors this year will include Gerald Howard and Jim Wines from Houston TX, offering fine petrified wood and knapped items.  Our own Jim Gunn will be displaying his wire-wrapped pendants.

Susan & Doug Abbott, Desert Designs, Silver City, NM, Native American jewelry, Zuni fetishes

Henry & Charlotte Andazola, Silver City, NM, Native American jewelry

Armando Barrera, Custom Rock Cutters, Columbus, NM, Cabs, spheres, eggs, carvings

Ed & Dawn Bell, Bell Custom Jewelry, Livingston, TX, Jewelry, cabs

Fred Bishop, 2 Guys Rocks, Deming, NM, Slabs, quartz, geodes, turquoise, jewelry

Karen Blisard, Radiant Gemstones, Silver City, NM, Jewelry, faceted stones, facet rough

Harry & Carol Bruntz, Uniquely Yours, Horizon City, TX, Rocks, gems, minerals, display stands

Kevin Cook & Sylveen Robinson-Cook, Royal Scepter, Silver City, NM, Books, maps, beads, jewelry

Ginger Coombs, Silver City, NM, Jewelry, cabs, geodes

Jack & Marty Crawford, Silver City, NM, Minerals

Leah Criss, Bobcriss, Tucson, AZ, Beads, silver jewelry

Dave Douglass, Douglass Minerals, Tucson, AZ, Mineral specimens

Bill Fencil, William J. Fencil Co, Deming, NM, Jewelry, beads, cabs.

Sue Fischer, Jewelry from Sue, Silver City, NM, Silver and gold jewelry

Abdul Gardezy, Brilliant design, Chandler, AZ, Fine gems and jewelry

James Gunn, Doc’s Wirewraps, Elephant Butte, NM, Wirewrap pendants

Tom Hales, Tom’s Treasures, Deming, NM, Minerals, gemstone rough, jewelry

Sally Hansen, Sally Rocks, Silver City, NM, Jewelry, lapidary

Joe Harris, NM Joe’s Trading Post, Silver City, NM, Native American jewelryAllen Hebert, Glenkara, Tucson, AZ,   Gems, minerals, jewelry

Allen Hebert, Glenkara, Tucson, AZ, Gems, minerals, jewelry

Therese Higgins, The Jewelry Lady, Silver City, NM, Jewelry, belly belts

Michael Ho, Gemstone Station, Miraloma, CA, Beads, pearls

Bill & Linda Horton, Misty Mountain G&M, Litchfield Park, AZ, Jewelry, gems, minerals, carvings

Gerald Howard & Jim Wines, JNE Lapidary, Dickinson, TX, Petrified wood, knapped items

Bill & Emily Jaeger, Endless Mountain Minerals, Hereford, AZ, Crystals, rough, specimens, jewelry

Leith Johnson & John Martinez, Art and Stones, Las egas, NM, Minerals, slabs, cabs, findings

Patsy & Jerry Kastner, Kastner Gems & Supply, Tucson, AZ, Jewelry, lapidary equipt, supplies

Ron Kellner, RK Enterprises, Show Low, AZ, Jewelry, cabs, slabs, specimens

Randy & Sally McCowan, Deming, NM, Arrowheads, turquoise

Blanca Murguia, BM Jewelry, El Paso, TX, Silver & gemstone jewelry

Barbara Nance, Stonewalker Studio, Silver City, NM, Stone sculpture

Ken Newman, DBA Rocks, Deming, NM, Spheres, slabs, thunder eggs

Art and Tilly Nichols, Chimayo, NM, Cabs, jewelry

Jose Nunez, Canutillo, TX, Minerals

John & Connie Partridge, JBP Minerals, Tucson, AZ, Minerals, rocks

David & Ruth Ann Rinsch, Dave’s Enterprises, Tyrone, NM, Rocks, gems

John Scully & Laurie Rossi, Scully’s Minerals, Fairview, NM Minerals, fossils

Trini Ruiz, Trini & Julie Minerals, Anthony, TX, Mexican minerals

Jesse, James, and Jan Searcy, Black hat Trading, Deming, NM, Jewelry, findings, beads, carvings

Tracy Stump, Tracy’s Silver & Gold, Phoenix, AZ, Jewelry

Sharon & Bill Szymanski, Never Enough Karats, San Tan Valley, AZ, Jewelry, collectibles

Bruce Williams & Nancy Bailey, Silver & Stone Works, Silver City, NM, Jewelry, cabs, chain maille

Tony Zenan, Znaniecki Collection, Cottonwood, AZ, Wildlife paintings on slabs

2014 SHOW IS COMING!

It won't be long until the next Gem and Mineral Show so mark your calendars.   The 31st Annual Gem and Mineral Show will be held at the Grant County Business and Conference Center located at 3031 US Hry 180 at 32nd Street in beautiful Silver City. New Mexico.  As always, admission is free and the show is open to the public.  It's a great family event with activities for the children.   It's also a great time to get started on those holiday gifts.

Here's the schedule:
Saturday August 30th 9 AM  Closes 5  PM
Sunday August 31st 10 AM  Closes 5  PM
Monday September 1st, Labor Day, 10 AM  Closes 4 PM

Kilbourne Hole Field Trip Photos

Thanks to Ann McMahon and John Schexnaydre for these wonderful images of the recent club field trip to Kilbourne Hole.  

2013 Show Highlights

For those with mining claims

We recieved the following post that might be interesting to some.

Dear Webmaster,

I wanted to reach out to you because we are currently seeking some potential cast members for a potential Season 3 of The Weather Channel's "Prospectors" a hit television series about miners and their incredible finds as they battle the elements to uncover valuable minerals and gems.

Here is a link to the show's website:

http://www.weather.com/tv/tvshows/prospectors/main

We are seeking miners in the Southwest with claims who are available to dig this winter. Great energy is a plus and a passion for mining is a must. In addition we're looking for miners who dig as their full-time profession as opposed to those who mine as a hobby. 

I am hopeful that you and or members of your Gem & Mineral Club may know miners in your area currently working. Would love to chat with you on the phone if it's convenient for you. Please pass this along to anyone who might be interested in participating. I am happy to answer any questions as well.

 

Many thanks for your time.

Sarah Finley
High Noon Entertainment
303-872-8598 (office)
303-872-8701 (fax)
sfinley@highnoontv.com 

A couple bits of news

Submitted by Lee Stockman

Two Items for your attention:

1.  At our meeting tomorrow evening, September 12, Mary Dowse will present a program on her trip to Australia. 

Here is her description of what she will talk about:

"Mary Dowse, Professor of Geology at Western and world traveler, will present a program about her visit to Australia in the Summer of 2012. She spent a week in the Pilbara in Western Australia, sleeping in the bush and looking at very old rocks which she will tell us about. After a week of meetings in Brisbane she headed for the Great Barrier Reef to study learn more about reefs and swim with sharks, little ones."

As always Mary's talks are most informative and entertaining.


2.  Jeannine Weiner, Club Historian would like for  people that took pictures at the show to get them to her so she can put together a slide show for the web page as well as the archives. Maybe those with pictures  could burn them to a CD and bring them to the meeting.

August Field Trip

by Jeannine Weiner

Our August Field trip took us south on Hwy 90 to a mine just south of the Continental Divide Campground.  The mine, name unknown, was not very deep and was lined with very hard rock. We were able to go in without any fear of it caving in. There was quite a bit of Chrysocolla and maybe Malachite on the walls and we attempted to chisel some of it out. It turned out to be a very difficult process. We did finally manage to get a few nice pieces. There was also some Dendrite in the area and that for me proved to be a bonus! The view and the weather couldn't have been better! We had a wonderful outing.  Here are a few photos.  

UPDATE - GEM AND MINERAL SHOW SCHEDULE

Friday, August. 30 -

•  8:00 am - 11:00 am - Club members set up Show facilities
• 11:30 am - Pizza and beverages offered to club members
• 11:00 am - 5:00 pm - Vendor set-up with member assistance
•  5:00 pm - Doors to Show locked 

Saturday, August 31 -

• 7:00 am - Doors open for vendor set-up 
• 9:00 am - Show opens to public (NO early birds) 
• 9:00 am - Education field trip departs 
• 1:00 pm - Collecting field trip departs
• 5:00 pm - Doors to Show locked 

Sunday, September 1 -

•  9:00 am - Doors open for vendor set-up
  
• 10:00 am - Show opens to Public (NO early birds)
•  9:00 am - Education field trip departs  
• 1:00 pm - Collecting field trip departs
•  5:00 pm - Doors to Show locked
•  5:30 pm - Vendor-Member Dinner

Monday, September 2 -

•  9:00 am - Doors open for Vendor Set-up 
• 10:00 am - Show opens to Public (NO early birds)
•  9:00 am - Education Field Trip 
  
• 1:00 pm - Collecting Field Trip departs 
• 1:00 pm - Terry Humble Mine Tour departs   CANCELED
  
•  4:00 pm - Doors to Show locked 
• 4:00 pm - Vendor take-down with member assistance

2013 SHOW FIELD TRIP SCHEDULE (Update!)

Morning field trips will depart from the entrance to the gem and mineral show at 9:00 a.m.
Afternoon field trips will depart from the entrance at 1:00 p.m.

PLEASE ARRIVE EARLY.

MAKE SURE YOUR VEHICLE IS FUELED, AND YOU HAVE PLENTY OF DRINKING WATER.

SATURDAY AUG. 31
Saturday’s morning trip will be an educational tour with Mary Dowse that will introduce participants to the dominant kinds of rocks found in Silver City and weave the story of the region’s geologic history. We will be driving west, stopping at several locations where the rocks tell the story. The route will be suitable for any vehicle, and there will not be a lot of walking.
  
On Saturday afternoon we’ll drive out Highway 180 past Gila to look for fluorite on Turkey Creek Road. The last several miles will be on a rough gravel road, so high clearance is recommended. The best hunting involves a short but difficult and strenuous hike up a steep ravine, but small samples can usually be found near the road. Afterwards, you may enjoy a short drive down to cool your feet in the Gila River.

SUNDAY SEPT. 1

Sylveen Cook’s Sunday morning adventure will cover early mining areas and practices near Pinos Altos, the site of Grant County’s 1860s gold rush that included the noted historical figure, George Hearst. Driving should be no problem, but some walking over uneven terrain may be involved.

Sunday afternoon we head up to our geode claim where a little digging may turn up some nodules with banded (fortification) agate in whites, blues, grays, and sometimes a splash of orange. Often you can find great little samples on the surface if you’re not into hard labor. The gravel road up to Bear Mountain is usually passable by all vehicles, but rainy weather can make it treacherous. The walking terrain is uneven, but not particularly challenging. Further down the road (high clearance from this point on) you can look for more agate and a few fossils.

MONDAY SEPT. 2

Jack Cunningham will show Monday morning participants some of the oldest rocks on earth during a geological road trip from Acklin Canyon (near Mimbres) along highways 152 and 180 to Chloride Flat and Silver City. We will caravan in our own vehicles with roadside stops—no walking necessary.

Our Monday afternoon collecting trip will be a short drive east on Highway 180 to look for Ft. Bayard orthoclase crystals. We will park just off the pavement and hike about ¾ of a mile to the collecting area near Twin Sisters Creek. The terrain is uneven but not difficult. Some low hill climbing is optional.


SPECIAL TOUR AT THE GEM AND MINERAL SHOW   CANCELED

As a bonus field trip for the Annual Gem and Mineral Show, the Grant County Rolling Stones has invited Terry Humble, local author and historian, back this year to give his popular tour of area mines. The approximately two-hour bus ride (with no bathroom breaks—sorry!) will stop at various historical mines and sites where Terry will inform and amuse you with stories of the past.


The tour will leave from the entrance of the Show at 1:00 p.m. on Monday, Labor Day, September 2. We will not be taking advance reservations, but space on the bus is limited so show up early.

ALL ACTIVITIES ARE FREE.
CARPOOLING IS RECOMMENDED WHEN APPROPRIATE.
TRIPS MAY BE CANCELED DUE TO RAIN.

ONLY A WEEK AWAY!!!!!!!!!!!

The Grant County Rolling Stones Gem and Mineral Society presents our 30th Annual Gem and Mineral Show on Labor Day weekend. It will be at the Grant County Business and Conference Center, 3031 Hwy 180 E, Silver City (next to Ace Hardware). The free show, a great family event, will be open on Saturday August 31 from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm, on Sunday September 1 from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm, and Monday September 2 from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. The Lions Club “restaurant” will sell food and drinks.
     
This year’s show will feature over forty vendors from New Mexico, Arizona and California. They will display a wide variety of rocks, minerals, gems, beads, and lapidary tools and equipment, as well as many different kinds of jewelry. For kids of all ages, there is the Wheel of Fortune, where every spin wins a prize. A Silent Auction of rock and mineral specimens will be held throughout the show. Educational displays will be provided by the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology and by NMSU's Zuhl Collection.

Experts will lead daily field trips to local sites, weather permitting. Morning trips will be educational, featuring local geology and mining history. Afternoon trips will allow opportunities for digging and collecting rocks and minerals. Participants should bring a vehicle fueled for visiting the sites, plus plenty of drinking water.

See the following posts for a list of all the terrific vendors and additional information about the field trips.   We hope to see you there!

2013 Gem and Mineral Show Vendors Announced!

We have some really terrific vendors on tap for the upcoming Gem and Mineral Show over Labor Day Weekend in Silver City, New Mexico.  Here they are:

Susan & Doug Abbott, Desert Designs, Silver City, NM,   Native American jewelry, Zuni fetishes

Henry & Charlotte Andazola, Silver City, NM,   Native American jewelry

Armando Barrera, Custom Rock Cutters, Columbus, NM,   Cabs, spheres, eggs, bears, buffalos

Ed & Dawn Bell, Bell Custom Jewelry, Livingston, TX,   Jewelry, cabs

Fred Bishop, 2 Guys Rocks, Deming, NM,   Slabs, quartz, geodes, turquoise, jewelry

Karen Blisard, Radiant Gemstones, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry, faceted stones, facet rough

Harry & Carol Bruntz, Uniquely Yours, Horizon City, TX,   Rocks, gems, minerals, display stands

Greg &  Ann Capatch, Collectible Crystals & Copper, Sedona, AZ,   Minerals, crystals, copper splash

Wade Cave, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry, minerals

Kevin Cook & Sylveen Robinson-Cook, Royal Scepter, Silver City, NM,  Books, maps, beads, jewelry

Ginger Coombs, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry, cabs, geodes

Maury & Judy Crawford, Southwest Designs, Deming, NM,  Slabs, wire-wrap, gourd jewelry

Leah Criss, Bobcriss, Tucson, AZ,   Beads, silver jewelry

Dave Douglass, Douglass Minerals, Tucson, AZ,   Mineral specimens

Ashlee Fischer, Solo-La, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry w/ Czech glass beads

Sue Fischer, Jewelry from Sue, Silver City, NM,   Silver and gold jewelry

Abdul Gardezy, Brilliant design, Chandler, AZ,  Fine gems and jewelry

Charles & Pat Grimes, Roadrunner Gems, Silver City, NM,  Cabs, slab, jewelry, rock samples

Tom Hales, Tom’s Treasures, Deming, NM,  Minerals, gemstone rough, jewelry

Sally Hanson, Sally Rocks, Silver City, NM,  Jewelry, lapidary

Joe Harris, NM Joe’s Trading Post, Silver City, NM,  Native American jewelry

Allen Hebert, Glenkara, Tucson, AZ,   Gems, minerals, jewelry

Therese Higgins, The Jewelry Lady, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry, belly belts

Michael Ho, Gemstone Station, Miraloma, CA,  Beads, pearls

Bill & Linda Horton, Misty Mountain Gems and Minerals, Litchfield Park, AZ,  Jewelry, gems, minerals, carvings

Bill & Emily Jaeger, Endless Mountain Minerals, Hereford, AZ,   Crystals, rough, specimens, jewelry

Patsy & Jerry Kastner, Kastner Gems & Supply, Tucson, AZ,   Jewelry, lapidary equipt, supplies

Ron Kellner, RK Enterprises, Show Low, AZ,  Jewelry, cabs, slabs, specimens

Randy & Sally McCowan, Deming, NM,  Arrowheads, turquoise

Blanca Murguia, BM Jewelry, El Paso, TX,  Silver & gemstone jewelry

Barbara Nance, Stonewalker Studio, Silver City, NM,   Stone sculpture

Ken Newman, DBA Rocks, Deming, NM,  Spheres, slabs, thunder eggs

Jose Nunez, Canutillo, TX,  Minerals

John & Connie Partridge, JBP Minerals, Tucson, AZ,  Minerals, rocks

Jay and Amy Penn, El Chivo Viejo, Albuquerque, NM,  Minerals, slabs

David & Ruth Ann Rinsch, Dave’s Enterprises, Tyrone, NM,  Rocks, gems

Jose Maunel Romero, Opalos Romero, Tucson, AZ,  Fire opal, fire agate, rainbow obsidian, carvings

John Scully & Laurie Rossi, Scully’s Minerals, Fairview, NM   Minerals, fossils

Jesse, James, and Jan Searcy, Black hat Trading, Deming, NM,   Jewelry, findings, beads, carvings

Tracy Stump, Tracy’s Silver & Gold, Phoenix, AZ,   Jewelry

Sharon & Bill Szymanski, Never Enough Karats, San Tan Valley, AZ,  Jewelry, collectibles

Bruce Williams & Nancy Bailey, Silver & Stone Works, Silver City, NM,   Jewelry, cabs, chain maille

Tony Zenan, Znaniecki Collection, Cottonwood, AZ,   Wildlife paintings on slabs

Special Tour at the Gem and Mineral Show

As a bonus field trip for the Annual Gem and Mineral Show, the Grant County Rolling Stones has invited Terry Humble, local author and historian, back this year to give his popular tour of area mines.  The approximately two-hour bus ride (with no bathroom breaks - sorry!) will stop at various historical mines and sites where Terry will inform and amuse you with stories of the past.  

The tour will leave from the entrance of the Show at 1:00 pm on Monday, Labor Day, September 2nd.  We will not be taking advance reservations, so show up early.  Space on the bus is limited.  

Summertime field trip fun

From Jeannine Weiner - club member

Here are a few pictures from the trips we took in May & June.  

The first pictures are from Bear Mountain were we went to find fossils. We had a little trouble finding the right spot, but when we did we found sea shell fossils and also coral. The close up is of the coral that Wendy found, the biggest of the bunch. As you can see from the one clean spot, that was all that was sticking out of the ground. Careful digging unearthed the rest.

The second set is from our trip to Mule Creek. We stopped along the way to see what we could find in the ledge by the road. We did find a few Apache Tears. We continued up and went to look for Crystals. We found several small to nice sized ones. From there we went back out of Mule Creek to the wash and found an abundance of Apache Tears.

2013 Gem and Mineral Show Vendors

We are very pleased to announce that our vendor list is full for the upcoming Labor Day weekend show.  We have several new vendors this year, so we're looking forward to making some new friends and seeing some new material!

Mark Your Calendars!

Grant County Rolling Stones
 30th Annual Gem and Mineral Show

3031 US Hwy 180 East, Silver City, NM

2013 Labor Day Weekend – Free Admission - No Early or Late Admissions

Saturday August 31 – 9:00 am to 5:00 pm
Sunday September 1 – 10 am to 5 pm
Monday, Labor Day September 2 – 10 am to 4 pm

Daily Field Trips – for Collecting – for Local Geology and Mining History

Josh’s Birthday Rockhounding Campout (with Kyle and Greg and Lola) by Kyle Meredith

Our first leg of the trip took us to T or C to find banded rhyolite (candy rock) on TV Tower Hill.  To get there we had to drive through a culvert under I-25.  Greg went first and scraped his camper a little, but Josh and I made it without touching.  We found some good rhyolite, but not as good as at the Green Spar Mine on Fluorite Ridge or down by Gage.  

Then we headed back through town on NM Hwy 51, past Elephant Butte Dam (which we’d never seen before—what lake?), but before we got to Engle we turned south toward some arbitrary GPS coordinates I had interpreted from a vague map in New Mexico Rockhounding.  Amazingly, Josh found most of a petrified tree lying in an outcrop where there was very little other petrified wood to be found.  Someone had taken away the easiest sections nearest the top of the tree, but with perseverance we excavated the next section down and carried it what I estimate to be a quarter mile (or more) back to the camper.  The best we could do was 50-100 feet, then drop it and go back for the rest of our stuff.  I still wonder if my hernia operation is intact.

We had one more questionable location to check for agate and wood, but with that earlier score—and being near happy hour—we decided to drive past it, on to the carnelian site.  We camped on top of the ridge, had our gin and tonics, and began finding carnelian almost as soon as we looked down on the ground.  We also saw mysterious piles of rock.  The first one we saw looked like an old, abandoned fire ring, but then we saw more than we could count all over the landscape.  We considered several hypotheses as to what they might be, including shallow graves at a battlefield or agave roasting pits. 

That afternoon and the next morning we searched far and wide for carnelian with fair success, then headed back toward the main road where, unbeknownst to us until we saw it from our campsite, lay the Spaceport.  (We continued to find carnelian at every stop along the way—generally no bigger than the end of your thumb.)  We were only allowed to take pictures of the Spaceport from the parking lot, then drove on down the road toward Hatch to look for a place to stop for lunch.  When we had asked the sentry at the gate if there was a café in Upham (it IS on the map) he looked like we had just arrived  from outer space.  Down the dusty road we were surprised to see a parking area with a kiosk and signage for El Camino Real so we pulled over there, fixed a quick lunch, then walked the 3-mile round trip to the escarpment where we expected to see piles of broken wagons and bleached bones.  The only evidence of the trail was swales, but the interpretive signs helped us imagine traveling along the Jornada del Muerto.  The weather we experienced must have been about the very best they could have hoped for.

The next goal of our trip was to find a place to camp near the saddle above the Palm Park (barite) Mine on the other side of the mountains (northeast of Hatch).  With maps and GPS we managed to get into a high arroyo sheltered from the wind that had begun to blow through the wide valley.  It was as close as I had hoped to be (about a mile from the summit) and as far as we wanted to drive.  Again we found some banded rhyolite worth collecting, but nothing you’d drive all the way there to find.  The next morning we hiked up the road to the saddle and looked for the little quartz scepters we had found before, walking up from the Palm Park Mine.  We got back to the trucks before lunchtime and relaxed with a beer before heading back down into the valley and the road that took us to the Tonuco exit just south of Rincon.  After having fish tacos at Fidencio’s in Hatch, we headed home.  Couldn’t have asked for a better time in Southwest New Mexico.

References:  Gem Trails of New Mexico, James R. Mitchell.  New Mexico Rockhounding, Stephen M. Voynick

Camper in Culvert

Petrified Wood

Rock pile on Carnelian Ridge

Spaceport

Camino Kiosk

Road up from the Palm Park Mine

Arroyo campsite