Rockhound State Park

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

 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Lequita Lett welcomes our arriving vendors. 

More Show photos can be found here.

What a Wonderful Show!

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!

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

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)

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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!

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!

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!

Show field trips schedule

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

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

A Full House for the Show!

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

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

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

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 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

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!

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

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

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

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.