SALINAS VALLEY ROCK AND GEM CLUB

P O BOX 12

SALINAS, CALIFORNIA 93901-0012

Next General Meetings July16th and August 20th 2007, 7:00pm. Club will meet at the Northridge Shopping Center Community Room. The doorway is located on backside of mall between J C Penny's and Mervyn’s. Everyone is also invited to our board meeting held at 6:00 pm on the same evening.

Our Club is a nonprofit organization and our purpose is to promote the study of mineralogy and geology. To encourage he collection of minerals, fossils, and gems. To provide field trips and to encourage the study of lapidary arts through workshops.

Our Club colors are pink for Rhodonite and green for Jade

Our Club is a member of the California Federation and the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies

We try to hold a workshop or field trip every month with different facets of our hobby

We have a club library of books and videos. We also have three pieces of equipment available to members to check out and use for a small fee. Tumbler fee is $2.50 a month. Rock grinder and polisher $5.00 a month. We also have a small trim saw, but we ask each person who borrows it to furnish their own blade. We hold a rock raffle at each meeting so as to provide some new material for those that do not have that type of rock.

We hold an annual show on the 2nd week in March for the education and enjoyment of the public. We also offer hands on material for schools to study  the materials we collect and use. Teachers can check out these trays for two weeks and a member can help explain and inform the students. Contact Ada Brewer at 758-6274

Club dues are $10 for singles and $20 for families. Dues are payable in December for the following year.

BOARD MEETING - June 18, 2007

Present: Ken O., Peter, Jim, Jeff, Karen & Betty

  Signed up for 4th celebration in Spreckels: Jimmy & RUdy setup, Jeff, Karin, Ken & Karen, Bill (noon on).  Rocks were brought to meeting for wheel. Jimmy will pick up equipment from Becks and bring to park and case and rocks for wheel and case items.

   No one volunteered to be in charge of taking rock specimens (boxes) to schools and related info or give talks about rocks in classes. Betty volunteered to keep rock boxes and empty bags. No decision on place for enamel setup. Questions: how much is there. Betty needs help moving stuff to her house. Karin i going to help clean Ada’s house.

   For a workshop suggestion was to fill rock bags during picnic and Katie may be able to lead those interested in rock painting.

   Picnic date is August 19th, Sunday 1:00 pm at Beck’s Ranch with a rock auction.

   A web site has been set up by Sue Hogberg. She needs info to put in the site.

   No one volunteered for Show Chairman. Jimmy’s name was mentioned - not asked yet.

   No one volunteered to be Sunshine Person. It was decided to have members news relayed  to the secretary. Sending cards and notes will be left to secretary.

   Jeff will be 3 year Director (Seat vacated by Bob’s passing), Ernie 2 year and Karen J. 1 year. Recorded by Karen J.

GENERAL MEETING - June 18th, 2007

    Same officers.

   Three guests attended - Jerry, Sandy and Jim from the mobile home park. Jerry won the gift, a rock slab. Did not draw for member.

  Ada getting better, expects to live in an assisted living home.

   A donation in Bob’s name given to MS charity in amount of $25.00.

   No treasurer’s report. Peter had check to pay Spreckels for booth, $85.00.

   Jim Bassett attended the CFMS show in Lancaster. The Federation is now solvent. and show was good. Chairmen of large clubs spoke of nothing interesting to us. Camp Paradise is Sept. 2-8 and 9/15. It is now $300 per week. No alcohol allowed. They are upgrading in June. This camp has classes for the entire week - all different f5acets of lapidary. Housing or campsites are available. Ed and Eileen attended last year and enjoyed themselves.

   Zzyxx camp is March 27-30, 2008

   October 6 - NBFT - Los Altos, find info from Jake Dave Muster, who writes in the CFMS Bulletin about field trips and the legalities thereof.

   We need to pay our CGMS insurance premium by lst notice. Jim has the Carmel Club packet, can be picked up from him by anyone going to Carmel Club meeting. Vote no to CFMS Scholarship Fund - bad vibes fro the misuse of funds a couple years ago.

   Ken O. explained the 4th of July booth operation and why we need volunteers, and no new people signed up.

   Peter set out all brochures on field trips and had CFMS membership cards for everyone. They help you get a discount at other shows.

   Jeff’s name was listed for Program. Ernie didn’t attend, so we had no Don Wobber DVD. Show & tell was our program. Karen, Gail and Katie showed and told of bead workshop led by Karin at the mobil home park. About 8 attended. Katie also showed her painted rocks. She had bought a kit and added her own style. Maybe she’ll teach a class. Peter told about his trip to Utah and showed some rock slabs cut from Henry Mts, Boulder and Escalante areas.

   Gary brought club saw and Peter brought cab machine for club renters. Gail took both for one month. Reminded members of disclaimer to sign, plus having attended a class before rental of club equipment is approved.

   We had rock slab raffle. Recorded by Karen J.

MEMBERS NEWS:

Ada Brewer is getting better as each day passes. She’s anxious to get home and get on with life.

Pat Wright is having a busy summer playing her violin with the local Colorado Springs Symphony and vending at several shows.

Shirley Hagberg keeps up with members that have moved away and sends the following update:  She has been under the weather herself  lately.

Lydia Bassetti - doing well in Washington, she sounds happy, misses all the Club members, Salinas and her home.

Eva Deaver -  her address is - Eva Deaver,c/o City View Guest Home, 3834 Tea Rose Court,

Redding, CA 96001, phone # 530-241-2672,  AND she turned 89 in May!

Americo Rossi - He is doing well, glad to be in MO with Linda’s family.

BLM CLOSES HAZARDOUS MINE TUNNELS ON QUARTZ MOUNTAIN

The state of California Office of Mine Reclamation, in partnership with the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, is closing hazardous mine tunnels and shafts in the Quartz Mountain area this week.

Quartz Mountain, located about 22 miles northeast of Madera in Madera County, was one of several foothill gold mines that were first developed in the 1870s. In this century, the site became a popular place to collect quartz crystals.

“To improve public safety, the BLM and the state of California have an ongoing cooperative program to close hazardous abandoned mine tunnels and shafts throughout the state. At the abandoned mines of Quartz Mountain, untrained and unqualified persons could be injured or killed by falling into the mine shafts, being hit by debris dropping from the ceilings of the old tunnels, or asphyxiated due to oxygen-deficient atmospheres,” said Gregg Wilkerson, geologist in BLM’s Bakersfield Field Office.

The mine closures will be done in such a way as to keep people out, but protect wildlife habitat. Several of the mine shafts and tunnels are used by bats and other animals. For some of the mine features, bat gates will be installed which will permit the bats to use the tunnels while keeping people outside.

For more information about this project, contact Wilkerson at (661) 391-6081

BACK ROADS OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA LOADED WITH INSPIRATION

Jay Calderon, The Desert Sun

Tecopa Hot Springs road runs through marshes where the Armagosa River, which usually runs below the desert, surfaces close to the town of Tecopa, near Death Valley.

ON THE ROAD

"Backroads of Southern California: Your Guide to Southern California's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures"Available at Amazon.com

Tecopa Hot Springs

The Desert Sun May 11, 2007

The isolation is almost unimaginable. In every direction, as far as the eye can scan, the desert landscape extends into the horizon. Sand dunes, mountain ranges and the blistering heat of the sun surround Highway 127 as it stretches through the Mojave Desert and in the distance, appears to melt directly into the mountains. The slight whisper of the wind is often the only sound that can be heard, and the two-lane asphalt road is the only lifeline connecting these majestic landscapes with civilization. Highway 127 is one of the roads featured in "Backroads of Southern California: Your Guide to Southern California's Most Scenic Backroad Adventures," a book by David M. Wyman that maps out the most scenic back-road adventures in California.

Divided into five locations, the book maps out trips through mountain ranges like the San Gabriel Mountains, the Central Coast, the San Joaquin Valley, Sierra Nevada and in the deserts from Anza to Joshua Tree and the Mojave Desert. The Highway 127 road trip, which is labeled "Pupfish and Date Shakes: Tecopa Hot Springs and Old Spanish Trail," stretches from Highway 40 near Amboy, through Baker and into the Tecopa and Shoshone communities at the edge of  Death Valley. "This is the way to experience America. It clears your mind, gives you a sense of peacefulness," says Susan Sorrells, whose family founded Shoshone, a tiny town with a few dozen residents and irresistible historic charm. "I've traveled these roads a lot and even now I feel it's still a source of inspiration," she says. The trip begins at Twentynine Palms, where a full tank is recommended to travel through to Baker. Locals know this route as "the back way to Vegas," where you turn onto Amboy Road and head 70 miles towards the five-person town. A right at Amboy leads to Kelbaker Road. Left on Kelbaker, the road passes through the picturesque Mojave National Preserve. Magnificent rock formations dot the road as twirling dust tornados on fields of sand dance in the distance. The road forks at the railroad tracks at Kelso Road. Locals traveling to Las Vegas have a choice of continuing left on Kelbaker to Baker, home of the world's largest thermometer, or right where the road meets I-15 near the Mountain Pass at the California border. The trip to Tecopa and Shoshone continues on Kelbaker Road to Baker. At Baker, Highway 127 leads into the hot desert, where it's more common to see lizards darting across the road than other cars on the highway. It's only about 50 miles from Baker to Tecopa, but the isolation in between makes it seem like 500 miles from the nearest town. There are no speed limits posted and besides a small shack that serves as a public restroom and a nearby hidden hiking trail that leads to an isolated picnic table at a rest stop, there are no other signs of civilization but the road itself. The town of Tecopa is located off Old Spanish Trail.

Originally a settlement of the Southern Pauite in the early 1800s, the town has an official census count of 99 residents, but the actual numbers are far fewer than that. "We have maybe about 40 or so permanent residents," says Vic Lopez, who manages Tecopa Hot Springs Campground & Pools, one of a handful of hot spring resorts in town. "If you love desert, you'll like it here. It's very peaceful," he says. If you love natural hot spring baths, chances are you will also love Tecopa, which is famous for its natural baths. The Armagosa River runs beneath the desert and sometimes surfaces near Tecopa. "You can probably dig six inches here and hit water," Lopez says. The hot springs bring in the majority of the population to the town, with tourists camping for days to bathe in the natural spring's waters. "It's a great experience, it's so refreshing, it clears your mind and the desert here is beautiful," says Las Vegas resident and frequent Tecopa visitor Bill Randolph as he towels off after a recent bath. There is one catch to these baths that can take a little getting used to. The baths are separated into men and women's pools because nude bathing is mandatory. "It's always been a rule here and it's sort of tradition," Lopez says.

Just north of the town is Little Grimshaw Lake, although it really isn't a lake but a marsh, one of several in the area where the endangered pupfish live. According to Wyman, ancestors of the pupfish lived in lakes and rivers that covered the area at the time. Once the land turned into desert the fish were able to adapt and live in the hot springs and marshes. Just up the road is Shoshone, the gateway to Death Valley. Like many desert communities, Shoshone owes its development to mining in the 1800s. With the only gas station in the area, Shoshone can be considered a "busy" stop for tourists on their way to Pahrump, Nev., or Death Valley.

"It's a great little town," Sorrells says as she stands under a picture of her mother, aunt and uncle which hangs in the Crowbar Saloon, the only restaurant in town. Sorrells is a fourth-generation resident of Shoshone. Her great-grandfather Ralph "Dad" Fairbanks founded the town in 1910. The town remained in the family and has been passed down to Sorrells, who after living in New York and Europe decided to come back to Shoshone. "I didn't want to live anywhere else," she says. "Being here gives you a sense of serenity, a connection to the land."

But even in these isolated towns, thanks to back roads, the busy modern world isn't far away. Sorrells quickly dashes away to a meeting with her museum staff, which is busy with a workshop today. A tourist walks across the road and asks out loud if anyone knows where she can check her e-mail. An Internet cafe is nearby and she is pointed in that direction - just a few yards down the back road

WONDERFUL INTERNET SITE: FREE GEMOLOGY COURSE

If you’re interested in learning about gemology from a scientific (rather than a commercial or artistic) viewpoint, then you might enjoy this web site. Included there is a series of lessons developed by Barbara Smigel, Ph.D., GG, and Emeritus Professor at the Community College of Southern Nevada. You don’t need to register to use the materials contained on the site, however you can opt to register and take the full distance learning, on-line course for college credit.

Web Lectures include the following lessons:

Lesson 1: Basic Terms

Lesson 2: Naming and Measuring Gems

Lesson 3: Physical Properties of Gems

Lesson 4: Optical Properties of Gems

Lesson 5: Magnification and What it Reveals

Lesson 6: Optical Phenomena in Gemstones

Lesson 7: Gem Fashioning

Lesson 8: Gem Enhancement

Lesson 9: Synthetics and Simulants

Lesson 10: Gem Formation

Also included on the site are Web Essays – one-topic, pictorial essays that enrich the web lectures for each lesson and include information on specific rocks and minerals. You can

follow a link to “Ask the Teacher” specific questions and actually receive an answer in response. There’s also an audio pronunciation guide, an A-Z Survey of Gemstones download able as a Power Point presentation, and suggested text books and reading assignments if you’re interested in learning more. Simply visit: http://www.bwsmigel.info/. Check it out!U.S. DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAMANAGEMCalifor

BLM ANNOUNCES INTENT TO COLLECT FEES AT CLEAR CREEK MANAGEMENT AREA

The Bureau of Land Management has announced it intends to collect user fees starting no earlier than January 2008 at the Clear Creek Management Area to meet increasing demands for visitor services at the popular recreation site in Fresno and San Benito counties.

“The fees collected will be used at CCMA to maintain existing facilities and recreational opportunities, to provide for law enforcement presence, to develop additional services, and to protect unique and sensitive resources in the area,” said Rick Cooper, BLM Hollister Field Office manager.

BLM is seeking public comment on the proposal for the next 30 days.  Comments must be received by the BLM’s Hollister Field Office, 20 Hamilton Court, Hollister, Calif. 95023 by July 27.  BLM also plans to seek review and a recommendation from the Pacific Southwest Recreation Resources Advisory Committee being established under the authority of the Recreation Enhancement Act by BLM and the U.S. Forest Service.

The area is used primarily for off-highway vehicle recreation, but is gaining popularity for other activities including hunting, hiking, backpacking, hang gliding, peak climbing, and rock hounding, Cooper said.  In March 2006, the BLM’s existing Central California Resource Advisory Council voted unanimously to “accept the concept of the collection of user fees at Clear Creek.” BLM held a public workshop in June 2006 where members of the public expressed willingness to pay a user fee as long as the funding showed tangible results within the area.

Under the proposal open for comment, all visitors would be charged a Standard Amenity Recreation fee of $5 per primary vehicle. OHV users (e.g. all-terrain vehicles, motorcycles, quads, dune buggies) would be charged an additional Special Recreation Permit fee of $10 per OHV.  Both of these fees would be good for a weekly pass from Wednesday through Tuesday regardless of the day of purchase. An $80 seasonal pass (valid from October 16 through May 31) would be available that would cover both the primary vehicle and two OHVs.  OHVs specifically for riders under sixteen would not be charged a fee.  Holders of the new America the Beautiful Passport as well as the still valid Golden Eagle, Golden Age, and Golden Access Passports will be exempt from the $5 SAR fee, but will be required to pay the SRP fee.

For more information, contact Lesly Smith, BLM outdoor recreation planner, at the Hollister BLM Field Office, (831) 630-5000.

HAVING FUN - JUNIOR ACTIVITIES - MAPPING

—By Jim Brace-Thompson, Jr. Activities Chair

As part of my continuing effort to come up with ideas for new badges for our FRA badge program, it’s been suggested to me to consider a unit on mapping: what maps are and how to read them. Maps are an essential tool in the rockhound’s toolbox as we hit the road to locate the perfect gem or fossil. With that in mind, here are thoughts about possible activities to teach your

club’s kids about maps: The different types of maps. Not all maps are created equal.

Teach your junior members about the different types of maps and the stories each tells, from atlases and geopolitical maps showing national, state, and county boundaries, roads, significant

landmarks, etc., that help us get from here to there… to geologic maps showing different formations and rock types in colorful banded patterns… to topographic maps with their wavy

lines indicating hills and basins, mountains and valleys. Teach the basics of how to read each sort of map. Making maps. Hold a map-making workshop with your juniors to make maps of different sorts. For instance, you might lead them in making a geographic map of their own neighborhood to show how to get from home to school, or a field trip map to show how to get to a favorite collecting locality. Make a miniature hilly landscape out of moist sand in a tub and insert toothpicks at different levels, with all the toothpicks of specific levels joined by different colored strings to give kids a better appreciation of what the wavy lines on a topographic map help us visualize. Have them sketch a two-dimensional topographic map using the toothpicks and strings on your miniature three-dimensional landscape to guide them. Sources of maps. Help kids learn how to access maps, from the corner gas station convenience store selling roadmaps, to libraries and university geology departments with their large, oversized geological maps in big, flat drawers. And teach them about major sources and publishers of maps, such as geological surveys, Rand McNally, De-Lorme, The Thomas Guides, National Geographic, etc.

Using GPS. I confess this is a lesson I myself need to take (I always seem to operate about ten years behind when it comes to the latest technology). But with GPS coordinates increasingly

showing up in guidebooks, and with entire books now consisting of tables of GPS coordinates (like David A. Kelty’s The GPS Guide to Western Gem Trails), rock hounds of tomorrow need to

learn the technology of today. Maps on the Web. Speaking of the technology of today, take

your juniors to a computer terminal to explore the possibilities afforded by Google Earth (http://earth.google.com). This amazing tool combines the power of Google Search with satellite imagery, maps, terrain, and 3D buildings. Among the range of possibilities suggested on the web site: “fly” to one of your junior member’s homes by typing in the address and pressing

“search” to zoom right in. Get driving directions to a park or natural history museum.

Tilt and rotate the view on a Google Earth map to see terrain and buildings in 3D. As you can see, between GPS and tools like Google Earth, mapping has become the stuff of amazement. Such a unit could be the perfect sort of activity for helping kids find their way while,as always, having fun! AFMS Newsletter, 06/07

Lapidary Hint. Polishing a stone all over and on the edges acts as a sealer. It seals and keeps water in opal; it prevents natural corrosion in Rhodonite (that corrodes to a black ore called wad)

and it helps stop the absorption of harmful substances such as perspiration.

Via Rock Rollers 12/04, via Owyhee Gem 11/04, via Breccia 03/06

UPCOMING SHOWS & EVENTS

July 6-8 Flagstaff, AZ. Flagstaff Gem & Mineral Society. Little America Hotel, Butler Ave & I-40 (Exit 198). Hours: Fri. 11-6, Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-4. $3. Val Latham, (602) 466-3060, dstuart@bmol.com.

August 3-5 Nipomo, CA. Orcutt Mineral Society. St. Joseph Church, 298 S. Thompson Ave. West Lingerfelt, (805) 929-3788.

August 4-5 San Francisco, CA. San Francisco Gem & Mineral Society’s 53rd annual “Golden Gateway to Gems”. S.F. Country Fair Bldg., 9th Ave. at Lincoln Way. Hours: Sat. 10-6, Sun. 10-5. $6. Ellen Nott, (415) 564-4230, www.sfgms.org.

August 31-September 3 Fort Bragg, CA. Mendocino Coast Gem & Mineral Society. Town Hall, Main & Laurel. Hours: Sat. & Sun. 10-6, Mon. 10-4. Don McDonell, (707) 964-3116.

September 15 Fiddletown, CA. The Rockhound Saloon’s “2nd Annual Rock Tail-Gate” in conjunction with the Fiddletown Fiddlers’ Jam and Street Fair. Hours: 10-5. Vilia, (209) 245-3912.

September 15-16 Jackson, CA. Fossils For Fun Society’s 7th Annual Tailgate Gemboree. Kennedy Gold Mine, 12594 Kennedy Mine Rd, Hours: 9-5 both days. Dan Brown, (209) 296-6466, fossilsforfun@hotmail.com.

September 15-16 Redwood City, CA. Sequoia Gem & Mineral Society’s 41st Annual “Harvest of Gems and Minerals”. Community Activities Bldg., 1400 Roosevelt Ave. Hours: 10-5 both days. Carol Corden, (650) 248-7155, ccorden@earthlink.net, www.sgms.driftmine.com/home.htm.

September 22 Los Altos, CA. Peninsula Gem & Geology Society’s “Recreation with Rocks”. Rancho Shopping Center, Foothill Exp. and Springer Road. Hours: 9:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.. David Muster, (408) 245-2180, colleen.mcgann@hds.com.

September 29-30 Stockton, CA. Stockton Lapidary & Mineral Club’s “Earth’s Treasures”. Scottish Rite Temple, 33 W. Alpine St.. Hours: 10-5 both days. Nettie Meissner, (209) 858-2263, www.stocktonlapidary.com.

October 3-7 Joshua Tree, CA. The 32nd Annual Gem, Mineral and Crafts Show. 6225 Sunburst Avenue, Joshua Tree. Hours: M-Sat. 8-5, Sund. 8-3. Over 50 dealers of gems, rock minerals, crafts, lapidary and rock polishing equipment. Raffles, Pancake Breakfast on Saturday, Classic Car Display, Sheriff’s Mounted Search and Rescue Demonstration, Flag Raising Ceremony. All proceeds go to: Sportsman’s Building Fund and TLC (Tender Loving Christmas). (760) 366-2915.

October 13-14 Grass Valley, CA. Nevada Country Gem & Mineral Society’s “Earth’s Treasures”. Nevada County Fairgrounds, 11228 McCourtney Road. Hours:10-5 both days. Cliff Swenson (530) 272-3752.

October 20-21 Placerville, CA. El Dorado County Mineral &Gem Society. El Dorado County Fairgrounds, 100 Placerville Drive. Hours: 10-5 both days. Jackie Cerrato (530) 677-2975,

jacbobcer@directcon.net, www.eldoradomineralandgem.org.

October 20-21 Anderson, CA. Shasta Gem & Mineral Society.

Shasta District Fairgrounds. Hours: Sat. 9-5, Sun. 10-4. Bill Steward, (530) 365-8641.

Nov. 3-4 Concord, CA. Contra Costa Mineral & Gem Society. Centre Concord, 5298 Clayton Road. Clayton Fair Shopping Center. Hours: 10-5 both MEMBdays. Sam Woolsey (925) 837-3287.

Nov. 9-11 Sacramento, CA. Sacramento Mineral Society’s “65th Annual Golden Harvest of Gems, Jewelry & Mineral Show”. Scottish Rite Temple, 6151 H Street, Sacramento. www.sacmineralsociety.org.

Nov. 10-11 Yuba City, CA. Sutter Buttes Gem & MineralSociety’s “Festival of Gems”. Grace Franklin Hall, 442 Franklin Avenue. Hours: Sat. 9-5, Sun. 9-4. Cliff Swenson (530) 272-3752.

October 7 - Fallbrook, CA. Fallbrook Gem & Mineral Society’s “Fall Festival of Gems”. FGMS Museum, 123 W. Alvarado. Hours:10-4. Mary Fong-Walker, (760) 723-3484, mrwizard@tfb.com., www.FGMSORG/organization/orglocations/html.

DATES TO REMEMBER

July 16th - Board and General Meeting - 6 pm - Northridge Mall Community Room

July refreshments - Jeff

July program - Jeff

August  19th - PICNIC - 1:00 pm  Beck’s Ranch, Chualar Canyon Rd

September 17th - Board & General Meeting

September refreshments - Peter

September 29 & 30 - Carmel Club Show, Monterey Fairgrounds

October 5, 6 & 7 - Big Sur Jade Festival

October 15th Board & General Meeting

October refreshments - Karin S.

November 19th Board & General Meetings

November program - Ed & Eileen Ferner

December - Christmas Party

Carmel Valley Rock & Gem  meets the lst Thursday, 7 pm, at Pacific Grove Natural History Museum.  Santa Cruz Mineral & Gem Society meets the 2nd Wednesday, 7 pm,  at the Masonic Hall, 828 N. Branciforte Dr., Santa Cruz

A ROCK COLLECTING ODYSSEY

BY

ED & EILEEN FERNER

On Friday, June 15th, we traveled to the Snake River RV Park in Homedale, Idaho, that would serve as our base camp for five days of rock collecting in the Succor Creek area on the Oregon/Idaho border. We joined up with a group from the Mt. Hood Oregon Rock Club who were sponsoring the collecting trip. The campground had full hook-ups and was located on grassy sites on the bank of the Snake River. This site served us as a great base of operations to conduct our forays into the hills and canyons around us.

Our first collection took place off of Summercamp Road south of Homedale for queenstone jasper. This material has a bacon-like exterior appearance with white circles internally. Although the site did not produce enormous amounts of material, each rockhound managed to collect a few pieces in their buckets. The day, however, was not without mishap. One pick-up truck struck a rock and bent a steering shimmy damper on the front end that restricted the steering range of the truck. Luckily rockhounds carry large pry bars and the truck owner was able to bend the cylinder back into a semblance of straightness allowing him to drive back to town for repair. Secondly, Ed missed his mid morning snack and ended up experiencing hypoglycemia (he is a type 2 diabetic) and fainted on the tailgate of a pick-up truck. Some timely first aid by one of the rock hounds brought Ed around and he was back digging rocks fifteen minutes later. As if that were not enough for one day, on the way to our next collection site one of the vehicles overheated and ended up having to be towed by AAA about fifteen miles back to town over gravel roads. That repair was a bit more costly as the radiator, water pump and a head gasket had to be replaced!

A second collection foray was out to a graveyard point plumed agate claim located on BLM land southwest of town. You can pick through the excavated piles at the claim and pay .50 cents per pound for the material you select or scour the hills outside the claim for free. We did some searching in both manners.

Another collection area in Succor Creek we explored yielded a fair amount of green/brown picture jasper in a large pit area. There was a lot more we could have collected but some heavy digging equipment was needed that we did not have with us. In this same general area our field trip leader led us to a place where we tried our hands at digging for mostly leaf and some other types of fossils. Everyone came away with a few items after about a two-hour dig.

One of the days we traveled to the campground area of Succor Creek that is about fifteen miles (half way through the park) and dug for thundereggs. We collected about twenty eggs in some beds at the top of the hillside to the west of the campground in a one and one-half hour dig.

Next up was a petrified wood dig that took place southwest of the town of Marsing. The work was hard but we all came away with some nice pieces of wood.

We also dug for thundereggs in a series of pits known as the hardtrigger area. This work was strenuous and the egg size seemed smaller than our first thunderegg dig but fun nevertheless.

For pure scenic enjoyment we took the Leslie Gulch turn-off that is off the main road (gravel) in Succor Creek. This road goes west to Lake Owyhee and for a pleasurable scenic drive it has to rate quite high in majestic beauty! The rock formations on both sides of the road are a sight to behold. The road dead ends at a boat launch ramp at the lake and you must return by the same path taken into the lake.

Our outing with the Mt. Hood Club being over we traveled over to Prineville, Oregon, where the local club was holding their annual show. We camped at the show itself that was held at the Crook County Fairgrounds. The Prineville show next year will be on June 26-29th, 2008.

From Prineville we drove out to Maury Mountain to collect moss agate and collected all of the green we desired and a few pieces of red that is the prize of that site.

We also took a day and drove out to the Lucky Strike Mine that is a thunderegg claim about thirty-five miles east of Prineville. An 89-year-old fellow operates the claim by the name of Kop and his wife. They are both real characters and are really into rocks! You could either buy rock from the couple or dig your own and pay a fee.

From Prineville we drove to Madras, Oregon, whose club was also having their annual show the following week. There were two days of down time between shows so we went out to Richardson’s Ranch and dry camped at their facility for two nights. Very impressive place for various colors of thundereggs in addition to their having a yard full of rocks from all over the world for sale.

We spent most of a day collecting thundereggs in the various beds available at Richardson’s Ranch. What a variety of thundereggs! And they have beds that are designated by color no less. Red, blue and moss agate beds. After gathering what we felt we could make use of we returned to the Ranch Office for weigh-in and the payment of .75 cents per pound for our treasures.

From Richardsons we moved on to the Madras show that was held at the Jefferson County Fairgrounds. Campers may either dry camp on grass or with full hook-ups in a county fairgrounds camp adjacent to the fairgrounds. Lots of vendors and numerous field trips for agate, jasper, thundereggs and petrified wood. We dug for thundereggs at a place called Friends at .75 cents per pound, and also for polka dot material east of town at the Polka Dot Mine. The Madras show next year will be on July 2-6th, 2008.

All things considered, we had a great time and collected more material than our motor home probably cared to carry. Most likely we will be sorting, cutting and fashioning our newly acquired treasure for some time and reliving the memories of this awesome trip! Highly recommend you consider going some time in the future.

ROCKHOUNDING IN STREAM BEADS AND BEACHES

  Stream beds and beaches accumulate minerals after being freed from other rocks. Some minerals are now integral parts of consolidated sedimentary rock. These placer deposits are excellent prospecting areas. Sapphires in Yogo Gulch, Montana - a stream and it’ flow plain. Rubies, sapphires, others - Burma, Thailand, Ceylon, from gem gravels. Diamonds, topaz - Brazil - streams, flood plains and old land areas. Diamonds and others - beaches of West Africa - from beds of Orange River, the drainage area/flood plains on to the beaches. Gold - California rivers from Sierra Nevada veins - gold belt extends north thru British Columbia into Alaska.

   To explore: dig some distance below the surface of beach or river sandbars in mineralized area and pan the bottom sands. Some interesting material could be - monazite, zircon, ilmenite, corundum, ruby, sapphire, magnetite and gold or diamonds! Put yourself in the role of a legendary prospector - it may not provide a substantial income, but the reward could equal the effort!

  taken from “Treasures of the Earth” “The World of Rocks and Minerals by Benjamin M. Shaub, published 1975

   thanks to Karen Jones for contributing the above article

FEDERATION REPORT by Jim BassettDEERATION REPORT

My trip to the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies (CFMS) meeting In Lancaster, CA on 16 June 2007 was very interesting.

The following is some items discussed that may be of interest to some of our members.

EARTH SCIENCE STUDIES

It was reported that the program is very healthy and will continue.

The next session will be at Camp Paradise September 2 to September 8 and September 9 to September 15, 2007.  Rumors caused a short count last year but things are looking much better.  The contact person at the Melchazdick Church says they resolve to make this a first class venue.

The program at Zzyzx has established the dates as March 23 to March 30, 2008.  Other possibilities are being explored for the second week in the south as well as work is being done for a junior program as well.

The $300.00 fee should hold for a reasonable period of time barring any drastic changes.

These sites are owned by the churches, so there will be no alcoholic  beverages allowed.

CFMS FIELD TRIP NORTH REPORT

There will be a field trip Seminar on October 6, 2007 from 9:00 AM to 12:00 noon in the Garden House at Shoup Park, 400 University Ave, Los Altos, CA.

Topics include Boundaries, Quarter corners, Township, Section and Range Lines, and using the BLM to check land status.

Crumpier at 9 am with sandwich lunch provided.

Hosted by Peninsula Gem & Geology Society.

Dave Muster

Chairman

TAX ADVISOR

It has recently come to our attention that some California societies have failed to timely file the biennial State of Domestic Nonprofit Corporations report with the California Secretary of State

The failure to file causes a $50.00 assessment to be issued and will ultimately lead to the suspension of a corporation’s rights including the ability to legally conduct activities.

The problem seems to be the lack of continuity at the annual change over of officers.  It is suggested this be included in the duty statements of each officer, director and committee chairperson

ROBERT H. BREWER

April 19, 1922 - May 23, 2007

OUR MEMORIES OF BOB BREWER EXTEND FAR AND WIDE - HE WILL BE MISSED

    BOB WAS A FOUNDATION OF THE FEDERAL WAY ROCK CLUB, AND AFTER MOVING TO THE SALINAS AREA, THE MONTEREY BAY MINERAL CLUB AND THERE-AFTER, THE SALINAS VALLEY ROCK & GEM CLUB.   BOB HAD A NOSE FOR WHERE TO LOOK AND WOULD TURN UP INTERESTING MATERIAL WHEREEVER HE SEARCHED. HIS ABILITY TO GRIND AND POLISH CABOCHONS ARE ON EQUAL WITH ANY EXPERT

(photo taken by Karin at Relay for Life, June 2006, Salinas)