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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 17:54:12 GMT -5
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 18:07:54 GMT -5
Don - Hope this helps with the "rock fix" and thanks for getting me back out into the garage. The pile was becoming "part of the landscape" and subsequently ignored!
Larry - Love the bucket carrier! That's awesome.
Scott - Glad you enjoyed the photos and good to hear from you. Hope you had a great holiday season.
Bill - You can't go wrong up in Yermo either. Easy pickin's!
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 18:13:53 GMT -5
Rocksinmyhead - Welcome to the forum. I see you're from Acton. My boys and I sometimes haunt the area off of Hubbard road for agates. Most of the materials we picked up were small but we did come across one really nice thunderegg. The rest we tumbled and gave away to Andrew's teacher and some friends. Again, good to meet you and welcome to the forum! Paul
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 18:22:25 GMT -5
Judy - Hope you enjoy the photos. Andrew enjoyed this location and ranks it as one of his favorite sites.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 18:24:43 GMT -5
Geoff - Yeah, I know what you mean. Years back, all four of us went up to Wrightwood, CA. My wife packed a picnic lunch and we hunted the area for actinolite. My wife, who's somewhat ambivalent about rockhounding, was the first to find the mineral... Gotta love it. Paul Looks like a great time! Excited to see what you brought home. I know I've ended up overlooking some great stuff until the wife says hey, what's that you're sitting on? Doh!
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
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Post by LarryS on Jan 21, 2012 21:01:24 GMT -5
Paul,
What did your wife say when you dumped all those on the living room floor?!?!
Nice variety of rocks. We'll have to make a trip to Gem Hill someday.
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 21, 2012 22:36:29 GMT -5
Hey, Larry - LOL! Never made it that far. Only the polished / finished rocks are allowed inside ! All the raw materials are sitting in boxes in the garage or on my workbench next to the tumblers and saw. We had so much left over materials from Lavic and Field Sidings that I ended up using it as landscaping rock in the side yard. I grouped everything regionally so that Andrew can still show it all to his friends. I'm trying to convince Andrew to be a bit more selective when we go rockhounding as we're ending up with piles of stuff and about 70% of it was dead weight in the vehicle. . Nathaniel's his opposite number out there. He's really selective, to the point of obsessive compulsive disorder. Whenever he joins, I can guarantee that I'm going to come home with a bucket full of white quartz! He really likes that stone and, I'll admit, it does polish nicely. Would love to hit up Gem Hill with you and Diane! Yermo/Green Ash Hills is another good spot too. Thanks for checking out the thread. Paul
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billg22
spending too much on rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 451
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Post by billg22 on Jan 24, 2012 1:20:21 GMT -5
Looks like my wife and I will do both Gem Hill and Yermo in Feb. on the weekend of the 12th and 13th. We just have to find a hotel in the area. Just want to make a weekend of it. Tina has that Monday off work and wants to get away.
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Post by christopherl1234 on Jan 24, 2012 4:54:46 GMT -5
killer finds!!!
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 24, 2012 9:41:53 GMT -5
Billg22 - Glad you two can get away for a bit and I hope you have a great time! Geoff - Ditto. I'm curious to see as well. I was going to try cutting a bit of it last weekend and starting a batch in one of the tumblers but I got caught up in a bunch of home improvement items. By the time I got around to thinking of it again, it was dinner time. My only concern is that it's got a lot of fracture lines so I'm not sure how it's going to turn out. Only way to know is to try! Christopher - thanks Buddy! Loved the thread that you and LarryS put together on Last Chance Canyon. Paul
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rocksinmyhead
off to a rocking start
The rock hounds!
Member since January 2012
Posts: 20
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Post by rocksinmyhead on Jan 29, 2012 14:53:34 GMT -5
Thanks Paul! Yes, I live in Acton and have been having all kinds of fun exploring with my Jack Russells and a bucket It's fun to look at what other local hounders are finding, since I don't have equipment to slice or polish. I just go by what looks good or feels good and take it home to identify. My friends told me not to bother with a few places in the old books, as they've been picked over, but I'm stubborn! Went to Hubbard Rd last weekend and had a really fun time. I was in a Solara, so couldn't get back where I was really being 'called', but I'm charging the battery in the F350 4WD and plan to go back! It's only 10 minutes from here. Also there's a nice mica vein and gold mine which is hiking distance from the house. Maybe we can get a little group together after a storm and I'll show you those places, plus the chrysacholla locations also nearby. It's always good after a good washing! Here's some of my stuff.... Dexter guarding some of my chrysacholla... These were all from the same area...I have to upload more pics to Webshots so I can post them here. Cheers, Diane
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 29, 2012 22:54:25 GMT -5
Hi Diane - That's a great haul! I'm with you on what to pickup - whatever looks good! Some of it, of course, ends up in the landscaping but we have a great time. The boys and I would be glad to meet you out there. I try and look for "family friendly" locations since my boys are little and serious hiking or climbing is sort of out of the equation. Also, the closest we have to an off-road vehicle is my wife's 2WD Pilot. Good ground clearance and okay approach/departure angles but lacking the 4WD. My Intrepid just doesn't cut it although it did get us into the area north of Hubbard road, believe it or not. We just had trouble getting back out due to that drainage ditch. Had to play some extra angles to get us back out! Did that Chrysocholla come from the old Emma copper mine? We were thinking of heading out there again but couldn't locate the exact area. There's another location east of you, the old Tick Canyon tailing piles, that the boys and I have hit up several times for agates, calcite, quartz, and, of course, howlite. I've heard the same things about areas being totally picked over and not worth the effort. However, I (and others on the forum) have found that if you just widen the search area, you find more stuff. Or wait until after the rains, as you state. Thanks for checking out the thread. Let's plan on getting an outing together. Now that the season's changing and the days are getting longer, we'll have more time to rockhound. We got to the El Paso Mountains (Last Chance Canyon) a bit to late and did have enough time to get all the way back there. Talk to you soon and love your avatar. Great pic! Paul
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rocksinmyhead
off to a rocking start
The rock hounds!
Member since January 2012
Posts: 20
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Post by rocksinmyhead on Jan 30, 2012 1:26:30 GMT -5
Yes, it's the Emma mine and a couple more. It's a 15-20 min hike/walk to get to either the chrysacholla in tailings (you son will love it, tons of snow white quartz! And quartz/chrys. which is my favorite combo metaphysically speaking. I keep everything, gonna build a wall. If you hike a less uphill route there's a long, windy fireroad with washes on both sides and a gorgeous view! Not a tremendous amount of 'collectable' stuff according to a 'serious collector' I met there on his way down. 'Just some stuff the kids get exited about'. Oh, that's what I like!!! Hahaha! My brother and my niece heading up to the mine tailings. I love the trains! LOTS of white quartz! The other route... Some big specimens. Different assortment of stones in that direction but very family friendly....
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Post by Dicky the Rockhunter on Jan 30, 2012 10:34:06 GMT -5
I love the self mobile white quartz with legs. Looks like a great place to search thanks for the pics. Dicky
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rocksinmyhead
off to a rocking start
The rock hounds!
Member since January 2012
Posts: 20
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Post by rocksinmyhead on Jan 30, 2012 11:09:40 GMT -5
Ha! Good one, Dicky! He IS a big hunk of quartz! Diane
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Post by paulshiroma on Jan 31, 2012 23:42:43 GMT -5
Diane: Is this the location of the Emma Copper Mine? We haven't had a chance to head back to Acton and were curious about it. Your photos look like they were taken from approximately this location. Love the train. My younger son, Nathaniel, is a big train enthusiast. Often, when we go rockhounding, I try and pick places where I know there are rail lines so he can see the trains. He's less into rockhounding that his big brother. I enjoy the big diesel electrics as much as he does, though. He would much rather go train spotting. Occassionally, we'll have lunch at the MacDonald's off 15 at Cajon Pass and watch the BNSF traffic on the otherside of the freeway. It's a great location to watch from. Paul
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rocksinmyhead
off to a rocking start
The rock hounds!
Member since January 2012
Posts: 20
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Post by rocksinmyhead on Feb 2, 2012 11:36:09 GMT -5
Hi Paul,
Yes, that's the place....and the alternate parallel trail is along a ravine/wash. Haven't gotten all the way back yet, but I usually have a full backpack.
Diane
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Post by helens on Feb 4, 2012 19:43:51 GMT -5
Wow Paul! I wish we had an area in Florida with that many rocks!!! Reading about your adventures makes me sooo want to go somewhere that has rocks. I know that will stay a huge ambition of mine til I actually manage to get my family out there, and then I'll be the first one to poop out from exhaustion!! LOL!
Your kids look like they are having such a great time! I wish now we did more of that when our kids were smaller. What could be more fun than digging for buried treasures!!
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Post by paulshiroma on Feb 6, 2012 0:01:52 GMT -5
Hi Helen, thanks for checking out the thread. Andrew really enjoys it. You're right about the aspect of finding your own treasure. Nathaniel's not into it as much although he really enjoys the trains. I try and find sites that have a BNSF rail line near by. Occassionally, we just go train spotting as well. He really likes those huge diesel-electrics!
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Post by paulshiroma on Feb 6, 2012 9:50:34 GMT -5
Hey, Geoff - Nice job with that. Did that come from the El Paso Mnt bag or the Gem Hill bag? It looks more like the El Paso Mnt bag but I don't recall what I sent you LOL! I warped my saw yesterday working on some rock from Yermo. It's similar to the slabs I sent you - really dense and hard material. So, time to get a new blade...
Looking forward to seeing that polished up and thanks for letting me know what's inside! ;P
Paul
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