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Post by paulshiroma on Sept 22, 2012 23:49:10 GMT -5
Hi folks - not exactly a rockhounding thread ... but, what the hey We didn’t have anything specific planned for this weekend so today, we packed up some snacks and water and we did some train-spotting, hiking and geocaching up in the Wrightwood (CA) area of the San Gabriel Mountains. I was hoping to get in some rockhounding while we were in Wrightwood and see if we could pickup some actinolite but the boys were more interested in the other activities. Next time! First stop, lunch at the top of Cajon Pass and then across on highway 138 into the mountains to our first stop: Train-spotting and some hiking. Andrew picked up a taste for ranch dressing with his french fries. Nothing like a little mayo and creamy fat to go with your fired-in-lard french fries. Of course, he's far more active than I am so he's not going to be bothered by that. LOL! If you're into trains, Cajon Pass is a great place to go train-spotting. The MacD's we were at sits across from the rail lines so you can watch the BNSF trains going up and down the pass. If you look directly behind Nathaniel's head you'll see a series of gondola cars (white). Nathaniel with my “new” used Land Cruiser: Trains: BNSF. We were nice and close to the rail lines so the pic came out clearly for a change. This particular train had eight engines pulling tankers. Interestingly, they were quieter than I thought. Had I not been facing the rail line, I doubt I would have heard them as the freeway noise was actually louder and drowned out the low bass rumble of the engines. Union Pac. I never realized how large those white items were until we saw them this close. I've seen them many, many times going through Altamont Pass, CA and Tehachapi, CA but never this close. Dang! Any guesses as to what the trains are hauling are? ;D The local rock formations are interesting so we hiked over to the hills to check them out. This particular hill was pock-marked with little caves. And the scenery was gorgeous! Barbara found a prickly pear cactus and showed the boys how to pick and peel the fruit. Finally, one of the geocaches we found. Again, not precisely a rock hounding/tumbling/cabbing thread so, thanks for checking out it out! Paul
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Post by talkingstones on Sept 23, 2012 7:10:58 GMT -5
Looks like you had a great time and what a beautiful family! We enjoy geocaching here sometimes too. It gives a great excuse to go out and explore the surrounding country.
Cathy
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jason12x12
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since October 2011
Posts: 798
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Post by jason12x12 on Sept 23, 2012 7:26:31 GMT -5
good times like that last longer than rocks ;0
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 23, 2012 9:57:28 GMT -5
Didn't know if you were asking, or just making a comment... Looks like blades for the wind turbine machines that are popping up everywhere these days.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 23, 2012 12:23:50 GMT -5
+1 for wind turbine blades.
Any luck with actinolite? They can rockhound my front yard if they really need a piece!
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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 Sept 23, 2012 14:41:19 GMT -5
Caves? On this board we call them vugs! Sometimes they pop up that large in our slabs!
Fantastic pics Paul. Surprised there isn't more accidents on the freeway in Cajon Pass with everyone checking out those rock formations. Beautiful area.
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Post by mohs on Sept 23, 2012 17:21:37 GMT -5
Fun Thread Paul !!! now I 'm not sure what actinolite looks like which surprises me ! cause you'd think it be pretty plentiful material cause some rock hound dug a lot of it out of that mountain o yeah Ed
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Post by paulshiroma on Sept 23, 2012 19:28:22 GMT -5
1,000 points to Shotgunner and Rockpicker for ID'ing the turbine blades. Yeah, they're popping up all over the place. Late in August we were coming through Altamont Pass heading east on 580 to my parent's place up in Walnut Creek and it was so windy ALL the turbines in the pass were running. And I was having trouble keeping the truck on the road . About three years ago we went up to Wrightwood and did our first trip rockhounding. Nathaniel developed an affinity for that white quartz you can find all over the place up there and which, surprisingly, tumbles nicely. We also scoured the riverbed and came up with a few nice pieces of actinolite. Everything ends up in the wash LOL Sorry for the quality of the photos, Ed, I took them in the late afternoon - they're a lot greener in person. These were from our first trip up there, back in 2009: Thanks for the compliments, Cathy. Geocachings' a great way to get out and about. And you're right about the memories, Jason! Larry, it's interesting, people are so intent on getting to their destination, that I think they're missing a lot. They're driving like they're late for something, blazing up the highways like that. Cajon Pass is a train enthusiasts dream and the San Gabriel and San Bernardino Mountains are beautiful for hiking, rockhounding, and photography. Coming back from our Summer Vacation, we took Highway 101 down the California coast instead of Highway 5. It added almost three hours to our trip but we also to to stop at several places along the way, see the sights, and take a much more relaxing drive. Thanks again for checking out the thread, folks. Paul
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Post by susand24224 on Sept 23, 2012 19:56:35 GMT -5
Great pictures--happy family! Thanks for sharing.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2012 13:46:20 GMT -5
Actinolite is chemically the same as nephrite. The crystals are way way larger, some large enough to be facetable. I attached a quick pic of a big chunk of actinolite I found last year. The stone upper left is a hunk of Jason's (nmonyx) candystone and the business card is included for size. Just in case you were not aware, business cards are 2" x 3.5". Itsa a big chunk! I made a sphere out of it. Where the crystals come together the tiny biots tend to fall out. It needs to be stabilized. Attachments:
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Post by helens on Sept 24, 2012 19:20:34 GMT -5
Beautiful photos Paul, and your kids are always sooo cute!!! Love that actonite stuff, why don't you cab it?? Looks a lot like that seraphinite to me...
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Post by paulshiroma on Sept 28, 2012 13:52:08 GMT -5
Nice piece, Shotgunner!
Helen - regarding cabbing, I just haven't had a whole lot of free time since we got back from vacation. Once school and sports started, all our time seems to have evaporated. Likewise, I've got a side project running right now to refurbish the saw I picked up from Dee last month. Haven't had a chance to do much of anything with the hobby just now. Did get to meet up with Tammy (rockingthenorth) her sister, and John (johnjsgems) over Labor day for a quick trip out to Yermo and then lunch at Calico Ghost Town but that's been about it. Since then, it's been homework, back to school nights, book reports ... seems busier now that both boys are in five day a week school (Andrew's in 4th, Nathaniel's in K). Finally, managed a day out to just do the sightseeing (above).
This week has been fun. I managed to come down with a virus that took up residence in my inner ear. Most of this week, I had severe vertigo, vomiting, naseau, all sorts of fun stuff. This was the first day that I managed to get out of bed. Lost a whole week of work and now, I'm backlogged! Anyway, to your question, yeah, life seems to have gotten really busy and the hobby's been collecting a bit of dust.
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 Sept 28, 2012 16:03:21 GMT -5
Paul, hope you are feeling better. Those rocks are a bunch of fun to climb on. They may look smooth, if I remember right, they are like a very rough sandpaper. Looks like it was a nice day to hike!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 28, 2012 17:18:50 GMT -5
Paul, be careful with the inner ear problem. My 80 year old mom was having some dizziness, hearing problems, plugged-up ears, etc. A week ago, she lost her balance and fell, striking the back of her head and requiring stitches. Turned out she had fluid in one ear, and also an ear infection. Something must be going around.
Vertigo is no fun, either. My husband had an episode of it (thankfully, no repeats) several years ago. Worst of all, for me, was it happened when we were in Quartzsite, and we had to come home only a day after we got there, I drove all the way home. My husband, who rarely misses work, was out for an entire week. My theory was it had something to do with going up over the mountain to get to Quartzsite. Wonder if your train spotting excursion might have caused yours? Get that taken care of! Jean
PS - forgot to say earlier, thanks for posting your geocache/trainspotting trip, and you 've got some really cute kids!
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Post by paulshiroma on Sept 29, 2012 16:26:12 GMT -5
Thanks for the get-well wishes, folks. I do appreciate it. Billg22 - yeah, they rocks in the area are like 80 grit sandpaper. It's an interesting area to hike and take photos. Really dramatic landscaping. All in all, it was an awesome day. Jean - thanks for the heads up and sorry to hear about your mom. That's scary when our "old folks" get something like that. Is she okay? My doctor mentioned that this virus is "going around" and that there's nothing you can really do other than sleep it off. When I checked in with the folks at work on Friday, I found out that a couple of other folks picked it up as well and were out the week. I sorta suspected that I might have a flu or cold or something as the week prior, I was extremely tired (like, way out of the ordinary) and had a couple of minor dizzy spells. Being a guy, I took some Excedrin and kept going, which all caught up to me Sunday night/Monday morning. Serves me right for not listening to my body. I'm really blessed to have such a wonderful family ... and I'm really PROUD of my boys. Thanks for checking out the thread. Paul
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Post by rockpickerforever on Sept 29, 2012 21:52:56 GMT -5
Paul - Thanks for asking... My mom is doing good, had to get five stitches in the back of her head where she hit the edge of the coffee table. I called her after I heard about it (a couple days later). She told me when it happened, she touched her hand to the back of her head, and it came away covered in blood. She said, oh sh--! I told her it was probably a good thing she cut her head, otherwise, she wouldn't have gone to the hospital!
They gave her a tetanus shot, looked in her ears, put her on antibiotics, and did a cat scan (that's what she called it). She said they actually found a brain in her head! I guess she is really lucky she didn't get a concussion, break a hip or hurt her back.
Dad is 82 years old, and I worry about him, too. I'd like to keep them both around for a few more years at least! Jean
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Post by paulshiroma on Sept 29, 2012 22:39:26 GMT -5
That's scary, Jean ... I know what you mean about wanting them around for a few more years. Glad your Mom didn't have a concussion, though, or frankly end up with a skull fracture or something. As they age and get frail, it's always concerning. My parents are up in NorCal and are 84 and 82. We visit twice a year and they're still up to making the drive down here to see their grand kids but each time we go up, I wonder if it'll be the last time. They're getting frail too.
My Mother-in-Law is 86 and is beginning to experience memory loss. She live alone since her husband died four years back and we really worry about her. My wife and her sister are probably going to have to put her in an assisted living facility soon as the memory loss coupled with some old-age health problems is going to prevent her from living independently much longer.
As my late Uncle Chuck used to say, "Old age is not for sissies." He was right.
Paul
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