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Post by MsAli on Oct 25, 2017 14:55:10 GMT -5
I am looking for locations that are not far from Fresno (day trip) and are safe for me to travel alone.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 26, 2017 13:36:21 GMT -5
I am looking for locations that are not far from Fresno (day trip) and are safe for me to travel alone. Well safety is a personal decision - no matter where you go as a female travelling alone including to the grocery store. If concealed carry permits were obtainable in California my wife and I both would have them. It's always good to have a companion when rock hounding in case something goes wrong - you break an ankle or get bitten by a critter, etc. Many rock collecting areas do not have cell coverage. Two day trip locations around Fresno that jump to mind are Mariposa 1.5 hours north, and Clear Creek 2 hours south west. I would consider both of these locations safely accessible by passenger car with good tires if you're smart and don't venture off into sketchy areas where 4x4 or at least A/T tires would be recommended. Mariposite or cross rocks (andalusite) are easily collected near Mariposa and Clear Creek is where awesome Plasma Agate can be collected. There is jade and other things near both locations but I have never looked for it. As far as I know entry permits are still required for Clear Creek - they are easy to get but somewhat pricey because you have to get a car permit and a personal permit. There is a bill that has passed the California legislature to reopen the Clear Creek area but as far as I know it hasn't been implemented yet.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 26, 2017 13:53:05 GMT -5
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Post by MsAli on Oct 26, 2017 14:11:55 GMT -5
I am looking for locations that are not far from Fresno (day trip) and are safe for me to travel alone. Well safety is a personal decision - no matter where you go as a female travelling alone including to the grocery store. If concealed carry permits were obtainable in California my wife and I both would have them. It's always good to have a companion when rock hounding in case something goes wrong - you break an ankle or get bitten by a critter, etc. Many rock collecting areas do not have cell coverage. Two day trip locations around Fresno that jump to mind are Mariposa 1.5 hours north, and Clear Creek 2 hours south west. I would consider both of these locations safely accessible by passenger car with good tires if you're smart and don't venture off into sketchy areas where 4x4 or at least A/T tires would be recommended. Mariposite or cross rocks (andalusite) are easily collected near Mariposa and Clear Creek is where awesome Plasma Agate can be collected. There is jade and other things near both locations but I have never looked for it. As far as I know entry permits are still required for Clear Creek - they are easy to get but somewhat pricey because you have to get a car permit and a personal permit. There is a bill that has passed the California legislature to reopen the Clear Creek area but as far as I know it hasn't been implemented yet. Thank you Tommy and Ca does have CCW permits ; ) I will heed your advice and not rock hound alone. My mother is already having a fit about it. Growing up in back woods Minnesota I just got use to it, but out here is a different story I guess.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 26, 2017 14:23:15 GMT -5
Thank you Tommy and Ca does have CCW permits Hypothetically yes - but nearly impossible to obtain because the process is controlled by the anti-gun crowd. If you are on Facebook I can show you a page that is devoted to local rockhounding - most of it centered in your general vicinity. Last Sunday a guy I know led a trip to collect cross rocks near Mariposa. I tried to go but life got in the way - apparently only two other people showed up.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 26, 2017 14:30:27 GMT -5
Thank you Tommy and Ca does have CCW permits Hypothetically yes - but nearly impossible to obtain because the process is controlled by the anti-gun crowd. If you are on Facebook I can show you a page that is devoted to local rockhounding - most of it centered in your general vicinity. Last Sunday a guy I know led a trip to collect cross rocks near Mariposa. I tried to go but life got in the way - apparently only two other people showed up. I am on FB and would love to know when people are going out
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 26, 2017 15:26:43 GMT -5
Shoot, it's the Commiefornia central valley. Ain't no place there I'd let my wife go alone. One of my friends' wife was kidnapped from a dang super market parking lot in Porterville or one of those towns nearby. My best friends pop was beaten and run over by two guys burglarizing his brothers home in broad daylight and now my friend goes nowhere without a gun. I lived in a nice neighborhood and we had crack houses, meth labs, pitbulls and shootings. Had to draw my gun and chase off two robbers in the Cady Mountains while hounding. Commiefornia is going to Hell and that's a major reason I moved out. I'm a big guy and seldom went hounding alone and never unarmed....Mel
PS: Tommy is right abut the huge dredge tailings gravel piles right alongside the road east of Snelling. Drove by them all the time going to our ranch and they do contain some nice jasper. Many of them were posted though as folks sell the stuff for decorative rock now but I'm sure some are accessible.
The chiastolite cross rocks are readily accessible by any car on Whiterock RD se of Mariposa and a really fun field trip with guaranteed results and tiny clear andalusite crystals on Indian Gulch Rd but booth paces are seldom traveled and isolated. We had a ranch in the county and there are some rough types in the area. Some of them hill folks are just plain nuts. Again, I'd not go alone myself.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 26, 2017 15:33:03 GMT -5
Shoot, it's the Commiefornia central valley. Ain't no place there I'd let my wife go alone. One of my friends' wife was kidnapped from a dang super market parking lot in Porterville or one of those towns nearby. My best friends pop was beaten and run over by two guys burglarizing his brothers home in broad daylight and now my friend goes nowhere without a gun. I lived in a nice neighborhood and we had crack houses, meth labs, pitbulls and shootings. Had to draw my gun and chase off two robbers in the Cady Mountains while hounding. Commiefornia is going to Hell and that's a major reason I moved out. I'm a big guy and seldom went hounding alone and never unarmed....Mel It isn't that bad. There are areas that ya just don't go to, my main issue is the homeless down by where I like to fish and rock hunt, but for the most part its good. That being said, I would be out of here in a heartbeat if I could, but it has nothing to do with the crime. It's just too dam hot and I prefer a little more country.
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Oct 26, 2017 15:46:00 GMT -5
Like they say, That "It isn't that bad" statement is the kind of statement a person makes when they have not run into trouble "yet". Kind of like "The anti gunner is simply a pro gunner that has not been mugged yet." I've rock hounded and backroaded the west for like 60 years and had to pull my gun twice and display it without drawing it maybe once. All three of those times could have gone really really bad and for most those years the state of California was much much safer than now with less crooks, scumbags, illegal pot farms, meth labs etc. Better to be safe and always go with a group. A bad thing only has to happen once after all.....Mel
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 26, 2017 15:56:30 GMT -5
I am on FB and would love to know when people are going out PM on it's way in a couple of minutes.
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Tommy
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Post by Tommy on Oct 31, 2017 13:00:04 GMT -5
MsAli you might have seen it on the FB page but the Tehachapi club is having an outing next weekend. That's not too far from you - about two hours south east. With clubs you typically have to be a member to join them but most are very lax about it - or it's only something like $20 per year for membership.
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Post by MsAli on Oct 31, 2017 14:27:24 GMT -5
MsAli you might have seen it on the FB page but the Tehachapi club is having an outing next weekend. That's not too far from you - about two hours south east. With clubs you typically have to be a member to join them but most are very lax about it - or it's only something like $20 per year for membership. Thank you Tommy,
I have plans already. Hoping to get some fishing in, but we will see how bad the rain comes down. I will have to keep an eye out for the next trip.
I do have plans to pick up a tumbler this weekend to start a batch and took some advice and bought some rocks to start : )
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nileriver
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Post by nileriver on Nov 1, 2017 17:09:53 GMT -5
@alicat218..: Not sure what you consider a day trip, but most any of the beaches on the central coast, from Monterey to Santa Barbara, have some really nice material. Closest to you, probably around SLO, about 2.5 hours. And any of the drainages out of the coastal range between Fresno and the beaches should have (and is definitely known to have) beautiful jaspers. In fact, that is where the rocks on the beaches come from, for the most part. As far as the gravel piles near Snelling on the Merced River: I know there are some good reports from there, and it is closer to you than the coast, but it was a bust for us. Maybe we were in the wrong part. There is a huge area of them, on both sides of the river. We were just downstream of the lake/falls, on the eastern end of them, north side of the river. Hornitos is near there, and some good jasper has come from that area, but I know nothing about it other than what I've read, no firsthand knowledge. There's a thread on here, a guy named Trumbull may still be taking trips there (Google "Hornitos jasper")
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Post by MsAli on Nov 1, 2017 19:17:38 GMT -5
Thank you for the tips!!
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Post by aDave on Nov 1, 2017 22:36:11 GMT -5
I have plans already. Hoping to get some fishing in, but we will see how bad the rain comes down. I will have to keep an eye out for the next trip. Hell, I'd love to do the fishing. Where do you go, and what type of fishing is it? In the Sierras, I am usually just soaking something like Powerbait from the shore. My only fly trip was an 8 mile drift boat trip out of Redding on the Sacramento River. Can something be combined? As a caveat, I'm not a rock expert. Dave
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Post by MsAli on Nov 1, 2017 23:35:14 GMT -5
I have plans already. Hoping to get some fishing in, but we will see how bad the rain comes down. I will have to keep an eye out for the next trip. Hell, I'd love to do the fishing. Where do you go, and what type of fishing is it? In the Sierras, I am usually just soaking something like Powerbait from the shore. My only fly trip was an 8 mile drift boat trip out of Redding on the Sacramento River. Can something be combined? As a caveat, I'm not a rock expert. Dave I've had really good luck landing Rainbows at Dinkey creek with a spinner bait of all things. Sycamore Islands I've brought in a couple smallies and my new spot I've caught a really awesome tree and lost a favorite lure to a rock. I'm going to try another spot this weekend down from Sycamore that is suppose to have decent crappies. I just started fishing California waters after all these years of living here. Mn is home and that's where really love to fish.
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Post by aDave on Nov 2, 2017 19:49:38 GMT -5
Hell, I'd love to do the fishing. Where do you go, and what type of fishing is it? In the Sierras, I am usually just soaking something like Powerbait from the shore. My only fly trip was an 8 mile drift boat trip out of Redding on the Sacramento River. Can something be combined? As a caveat, I'm not a rock expert. Dave I've had really good luck landing Rainbows at Dinkey creek with a spinner bait of all things. Sycamore Islands I've brought in a couple smallies and my new spot I've caught a really awesome tree and lost a favorite lure to a rock. I'm going to try another spot this weekend down from Sycamore that is suppose to have decent crappies. I just started fishing California waters after all these years of living here. Mn is home and that's where really love to fish. Sounds like a great bit of fun. Thanks for the info. Maybe one day I'll start to get out again. Best regards. Dave
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Post by MsAli on Nov 2, 2017 21:18:27 GMT -5
Dave, It is always fun and good for the soul just to get out in nature. Good luck fishing
Ali
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Sabre52
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 2, 2017 21:58:11 GMT -5
Man I used to go trout fishing at Dinky Creek all the time. What a grind Tollhouse Grade was in those days in our crappy old cars! Also used to hike up to Dinky Dome and Cow Creek from I forget , was it Camp Deucy or some such name? Used to have outdoor movies there in the summer when I was a kid. My pop used to take me rock hunting up at some garnet and epidote mines and over by Exchequer Bluff for smoky quartz crystals and good rose quartz. My pop actually cut a lot of trails up there when he was in the CCCs and he knew the whole area like the back of his hand. Used to go swimming in Honeymoon pool all the time. Man that brings back memories. Haven't thought about Dinky in years.....Mel
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Post by MsAli on Nov 3, 2017 0:08:16 GMT -5
Man I used to go trout fishing at Dinky Creek all the time. What a grind Tollhouse Grade was in those days in our crappy old cars! Also used to hike up to Dinky Dome and Cow Creek from I forget , was it Camp Deucy or some such name? Used to have outdoor movies there in the summer when I was a kid. My pop used to take me rock hunting up at some garnet and epidote mines and over by Exchequer Bluff for smoky quartz crystals and good rose quartz. My pop actually cut a lot of trails up there when he was in the CCCs and he knew the whole area like the back of his hand. Used to go swimming in Honeymoon pool all the time. Man that brings back memories. Haven't thought about Dinky in years.....Mel Camp Ducey up by Bass Lake. There's some amazing places to rock hunt around there, but my little car hates that climb. I'd be up there every weekend if I could. My 1st time ever up there was this year and Honeymoon pool is right where I fished. Beautiful rainbows out of there and man those rocks in the creek are tempting!!
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