Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 476
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Post by Tellfamily on Feb 27, 2005 10:08:51 GMT -5
Hey everyone! We will be heading out for another rockhounding trip the third week of March.
Will be going after banded Agate, Jasper, and Petrified Wood near the Arizona border. I think we will try the Topaz Mountain area again (this area is part of the Mineral Mountains) will be looking for Beryl, Garnets & Obsidian.
I'll post photos when we get back. Maybe we can do some trading. If anyone would like anything, specific let me know & we'll see what we can do.
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Post by gaetzchamp on Feb 28, 2005 22:27:41 GMT -5
I'm heading out too in 2 weeks to the Rock Springs Wyoming area and to Moab/Green River area in 4 weeks. I know you know of some hot spots down in that area I'd like to pick your brain about.
Are you heading down by Page??? Good luck and hope you encounter good weather. Should probably be the best time to go......beat the heat!!!
Gaetz
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Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 476
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Post by Tellfamily on Mar 1, 2005 19:37:17 GMT -5
Exit 147 about 11 miles West of Green River. Go South on 24 for .6 miles to a dirt road on leading West. Go .2 mile & park anywhere.
You can find Agate, Jasper & Conglomerate. Looks good & tumbles wells.
Some good spots near Moab, but with all the rain would wonder about wash outs. Would need a high clearance 4 wheel drive to get to them.
Exit 89 off 70 West of Green River is a cannot go wrong place. Just about ANY vehicle could make it to "Agate Hill" off Last Chance Road.
Can give better directions if needed.
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 1, 2005 21:23:12 GMT -5
Take exit 24 est of Green river and drive on the oiled road about 6 miles south (past the ranch sign and posted no tresspassing signs) When the signs stop you can enter the fields (close the gates - or leave then as you found them), they are BLM land that people run cattle on. There is a bunch of Agate and Jasper there too, and abit (2 or 3 miles) further south you can find Celestite Geodes (Celestite has long thin crystals - some have calsite, quartz, and rarely Amethyst in them). What we found was on the west side of the road, on the little hills areas for geodes and all over for the agate etc. Oh the geodes have a red bumpy surface like a boston baked bean. Look at the ant hills for the red stuff, the geodes are under the sand, easy digging but they break easily when first removed, so we resorted to using a long piece of wrought iron (long screw driver would work) and poking in the sand to find a 'rock' then digging around them the lifing them out - after a few days they dry out and harden. If your interested I can get better directions - they're just not in here at the moment. Some of the Celestite has blue in it - others are pinkish. They polish up on a flat lap but we haven't tried tumbling them...
Jeff
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 1, 2005 21:24:50 GMT -5
Hey Tellfamily, When you headed to Topaz? I've got to head back there one of these days, and not get skunked  I need to post a pick on the banded calsite I found out by Faust too - one of these days... *sigh* it's only time Jeff |
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 1, 2005 21:26:45 GMT -5
Oh Gaetz,
Where near Rock Springs? And what are you looking for there (Ok I'm a newbie for Wyoming rockhounding - and well Utah too though I've been finding a lot of places, like the Green River one).
Jeff
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Post by gaetzchamp on Mar 1, 2005 23:53:25 GMT -5
The only thing I'll be looking for near Green River, Wyo is FISH. It's kind of a fishing/camping trip, but I'll definately be looking for rocks when not fishing.
I posted a pict of some Utah River Rock and I'm pretty sure that's where I found it. If I find some, I'll be bringing it back for swaps/trades and would be happy to get you some, or tell you where I got it.
Thanks for the posts on the Green River Utah area. I'll be down there on four wheelers, but may have to take that road for to try my hand at agates and jaspers....the celestite sounds very interesting too.
Thanks Tell and kd7cot for you generous directions....I'll be in touch.
Gaetz
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Post by gaetzchamp on Mar 2, 2005 0:23:38 GMT -5
Tell and KD7- Tell- OK got your locations on my topo map marked up. Couldn't find "Agate Hill" on the topo, but I'll go to www.topozone.com and see if I can zero in on it. How far down the dirt road (off I-70) do you go? KD7- Was a little confused. You said take exit 24 east of Green River. Is that exit 24 off of I-70? The exits off I-70 east of GR are in the 160's,170's etc. Could you please clarify? Also, do you take GPS's with you? Just curious. Hey Tell, you never did say where you were going down by the Arizona border. Thanks again for the tips. Oh, I'll be at 10 Mile Wash, south of I-70. Take exit 173 (12 miles east of GR) and then down some 10 miles. Don't know what kind of scraps are down in that area, but I'll definately have eyes on the dirt......hope I don't drive off a cliff. Later, Gaeter Gaetz |
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Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 476
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Post by Tellfamily on Mar 2, 2005 20:39:03 GMT -5
I'm a little behind witht he electronic gadits. I just picked up a digital camara last month. As for a GPS . . . never used one. I just have a really old beat up map. with lots of little red dots on it. I numbered the dots and have a notebook with directions to get to the dots. Some spots I have taken others words for. Most we have driven too. Most of the ones I share are the one where you cannot go wrong. Just park and look down, try not to trip over them.  We will be heading out on the 24th. head ing down South. Will leave the highway at Nephi and hit the county roads. Would like to near Capital Reef Natioal Park, Head to Escalanty, Old Paria. Than work or way up to Bryce Canon to Panguitch. Than Saint George & Cedar City. We just take soem camping stuff with us and camp along the way. FREE camping on BLM land and usually don't have any neighbors. Most of the time when we are out in the desert we NEVER see anyone else. Bad place to have car trouble . . . good place to find rocks. |
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 2, 2005 22:18:40 GMT -5
ok Sorry your right I was turned around - ok I typed it too fast, err something It's west of green river take Highway 24 (exit) south, drive about 6 miles and the stuff we found was all on the west (right hand ) side of the road. The jasper and agate are all over though scattered, just a little walking will fill your pockets, more fore a bag and a little more for buckets. The geodes are hiding, but easily found when you find pieces of the red stuff (like jiant boston baked beans) in the ant hills, the ants are bringing the pieces thay can up to the top. Poking the sand and well scratching though it locats 'rocks' dig around them to get the geodes out as trying to pull them up through the sand results in ant pieces. (I know I repeated stuff from the other post - but now you don't have to go back and re-read it). There are a ton of places for agates and jasper down there - from the map I have. If you need more let me know - good luck on the fishin, I am interested in where you got the river rocks they're great! Jeff |
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 2, 2005 22:19:28 GMT -5
Oh nope - I'm behind on toys too - no GPS - have to plead for Fathers Day Jeff |
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Post by gaetzchamp on Mar 3, 2005 12:23:42 GMT -5
Tell-
Yes, yes on the "bad place to have car trouble". I lost an alternator down in the San Rafael Swell a few years back. Not fun at all.
KD7-
So as you head down 24, do you pull off onto any dirt roads, or just pull off and start looking?
Thanks you guys for all the tips.
I don't have a GPS either, but have access to one and hope to get one someday.
Take care,
Gaetz
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 3, 2005 22:58:47 GMT -5
Gaetz,
I pulled off through a gate onto one of the dirt roads, and drove about half to three quarters of a mile west over by some low 'hills' more like dirt dunes. It was in them that I found the Celestite Geodes, for the agate and Jasper - we found it all scattered, float not in big clumps, but widely scattered. Good luch, I forgot to take my camera, out of the car down there, too excited looking for rocks - so no pics sorry...
Jeff
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Post by gaetzchamp on Mar 8, 2005 1:12:18 GMT -5
Jasper Question for Tell and Jeff-
Hey guys, me again.
You both mentioned jasper. What colors do you tend to find. How will I know it's jasper? Are the hunks normally pretty small or what?
thanks again guys,
Gaetz
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Tellfamily
spending too much on rocks
Member since September 2004
Posts: 476
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Post by Tellfamily on Mar 8, 2005 19:18:48 GMT -5
Most of the jasper looks like a rock with chalk dust on it. The only way to tell what color it is to get it wet.
Jasper will susprize you on the colors that show when tumbled. I have picked up some that I was sure was a "hunk of ugly rock" the "dust" makes it seem like a real soft rock that is just coming apart.
When I finished the course stage the "hunk of ugly rock" had red, brown, orange & yellow colors. Looked sooooo good I felt bad about calling it ugly.
If you would like, I can send you some. Or if you are in the West Jordan area you can pick some up.
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kd7cot
having dreams about rocks
Having too much fun!
Member since January 2005
Posts: 64
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Post by kd7cot on Mar 8, 2005 20:24:47 GMT -5
Gaetz, Tellfamily pretty well summed it up. There are some awesome colors down there - in the agates too - including blue, red, yellows, orang, browns, black, etc. take lots of containers Jeff |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Dec 5, 2005 0:19:30 GMT -5
A while back Tellfamily offered to email a high resolution map of Utah rockhounding sites to anyone who wanted it. He's since told me he doesn't have a copy on his computer. If anyone has that map from him, please let me know if you can email me a copy.
Thanks in advance
Zarguy
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