Post by stoner on Jul 27, 2006 22:57:44 GMT -5
Hi all. Well, as far as rockhounding goes, I have very little to report. I just didn't have enough info to find the right spots to find good rocks. My first outing was a trip to the Pala tourlimine mines. They are only open Thursday-Sunday, so that was a bust. I did drive all around the area thinking I may find something, but it was all either granite or sandstone. I must say though, I always was under the impression that the San Diego area was flat. It is actually quite the opposite. The city of San Diego is pretty much flat, but it is surrounded by ocean on the west and mountains and peaks littered with huge boulders on the north and east. So I had a good time taking some side roads that went on and on up these hills until I ran out of road. I drove through orange groves that were planted on the sides of steep hillsides which seemed weird to me, even drove by a cactus farm. Now that was cool, but I'd hate to work there and fall down!
So the next day I looked up lapadaries in the phonebook and found one in a small town called Ramona, which was in the direction I had planned on exploring. When I got to the place there was a friendly guy outside and I was talking to him about places to look for rocks, which he said you just have to know where to look. Then he said go ahead into the office and the gals will give you all the info you need. Another bust. They are a wholesaler, and when I asked about rockhounding, the lady said she didn't know much about rocks, she just works there. And by the time I went back outside, the guy I was talking to had left. So I continued on my way across the state. I made it halfway across the state before I had to turn around and come back. But now I know, if I go back there again I can drive back out to the desert in about 2-3hours, collect some nice rocks, and be back in time for dinner. I had my "Rockhounding California" book with me but I thought all the places were too far away, so I didn't try to go to any of those places.
Oh well, live and learn. I will return someday and will be wiser and come back with some nice agates and jaspers. I did pick up one nice rock from the beach that has a bunch of seashells embedded in it and I'll take some pics of that tomorrow.
So the next day I looked up lapadaries in the phonebook and found one in a small town called Ramona, which was in the direction I had planned on exploring. When I got to the place there was a friendly guy outside and I was talking to him about places to look for rocks, which he said you just have to know where to look. Then he said go ahead into the office and the gals will give you all the info you need. Another bust. They are a wholesaler, and when I asked about rockhounding, the lady said she didn't know much about rocks, she just works there. And by the time I went back outside, the guy I was talking to had left. So I continued on my way across the state. I made it halfway across the state before I had to turn around and come back. But now I know, if I go back there again I can drive back out to the desert in about 2-3hours, collect some nice rocks, and be back in time for dinner. I had my "Rockhounding California" book with me but I thought all the places were too far away, so I didn't try to go to any of those places.
Oh well, live and learn. I will return someday and will be wiser and come back with some nice agates and jaspers. I did pick up one nice rock from the beach that has a bunch of seashells embedded in it and I'll take some pics of that tomorrow.