Post by elementary on Nov 28, 2011 22:52:38 GMT -5
Last week I was waiting on a chance to go rock hunting in the Northern Cady's. At first we were going to be heading in a large group, then things looked to be cancelled, then the location changed, so I wasn't sure until Friday I was going at all.
(Apologies to Christopher1234 at the Oxnard Show a week ago as I told him about the trip but couldn't lock it in until way late Friday.)
So finally it was just my friend Ron and myself. We headed out late friday, spent the night in Barstow, then headed out early to Basin Road off the I-40, the access point for the North Cady's.
We threaded our way through the mining road, railroad tracks, and off-roaders and plunged into the long 10 mile sandy drive to the hunting spots.
The main landmark here is nicknamed Pepto-Bismol Hill - you can see why it's named this - it's much pinker in person...
Closer look:
We started by driving about 2 - 3 miles past the pink hill to a side canyon. We had been here before and found a hill - we call it Flattop - which is covered in agate nodules, some with white fortification, some with sagenite.
I gathered a small bagful for kicks and grins:
I found the opposite pieces of a couple nodules that broke apart. Here's one where the pieces were 20 feet apart:
About 100 yards farther along was a hill I had dug a bunch of angelwing and plume out of a couple years ago. We decided to roam around the hill to find more outcrops of agate. Along the way we grabbed a bunch of small crystal plates and pieces for prizes in March's Gem Show we run:
My daughter insisted on showing them off, but was unhappy she couldn't take them all:
And a bunch of small crystal pieces for our grab bags:
We dumped the finds back at the car, then decided to hike past the plume hill and see what we could find. We pushed on about another 1/2 mile and found another seam-crossed hill, this time the colors of the seams ranged from white to blue to pinkish to purple. I filled a bag with tumbling sized pieces along with some larger plates.
Then, on our hike back, we found a small mound littered with hundreds of purple agate pieces - most fractured, but some good enough to take. I worked one seam while Ron started picking at the ground. He hit a seam a couple inches wide and we followed it for 3 or four feet, prying out what we could:
We washed a piece or two and though some looks a little grainy, I'm hoping this stuff polishes:
We returned to the truck, tried to follow the road through a narrow canyon, but the sides had collapsed and our wheelbase was a little wide to pass without possible issues.
We returned to P-B hill and went about a 1/2 mile south.
Two canyons over is an old mine that dumped a bunch of bright green fluorite with its tailings. The mine is closed, but people love digging for the green material. Some pieces are large enough to make things with.
We weren't after the fluorite. I wanted to hit a travertine spot that also produced a jasper I nicknamed "Psychedelic Jasper" cause to me it looks like the swirling patterns on 1960's rock posters from San Francisco. (Mel's plume jasper is up beyond the mine somewhere, but I've never traveled that far).
So here is the jasper I pulled out. You gotta hunt for solid pieces.
We then had to head out and drive the 225 or so miles back home.
On the way we passed a car being towed out of sand, a car stalled for lack of coolant, a truck with an engine fire, and miles of Las Vegas traffic pushing back to Los Angeles.
It was a fun trip out, and I look forward to heading out there again.
Next up- Hauser Beds in December.
Thanks for looking,
Lowell
(Apologies to Christopher1234 at the Oxnard Show a week ago as I told him about the trip but couldn't lock it in until way late Friday.)
So finally it was just my friend Ron and myself. We headed out late friday, spent the night in Barstow, then headed out early to Basin Road off the I-40, the access point for the North Cady's.
We threaded our way through the mining road, railroad tracks, and off-roaders and plunged into the long 10 mile sandy drive to the hunting spots.
The main landmark here is nicknamed Pepto-Bismol Hill - you can see why it's named this - it's much pinker in person...
Closer look:
We started by driving about 2 - 3 miles past the pink hill to a side canyon. We had been here before and found a hill - we call it Flattop - which is covered in agate nodules, some with white fortification, some with sagenite.
I gathered a small bagful for kicks and grins:
I found the opposite pieces of a couple nodules that broke apart. Here's one where the pieces were 20 feet apart:
About 100 yards farther along was a hill I had dug a bunch of angelwing and plume out of a couple years ago. We decided to roam around the hill to find more outcrops of agate. Along the way we grabbed a bunch of small crystal plates and pieces for prizes in March's Gem Show we run:
My daughter insisted on showing them off, but was unhappy she couldn't take them all:
And a bunch of small crystal pieces for our grab bags:
We dumped the finds back at the car, then decided to hike past the plume hill and see what we could find. We pushed on about another 1/2 mile and found another seam-crossed hill, this time the colors of the seams ranged from white to blue to pinkish to purple. I filled a bag with tumbling sized pieces along with some larger plates.
Then, on our hike back, we found a small mound littered with hundreds of purple agate pieces - most fractured, but some good enough to take. I worked one seam while Ron started picking at the ground. He hit a seam a couple inches wide and we followed it for 3 or four feet, prying out what we could:
We washed a piece or two and though some looks a little grainy, I'm hoping this stuff polishes:
We returned to the truck, tried to follow the road through a narrow canyon, but the sides had collapsed and our wheelbase was a little wide to pass without possible issues.
We returned to P-B hill and went about a 1/2 mile south.
Two canyons over is an old mine that dumped a bunch of bright green fluorite with its tailings. The mine is closed, but people love digging for the green material. Some pieces are large enough to make things with.
We weren't after the fluorite. I wanted to hit a travertine spot that also produced a jasper I nicknamed "Psychedelic Jasper" cause to me it looks like the swirling patterns on 1960's rock posters from San Francisco. (Mel's plume jasper is up beyond the mine somewhere, but I've never traveled that far).
So here is the jasper I pulled out. You gotta hunt for solid pieces.
We then had to head out and drive the 225 or so miles back home.
On the way we passed a car being towed out of sand, a car stalled for lack of coolant, a truck with an engine fire, and miles of Las Vegas traffic pushing back to Los Angeles.
It was a fun trip out, and I look forward to heading out there again.
Next up- Hauser Beds in December.
Thanks for looking,
Lowell
