Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Feb 13, 2012 20:05:33 GMT -5
Thank you, Shotgunner!! You nailed it! Desert Velvet, what a great name. Mine may have been a slightly different species as it was not as fuzzy and you couldn't see distinct 'lobes'. They were all kinda squeezed together, like cauliflower. In any case, I would LOVE to see them in bloom....I've been wanting to go back anyway. The plant you saw was still growing it's leaves. Kind of like a flower comes from a bud, the leaves of this plant emerge from a "crown". Your image is just before the crown opened up. Terrific find!
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Post by helens on Feb 14, 2012 1:51:04 GMT -5
What a GREAT thread with GREAT pix and GREAT stories!!! Thanks to both Larry and Diane:).
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rocksinmyhead
off to a rocking start
The rock hounds!
Member since January 2012
Posts: 20
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Post by rocksinmyhead on Feb 15, 2012 11:34:40 GMT -5
You're welcome! Now that my life has calmed down, I'm raring to get out again...thinking of hitting up Gem Hill this weekend. Anyone had luck at the place called Agate Valley? According to High Desert Insider there is agate, green opal and botyroidal chalcedony, though when we went a few months ago, we found a bunch of very small specimens. Not convinced we were in the right spot, but it's a large area so I want to go back. It's only about 20-30 minutes away so definitely worth the try. BTW, the directions listed at www.highdesertinsider.com/html/agvalley.htm will end up at a dead end and a barrier. We found that the way to get there is to continue up Barrel Springs Rd to Mt Emma Road and come through the back. The entrance from that side is through a maze of access 'roads' for the power towers, but just keep your bearings and you'll get there. 4 wheel drive probably not needed (we didn't) because it's hard packed dirt, but you'd need high clearance. Hope to report more precise gps info and pictures if we get there! Anyone else been there?
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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 Feb 15, 2012 14:09:35 GMT -5
Don't give up on the site. There are heavily hit places like Lavic that look as if they are picked clean, only crumbs left. But when you go in a little deeper, there is tons of material. Having a 4 wheel drive sure helps and have always owned one. I couldn't imagine how my life would be with only a 2 wheel drive. Boring!!!! We've been to Lavic and other areas probably 6 times each last year and we try to search the areas in grid patterns. We now know where the material is, and it isn't. I'll spend half my day collecting in places I know there is material and then I'll spend the second half exploring for new. If I find new material later in the day, I'll generally leave it because I'm too tired to carry it back. But that will help plan out my next trip and pick up where I left off with guaranteed material. That way it isn't a wasted trip.
We've probably spent 24 hours total exploring El Paso-Last Chance Canyon Site G and found 7 areas that have material. Each location has a little different material and a huge variety. Yet you can go there and spend a whole day and not find a thing. The Gem Trail books are obsolete to say the least. Graphics & maps are dated from the 1950's. They are only good to get you into the general location and the rest takes hiking around and go places where the others can't or won't go. At LCC there is huge areas with not one speck of material and you can easily give up and throw in the towel. We've found some awesome honey holes for sure and all it will take is a few clubs to go in there and clean it out. Just like a bunch of vultures!
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Post by paulshiroma on Feb 15, 2012 20:51:42 GMT -5
Diane - I took my boys up to Agate Valley and made it pretty far in, using the description from High Desert Insider. That was about 18 months ago so maybe the direct access from Barrel Springs road has changed. We took 37st East due south (go figure) to Avenue V heading west before turning south on an un-named dirt road. We found some odds and ends - small bits of red and pink chalcedony, agates, common opal. You and Larry are right though, I need a proper 4WD vehicle to explore the area. It's been listed in a couple of the older rock hounding manuals and I'd like to head back there again and check it out - properly off road, the next time. ;D
Gem Hill's a good one. Andrew and I collected some agate, green common opal and chalcedony. Admittedly, we don't do any cabbing or jewelry so we're more into collecting for tumbling and the fun of it. BillG22 and I have threads posted on the site. It's a worthwhile trip and is definitely NOT picked clean. We're heading back there on the 24th.
Larry's dead right though, don't give up on the spots - just move farther away from the road. Lowell and Mel mentioned the same to me when I took Andrew to the Hector site. They provided some great information.
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Post by jakesrocks on Feb 15, 2012 21:03:01 GMT -5
I think that color and pattern wise, the nicest piece of Lavic I ever found was right in the middle of the dirt road, about 1/2 way in. Had a heck of a time digging it out of that hard packed road. Found plenty of larger material out there, but this one was free of cracks and pits.
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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 Feb 16, 2012 0:12:43 GMT -5
Lavic? A clue. Go south west, about a mile from where everyone else goes. No toilet paper stuck in the bushes and broken beer bottles. But use caution. You'll see the huge white signs showing the border of the Marine reservation, towards the cinder cone. These days I think they will shoot and ask questions later. We were buzzed by a helicopter once but everything we were doing was legal and on BLM public land.
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wyndotte
off to a rocking start
Member since April 2011
Posts: 1
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Post by wyndotte on Feb 23, 2012 17:42:27 GMT -5
Hi Dianne, Last Chance is also my favorite rockhound destination. It's an ideal setting for an old western movie. You can almost picture the arrows raining down on the wagons. The weird looking rock is probably petrified palm root. I've never seen one whole before. Last time I was there, I saw a petrified palm layer at the base of a mountain some 3 foot thick. Hopefully we'll be able to enjoy this area for years to come. Dav
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