Post by LarryS on Mar 3, 2012 20:40:48 GMT -5
You must be asking yourself if this guy is really loosing it? Hasn't he had enough of that jasp ag yet? NOPE! We've had many delays heading back out to Last Chance Canyon, starting with the flu, then rain, 50+ mph winds. But nothing can hold us back. Arrived seeing crystal clear skies with a high temp of 71, light breeze.
Goober & I had Diane drop us off half way up the hill near the state park boundary and then she drove about 1/2 mile away in the BLM flats to wait for us. We explored a new section of the hills, mainly 2 gullies I was interested in. I studied TOPO & satellite maps and wondered if this was the source of some of the float we've found on the road during past visits. First gully was only plain translucent gray/brown agate, nothing exciting. We walked about 1/4 mile further and kept walking up. Then we hit a glory hole of very colorful jasp ag. What's really strange about this place is each location has a little different variety. We like that!
Diane dropped Goober & I about 1/2 mile to the right before the state park boundary.
Diane explored the flat lands & distant hills which we already knew had some common opal.
Here's Goober telling me to hurry up. We climbed further up and then dropped down into the gully. Found the honey hole on the other side of the gully, about half way up the hill. Goober is very sure footed but he fell off a ash cliff about 4'. First time I saw him do that. It's usually me who does such clumsy things. Then he just looks at me wagging his tail as I'm cussing up a storm. Poor little guy had some pretty good scratches on the inside of his hairless thighs. The low lying bushes were doing a number on him. After collecting some interesting material, we followed the small wash down to Diane and the Jeep.
We found something very rare out in the desert.......shade!
Great place for lunch. I love Joshua trees. Awesome plant.
Found some pretty wild looking jasp ag. This stuff is going to be fun to cab.
I have a pretty good eye for finding things out of the ordinary. These flat rocks are about 1 foot in diameter and there was nothing in the area like it. Plus there was sharp chips of jasper scattered only around these flat rocks. There was no jasper within hundreds of yards. I have a hunch this is a Indian dead fall where they prop up the flat rocks with baited sticks to catch ground squirrels, just like what Survivor Man does on cable TV. But this is proof that the Indian got pissed off and pulled out the heavy artillery, made some arrows and shoot the critters with his bow!
Only collected 1/2 bucket but it was a long way to carry back after having the long hike just getting to the site. We'll definitely return for more and take the short cut to the site.
After spending the first half of our day exploring the high country, we spent the second half exploring the BLM flat lands and areas we haven't been in. We took a new route out of the area and stopped frequently looking for float. Found lots of tumbling material in certain areas. After this trip, we've explored all the high country and know where all the good stuff is at. There is a total of 6 locations that has fantastic jasp ag, each site being a different variety. But most take work to get too. Obviously why it's still there! I'm sure there are more sites. Plus we know of about 6 locations of basic float, all easily reached by 2 wheel drive. So it was well worth making the 5 trips out there since December. Poor little Goober can barely walk. He had trouble walking up the steps to get inside our house. All of us will sleep good tonight.
LarryS
Goober & I had Diane drop us off half way up the hill near the state park boundary and then she drove about 1/2 mile away in the BLM flats to wait for us. We explored a new section of the hills, mainly 2 gullies I was interested in. I studied TOPO & satellite maps and wondered if this was the source of some of the float we've found on the road during past visits. First gully was only plain translucent gray/brown agate, nothing exciting. We walked about 1/4 mile further and kept walking up. Then we hit a glory hole of very colorful jasp ag. What's really strange about this place is each location has a little different variety. We like that!
Diane dropped Goober & I about 1/2 mile to the right before the state park boundary.
Diane explored the flat lands & distant hills which we already knew had some common opal.
Here's Goober telling me to hurry up. We climbed further up and then dropped down into the gully. Found the honey hole on the other side of the gully, about half way up the hill. Goober is very sure footed but he fell off a ash cliff about 4'. First time I saw him do that. It's usually me who does such clumsy things. Then he just looks at me wagging his tail as I'm cussing up a storm. Poor little guy had some pretty good scratches on the inside of his hairless thighs. The low lying bushes were doing a number on him. After collecting some interesting material, we followed the small wash down to Diane and the Jeep.
We found something very rare out in the desert.......shade!
Great place for lunch. I love Joshua trees. Awesome plant.
Found some pretty wild looking jasp ag. This stuff is going to be fun to cab.
I have a pretty good eye for finding things out of the ordinary. These flat rocks are about 1 foot in diameter and there was nothing in the area like it. Plus there was sharp chips of jasper scattered only around these flat rocks. There was no jasper within hundreds of yards. I have a hunch this is a Indian dead fall where they prop up the flat rocks with baited sticks to catch ground squirrels, just like what Survivor Man does on cable TV. But this is proof that the Indian got pissed off and pulled out the heavy artillery, made some arrows and shoot the critters with his bow!
Only collected 1/2 bucket but it was a long way to carry back after having the long hike just getting to the site. We'll definitely return for more and take the short cut to the site.
After spending the first half of our day exploring the high country, we spent the second half exploring the BLM flat lands and areas we haven't been in. We took a new route out of the area and stopped frequently looking for float. Found lots of tumbling material in certain areas. After this trip, we've explored all the high country and know where all the good stuff is at. There is a total of 6 locations that has fantastic jasp ag, each site being a different variety. But most take work to get too. Obviously why it's still there! I'm sure there are more sites. Plus we know of about 6 locations of basic float, all easily reached by 2 wheel drive. So it was well worth making the 5 trips out there since December. Poor little Goober can barely walk. He had trouble walking up the steps to get inside our house. All of us will sleep good tonight.
LarryS