LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
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Post by LarryS on May 13, 2012 18:49:34 GMT -5
Any of you folks ever been to the Goffs site, as stated in the Gem Trail books? It's about 20 miles west of Needles in the Hackberry Mtns. The East Mojave has been my stomping grounds ever since I was a teenager but never been in those mountains. Suppose to be agate, wood & jasper. Would like to plan my next trip out there.
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Post by jakesrocks on May 13, 2012 20:07:46 GMT -5
Been many, many years ago, (1960's), but as I remember there was some nice material to be found. Since it's sort of an out of the way place, there should still be lots of material with a little hiking. Being that close to Needles, it's gonna be hotter than h ##l out there.
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
|
Post by LarryS on May 13, 2012 20:29:05 GMT -5
Thanks Don. We rockhound in the summer. We just start right after sunrise and get the heck out of there around 10-11am. Then we rockhound from inside the air conditioned Jeep. If I see something, I get out and run! Biggest problem is keeping Goober inside because he wants to come along. That's when he starts rubbing his wet nose all over the windows. Need to bring paper towels & Windex! I know Goffs is inside the East Mojave Preserve and need to check with them on off road restrictions in that area. According to the books, the material is on hills on both sides of a wide sand wash for about 1 mile.
We've been to all the sites near Parker & Earp, which were duds. Vidal Junction is great for large white chalcedony roses, if you're into that sort of thing. Further north from Goffs is great for desert summer camping. It's high elevation, 5500' plus. Too darn cold & windy in the winter months. Now most of all CA desert mountains are considered wilderness areas and all the roads are closed. But inside the Preserve, many of the old mining roads are still open.
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Post by jakesrocks on May 13, 2012 21:20:34 GMT -5
Got the same wet nose thing with Jake. Not only the truck windows, but "his window" in the living room. Sometimes have to take a single edge razor blade to it before the windex.
Vidal is another place I haven't been since the 60's. Some of those roses were big enough to cut and cab. Some interesting pink and light purple colored ones were especially nice.
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
|
Post by LarryS on May 13, 2012 21:24:28 GMT -5
Yeah, they were cabable size for sure. The further you get away from the highway, the larger they got. 4x4 increases your odds in finding the good stuff. Looks like that is one of the few areas that hasn't been hit hard by over collecting.
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LarryS
freely admits to licking rocks
SoCal desert rats
Member since August 2010
Posts: 781
|
Post by LarryS on May 15, 2012 19:49:30 GMT -5
Rock collecting inside the Mojave Preserve is prohibited. Darn! Scratch this place off the list.
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Post by johnjsgems on May 15, 2012 20:26:15 GMT -5
You beat me to the preserve thing. No collecting allowed. We collected the pink roses in the Turtle Mountain area many years ago. Seems like it was north of Vidal a little. The other sites around there were duds for us except some GI's foot powder metal bottle from Patton's training days. If you explore out by Needles there are a couple of interesting places. Where the 95 intersects the I 40 10 miles West of Needles if you go South on dirt roads there is an old ranch house with an out cropping of a dark blue petrified palm. If you turn West off the freeway on the dirt road along the I40 into a sandy wash and turn South there is a small hill with veins of amethyst ribbon. Or there was when we were there. Pretty hot out here in God's country now for exploring. Last two days 106+ although today it was a chilly high 90's.
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