Post by LarryS on Jun 24, 2012 22:05:01 GMT -5
Most of you know Don of Jakesrocks was in short supply of old Lavic jasper he collected many years ago and is starting a drawer pull project where he needed more material. He asked me if I could mail him some but I too was in short supply. Hey, great excuse to go rock hounding! Woke the wife & Goober up at 2:00am this morning for a 4:00am departure. Both growled at me!
As most know, the Gem Trail books are all outdated and the maps really stink. The rail road in the area laid new track a few years back and left out all the old crossings. Think the BLM had a lot to do with that, closing off huge sections of land, saving it for future generations.
To get to Lavic coming from Barstow, you exit Hector Road and go east on the old Route 66, National Trails Highway. After 6 miles you'll see a weird building all by itself on the south side of the road, just before the r/r crossing. Turn off on the south side of the tracks on the dirt service road.
This trip we went past Lavic Siding and explored the eastern hills and valleys. Didn't find a thing except a few pieces of decomposed jasper and what I call "wanna be" jasper, which isn't quiet formed yet, aka leaverite. I noticed mine tailings in the far distance which was all on BLM open land and started 4 wheeling towards it. Lost the trail but we kept going. It was still fun exploring the back country where nobody in their right minds go.
The BLM installed flash flood berms all over that area and noticed some really strange bushes. These bushes still had metal and plastic tags on them from the nursery. Never seen anything like it. These bushes are brutal. They're stiff, no flex in the branches and at each tip there was a agave plant type barb, that could penetrate steel! If you were on a dirt bike and brush against one of these things, if you survive it's hospital time! This must be some crazy idea from the radical CA eco freaks.
We eventually headed back to the historical Lavic Siding. In the steam engine days, they placed these stops every 5-10 miles all through the southwest. How did they come up with all these weird names? R/R employees had a drawing and if they picked you, they named the siding after your last name. Lavic still has a old cement foundation.
Walking around the foundation we found an old broken insulator glass and some really cool purple glass, thick stuff. Diane wanted me to cab the insulator. I left it for you guys because I have enough jasper to cab!
They even had jasper in the cement! No wonder that slab is still there after all these years!
Here's a horizon reference to where Lavic is:
Found a short cut to the other side of the track, coming or going. I've always noticed drainage tunnels going under the tracks all through the Mojave. Most are too small for a vehicle to go through. But not this one! It's located 1 mile west of Lavic Siding. Now you can drive all the way to Lavic Road off Route 66, drive to the tracks, turn right/west for one mile and drive underneath the tracks. Soil is hard packed, 2 wheel drive. Others in the area is soft sand, the consistency of sugar and even in 4 wheel drive I almost got stuck. Suggest you only use this one.
Anything made around 1973 is real old!
We eventually went way south into the Lavic collection area. We always found material in this area and reason so is because the road is extremely sandy. Impossible for 2 wheel drives and Toyota 4 Runners! They have to walk from this point forward! We did our share of hiking all over that area and we stumbled upon some nice material. Note Goober was raising his left paw to give me a high 5!
We found a lot of brecciated jasper in all colors, shapes and sizes.
Temperatures was 71/103 and was warming up quickly. Goober's paws was my main concern. We took the short cut under the tracks and headed cross country to Route 66, turned west towards Hector Road. Went north under the freeway and on to Hector siding. This is a new crossing, different from all the books. The gates are always locked now. Darn. Desert Oasis or Jasper Hill as the books name it, is 3 miles west. They expect you to drive on the south service road to that location and then hike in 3/4 mile to the site. Done that one time and never again! Not fun carrying a full bucket 3/4 of a mile in the desert heat. Felt like laying on the r/r tracks and end the pain! So I traveled east for 1 mile and found another drainage tunnel going under the tracks. Warning, this one had super soft sand! Only 4 wheel drives with limited slip should try this. The ceiling was 6'4" and our Jeep barely squeezed through. CB antenna dragged. We parked here and had our lunch. Coolest place in the Mojave. Glad no trains came overhead while we were under there!
Noticed some of the 3' in diameter boulders the rail road used is "wanna be" jasper. I'm sure they collected this rock from the near by Cadys. Books even state that I-40 is paved with jasper & agate from all the rock quarries in the Cadys! Want nice tumbling material? Start chipping away at the asphalt and soak in solvent! Christopher would love to steal this for his front yard. No, I'm not going to help you lift it!
Many of you have noticed the giant bowling pin out in the middle of the desert, off Hector Road? We drove to it. These are actually VOR directional radio navigation beacon for aircraft.
Better stay on the outside of the fence! Surprised the copper thieves haven't hit this place yet. It's common in SoCal today!
Want to see what we picked up? Don will be excited to have some fresh Lavic jasper delivered by express mail from CA to SD!
LarryS
As most know, the Gem Trail books are all outdated and the maps really stink. The rail road in the area laid new track a few years back and left out all the old crossings. Think the BLM had a lot to do with that, closing off huge sections of land, saving it for future generations.
To get to Lavic coming from Barstow, you exit Hector Road and go east on the old Route 66, National Trails Highway. After 6 miles you'll see a weird building all by itself on the south side of the road, just before the r/r crossing. Turn off on the south side of the tracks on the dirt service road.
This trip we went past Lavic Siding and explored the eastern hills and valleys. Didn't find a thing except a few pieces of decomposed jasper and what I call "wanna be" jasper, which isn't quiet formed yet, aka leaverite. I noticed mine tailings in the far distance which was all on BLM open land and started 4 wheeling towards it. Lost the trail but we kept going. It was still fun exploring the back country where nobody in their right minds go.
The BLM installed flash flood berms all over that area and noticed some really strange bushes. These bushes still had metal and plastic tags on them from the nursery. Never seen anything like it. These bushes are brutal. They're stiff, no flex in the branches and at each tip there was a agave plant type barb, that could penetrate steel! If you were on a dirt bike and brush against one of these things, if you survive it's hospital time! This must be some crazy idea from the radical CA eco freaks.
We eventually headed back to the historical Lavic Siding. In the steam engine days, they placed these stops every 5-10 miles all through the southwest. How did they come up with all these weird names? R/R employees had a drawing and if they picked you, they named the siding after your last name. Lavic still has a old cement foundation.
Walking around the foundation we found an old broken insulator glass and some really cool purple glass, thick stuff. Diane wanted me to cab the insulator. I left it for you guys because I have enough jasper to cab!
They even had jasper in the cement! No wonder that slab is still there after all these years!
Here's a horizon reference to where Lavic is:
Found a short cut to the other side of the track, coming or going. I've always noticed drainage tunnels going under the tracks all through the Mojave. Most are too small for a vehicle to go through. But not this one! It's located 1 mile west of Lavic Siding. Now you can drive all the way to Lavic Road off Route 66, drive to the tracks, turn right/west for one mile and drive underneath the tracks. Soil is hard packed, 2 wheel drive. Others in the area is soft sand, the consistency of sugar and even in 4 wheel drive I almost got stuck. Suggest you only use this one.
Anything made around 1973 is real old!
We eventually went way south into the Lavic collection area. We always found material in this area and reason so is because the road is extremely sandy. Impossible for 2 wheel drives and Toyota 4 Runners! They have to walk from this point forward! We did our share of hiking all over that area and we stumbled upon some nice material. Note Goober was raising his left paw to give me a high 5!
We found a lot of brecciated jasper in all colors, shapes and sizes.
Temperatures was 71/103 and was warming up quickly. Goober's paws was my main concern. We took the short cut under the tracks and headed cross country to Route 66, turned west towards Hector Road. Went north under the freeway and on to Hector siding. This is a new crossing, different from all the books. The gates are always locked now. Darn. Desert Oasis or Jasper Hill as the books name it, is 3 miles west. They expect you to drive on the south service road to that location and then hike in 3/4 mile to the site. Done that one time and never again! Not fun carrying a full bucket 3/4 of a mile in the desert heat. Felt like laying on the r/r tracks and end the pain! So I traveled east for 1 mile and found another drainage tunnel going under the tracks. Warning, this one had super soft sand! Only 4 wheel drives with limited slip should try this. The ceiling was 6'4" and our Jeep barely squeezed through. CB antenna dragged. We parked here and had our lunch. Coolest place in the Mojave. Glad no trains came overhead while we were under there!
Noticed some of the 3' in diameter boulders the rail road used is "wanna be" jasper. I'm sure they collected this rock from the near by Cadys. Books even state that I-40 is paved with jasper & agate from all the rock quarries in the Cadys! Want nice tumbling material? Start chipping away at the asphalt and soak in solvent! Christopher would love to steal this for his front yard. No, I'm not going to help you lift it!
Many of you have noticed the giant bowling pin out in the middle of the desert, off Hector Road? We drove to it. These are actually VOR directional radio navigation beacon for aircraft.
Better stay on the outside of the fence! Surprised the copper thieves haven't hit this place yet. It's common in SoCal today!
Want to see what we picked up? Don will be excited to have some fresh Lavic jasper delivered by express mail from CA to SD!
LarryS