Post by LarryS on Nov 5, 2013 9:19:00 GMT -5
Yesterday we headed out to explore an area about 10 miles east
of Ludlow off Route 66. It's a place called Ash Hill and is
listed in the older Gem Trail books. Mentioned it had minimal
quantities and we soon found out why this location isn't listed
in the newer books. Nothing there but we had fun anyway. We
first stopped at a old mine I noted on my TOPO maps, called
Dictator No 1 Mine and did research on it, finding out it's
listed as a "gemstone" mine! Ooooh, a must see right? It was
on the western slope of Ash Hill in a lava boulder field. BLM
covered up the shaft and couldn't even find a crumb of what
material lies inside. A big raven kept flying around us, coming
as close as 10' away. Freaked us out. This guy was so
friendly. I've been very active in reading local Indian history
books and our Indians wouldn't mess with hawks or ravens,
considering them spirits of their dead. Maybe I read about this
Indian spirit in one of my recent books and he came by to say
hi?
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/437.jpg)
Dictator No 1 mine covered up.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/438.jpg)
The Ash Hill location was very interesting. As always before
heading out to a new area, I do exploring on my TOPO maps &
Google Earth. Someone in the distant past spent big bucks and
brought a big D9 Cat bulldozer in the area and went to town,
randomly scraping away the surface. With Google Earth, this
area looks like the interior of the Cady's, every color of the
rainbow. But I knew ahead of time these were old scrapings by
plant growth plus flash floods.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/439.jpg)
We drove a couple miles up the many zillions of little washes.
It was a white knuckler ride in a few spots but I didn't do
anything crazy because we were all alone. Diane's youngest son
knew our GPS location and would have rescued us with his Jeep if
he didn't hear from us that evening. This past summer had the
most violent monsoon thunderstorms that I can remember. I
regularly watch the radar online and did notice that the whole
East Mojave got blasted this summer. But this area was right on
the edge and it receive steady rain fall. All the creosote
bushes were extremely green and most had blooms on them. Yes, I
thought of you Jakes Rocks Don and we took some clippings.
They're in a flat rate box heading to you currently! A little
gift to remind you what they smell like. We had to keep the
windows open on the Jeep while driving home!
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/440.jpg)
Lots of hard core prospecting has been done in the area. But
didn't find any carnelian, agate or jasper that the books
stated. But they did mention it wasn't plentiful back in the
70's.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/441.jpg)
Found jack rabbit tracks with a good sized bobcat right on his
tail. One of Goober's favorite past times is chasing cats, he hates cats. But this is one kitty I didn't want him to chase!
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/442.jpg)
Even though this area was a dud as far as rock hounding, it was
still fun to get out and explore. We weren't planning on doing
any hounding, just exploring anyway. Didn't even bring any
buckets or tools. So we headed back to the southern section of
the Cady's and went 4 wheeling into areas we haven't been into
before.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/443.jpg)
Took specimens to see if they'll slab & polish right. They
might have potential.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/444.jpg)
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/445.jpg)
There's been so much talk on which coolant/lubricant to use, oil
or water soluble. I put an end to the argument. I decided to
slab the rocks dry right on location! Actually, this is a
perfect example of how the city slicker weekend warrior jerks in
LA do when they come out to the desert. They bring broken down
appliances, get drunk and use them as target practice. They
shoot everything in sight. I've seen TV's, refrigerators,
couches, computers, etc. But this is the first time I've seen a
lawn mower. Such jerks.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/446.jpg)
We had a great time. Weather was 48/68 with a light breeze,
perfect. Many wild flowers were popping up. Creosote was fresh
& pungent. Hope the USPS delivers Don's package and don't freak
out by the strange odor coming out of the box. And yes Don, you
can now pee on your own creosote bush instead of requesting
others to do it for you!
Larry, Diane & Goober
of Ludlow off Route 66. It's a place called Ash Hill and is
listed in the older Gem Trail books. Mentioned it had minimal
quantities and we soon found out why this location isn't listed
in the newer books. Nothing there but we had fun anyway. We
first stopped at a old mine I noted on my TOPO maps, called
Dictator No 1 Mine and did research on it, finding out it's
listed as a "gemstone" mine! Ooooh, a must see right? It was
on the western slope of Ash Hill in a lava boulder field. BLM
covered up the shaft and couldn't even find a crumb of what
material lies inside. A big raven kept flying around us, coming
as close as 10' away. Freaked us out. This guy was so
friendly. I've been very active in reading local Indian history
books and our Indians wouldn't mess with hawks or ravens,
considering them spirits of their dead. Maybe I read about this
Indian spirit in one of my recent books and he came by to say
hi?
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/437.jpg)
Dictator No 1 mine covered up.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/438.jpg)
The Ash Hill location was very interesting. As always before
heading out to a new area, I do exploring on my TOPO maps &
Google Earth. Someone in the distant past spent big bucks and
brought a big D9 Cat bulldozer in the area and went to town,
randomly scraping away the surface. With Google Earth, this
area looks like the interior of the Cady's, every color of the
rainbow. But I knew ahead of time these were old scrapings by
plant growth plus flash floods.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/439.jpg)
We drove a couple miles up the many zillions of little washes.
It was a white knuckler ride in a few spots but I didn't do
anything crazy because we were all alone. Diane's youngest son
knew our GPS location and would have rescued us with his Jeep if
he didn't hear from us that evening. This past summer had the
most violent monsoon thunderstorms that I can remember. I
regularly watch the radar online and did notice that the whole
East Mojave got blasted this summer. But this area was right on
the edge and it receive steady rain fall. All the creosote
bushes were extremely green and most had blooms on them. Yes, I
thought of you Jakes Rocks Don and we took some clippings.
They're in a flat rate box heading to you currently! A little
gift to remind you what they smell like. We had to keep the
windows open on the Jeep while driving home!
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/440.jpg)
Lots of hard core prospecting has been done in the area. But
didn't find any carnelian, agate or jasper that the books
stated. But they did mention it wasn't plentiful back in the
70's.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/441.jpg)
Found jack rabbit tracks with a good sized bobcat right on his
tail. One of Goober's favorite past times is chasing cats, he hates cats. But this is one kitty I didn't want him to chase!
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/442.jpg)
Even though this area was a dud as far as rock hounding, it was
still fun to get out and explore. We weren't planning on doing
any hounding, just exploring anyway. Didn't even bring any
buckets or tools. So we headed back to the southern section of
the Cady's and went 4 wheeling into areas we haven't been into
before.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/443.jpg)
Took specimens to see if they'll slab & polish right. They
might have potential.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/444.jpg)
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/445.jpg)
There's been so much talk on which coolant/lubricant to use, oil
or water soluble. I put an end to the argument. I decided to
slab the rocks dry right on location! Actually, this is a
perfect example of how the city slicker weekend warrior jerks in
LA do when they come out to the desert. They bring broken down
appliances, get drunk and use them as target practice. They
shoot everything in sight. I've seen TV's, refrigerators,
couches, computers, etc. But this is the first time I've seen a
lawn mower. Such jerks.
![](http://www.outbackteardrop.com/rock/446.jpg)
We had a great time. Weather was 48/68 with a light breeze,
perfect. Many wild flowers were popping up. Creosote was fresh
& pungent. Hope the USPS delivers Don's package and don't freak
out by the strange odor coming out of the box. And yes Don, you
can now pee on your own creosote bush instead of requesting
others to do it for you!
Larry, Diane & Goober