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Post by stephan on Mar 25, 2015 22:40:16 GMT -5
A few years ago, my son and I took a trip to California's Central Coast. We spent three days at Morro Bay, with little to find and no rock-hounding allowed (and a very barren campground) on a non-dog-friendly. just to the north, however (a ten minute walk) is dog-friendly Cayucos Beach with some very pretty jaspers. We were there in the summer, so we found pebbles. I'm told in the winter, I'm told that large pieces of Cayucos jasper (very similar to Stone canyon jasper) can be found. It is rock-hound friendly, and the town has a rock show annually. The next three days, we went to Jalama Beach, famous for whale bone, root beer agates, Catalina marble and other things. Some rangers seem to enforce the "no collecting on Santa Barbara County beaches" rule, but the website lists rock-hounding as one of the activities people come for. probably best just to ask the rangers on duty. We didn't have any trouble, and beach is dog-friendly. I did not find any whale bone, but a variety of other things www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/sets/72157624777110192/Here is an example of probable Cayucos jasper (purchased) -- previously posted in my slabs set: www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/16591992607/Here is a unique orbicular jasper a friend of mine found at Jalama a few years ago (previously posted in my orbicular set): www.flickr.com/photos/36618387@N06/4575760471/in/set-72157623861677137Totally unlike anything I've ever run across. It looks closer to OJ than any California PJ. Enjoy, -Stephan |
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Deleted
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Member since January 1970
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Post by Deleted on Mar 25, 2015 22:53:04 GMT -5
Odie is badass and is the dude to find sh|t when no one else can! where no one else can!  |
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Post by stephan on Mar 25, 2015 23:02:20 GMT -5
That is the truth. He seems to do well with whalebone, too. You know him?
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Post by snowmom on Mar 26, 2015 3:51:26 GMT -5
wow, what a beautiful place to go exploring and rock hunting! Looks like you guys had a blast> The jaspers are beautiful. The one with the orbs is "out of this world". too cool for words.
thanks for the show!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 26, 2015 9:33:49 GMT -5
Looks like you guys had a great time. And nice that Jalama and Cayucos Beaches are dog friendly. (Boo on Morro Bay for not being so. Maybe explains why the campground was empty?) I will always boycott non-dog-friendly places, rather than leave my dog at home.
Nice pics of the scenery, and love that orbicular jasper - WOW! It really does look like OJ. Thanks for taking us along.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Mar 26, 2015 9:37:31 GMT -5
That is the truth. He seems to do well with whalebone, too. You know him? 30 years! First in his career as the head animal control officer for a city I lived in and now we attend the same lapidary class. |
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Post by stephan on Mar 26, 2015 9:52:36 GMT -5
Looks like you guys had a great time. And nice that Jalama and Cayucos Beaches are dog friendly. (Boo on Morro Bay for not being so. Maybe explains why the campground was empty?) I will always boycott non-dog-friendly places, rather than leave my dog at home. Nice pics of the scenery, and love that orbicular jasper - WOW! It really does look like OJ. Thanks for taking us along. The dogs were able to be on the campground, just not on the beach, due to Snowy plover nesting. By "barren," I meant that it's just a parking lot with very few trees. We are tent campers, not RVers, so it just wasn't suited to us. I just picked it as a midway point (and the proximity of Cayucos Beach), because Jalama doesn't take reservations -- FCFS, and we left Morro at 5AM to be first in line at Jalama. Still didn't make the cut-off: it is really popular (for rock-hounds, surfers and UCSB partiers), and they go down the wait-list from the day before first. Luckily, there is an "overflow" campsite in Lompoc, about 20 miles away. Not much to it, but it's all folks that didn't get a site at Jalama :-). So two nights there with day-trips to Jalama, but we eventually made it in. |
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Post by stephan on Mar 26, 2015 9:53:07 GMT -5
That is the truth. He seems to do well with whalebone, too. You know him? 30 years! First in his career as the head animal control officer for a city I lived in and now we attend the same lapidary class. Small world. |
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller 
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,717 
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Post by Fossilman on Mar 26, 2015 9:55:52 GMT -5
Thanks for sharing the photos............Scored some nice jasper's too..
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Post by drocknut on Mar 26, 2015 10:08:16 GMT -5
Sounds like you had a great trip. Always good when you can rockhound with the dogs. I might have to put that area on my bucket list, Gypsy loves water and I love rocks, a win-win. Thanks for sharing the pics.
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Post by johnjsgems on Mar 26, 2015 10:41:53 GMT -5
The whale bone is 5 miles south at Point Conception. A brutal all day hike in and out. Rangers will confiscate bone and any other fossils as well as Indian artifacts but generally don't care about rocks and sea shells. Best collecting is in the winter after a storm.
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Post by rockpickerforever on Mar 26, 2015 12:51:33 GMT -5
30 years! First in his career as the head animal control officer for a city I lived in and now we attend the same lapidary class. Small world. Scott knows everybody!!! That's the kind of person he is. We go way back too, around 25 years, and also have a lot of friends in common in the reptile raising world.
Always out in the public eye. He used to own a pet shop, probably the reason he met Otie in the first place.
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Post by stephan on Mar 26, 2015 17:25:48 GMT -5
The whale bone is 5 miles south at Point Conception. A brutal all day hike in and out. Rangers will confiscate bone and any other fossils as well as Indian artifacts but generally don't care about rocks and sea shells. Best collecting is in the winter after a storm. Several sites in SB County are known for whale bone, including Jalama Beach, Gaviota Beach, and, I think, Goleta Beach. And there appear to be many different opinions on whether whale bone is legal to collect, including among rangers. |
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zarguy
fully equipped rock polisher
Cedar City, Utah - rockhound heaven!
Member since December 2005
Posts: 1,791
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Post by zarguy on Oct 21, 2022 18:49:11 GMT -5
A few years ago, my son and I took a trip to California's Central Coast. We spent three days at Morro Bay, with little to find and no rock-hounding allowed (and a very barren campground) on a non-dog-friendly. just to the north, however (a ten minute walk) is dog-friendly Cayucos Beach with some very pretty jaspers. We were there in the summer, so we found pebbles. I'm told in the winter, I'm told that large pieces of Cayucos jasper (very similar to Stone canyon jasper) can be found. It is rock-hound friendly, and the town has a rock show annually. Enjoy, -Stephan Stephan, I found this old post while researching Cayucos jasper. I've collected similar jasper north of Cambria. I'm planning a trip from Utah to CA soon. I'll be taking Hwy 46 to Cambria & then I will go south to Cayucos. So I don't have to walk the entire beach, is there a spot you'd recommend to find the jasper?
BTW, your flickr links are dead. Lynn |
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Post by parfive on Oct 21, 2022 19:57:28 GMT -5
BTW, your flickr links are dead. So is Stephan in a manner of speaking but his three flickr links still work over here. |
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,120
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Post by rockbrain on Oct 22, 2022 9:27:03 GMT -5
A few years ago, my son and I took a trip to California's Central Coast. We spent three days at Morro Bay, with little to find and no rock-hounding allowed (and a very barren campground) on a non-dog-friendly. just to the north, however (a ten minute walk) is dog-friendly Cayucos Beach with some very pretty jaspers. We were there in the summer, so we found pebbles. I'm told in the winter, I'm told that large pieces of Cayucos jasper (very similar to Stone canyon jasper) can be found. It is rock-hound friendly, and the town has a rock show annually. Enjoy, -Stephan Stephan, I found this old post while researching Cayucos jasper. I've collected similar jasper north of Cambria. I'm planning a trip from Utah to CA soon. I'll be taking Hwy 46 to Cambria & then I will go south to Cayucos. So I don't have to walk the entire beach, is there a spot you'd recommend to find the jasper?
BTW, your flickr links are dead. Lynn you just have to find the beaches with the gravel. They change. Typically in the winter a lot more of the gravel is exposed. In the summer it's more sand. I've found nice jasper along the entire area. The beaches between Morro Bay and San Simeon. I like to stay at Avila Beach or Moonstone Beach. A lot of my beach hounding is at Moonstone and the little beaches that are just north of Cayucos. I've done great on Morro Strand Beach during a storm. It was nothing but rocks down at the water line. Other times it's a sandy beach. There's almost always rocks at the high water line but they tend to have lots of pits and flaws. Moonstone Beach is popular. The gravel is usually all at the south end. Use the stair access across the street from The Oyster Chest. We've done lots of hounding on this beach. Winter after storms is the best but there is usually something there. Also done well at the William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach a few minutes north of Moonstone. Jamala is a bit of a haul south of Cayucos. It's also about 20-30 minutes off the main drag. I went there once when I stayed in the Malibu area. I'm actually headed there next weekend. Leo Carillo Beach. I've found some fish fossils at Jamala but have not done too well yet that far south. |
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khara
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since September 2022
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Post by khara on Oct 22, 2022 14:17:55 GMT -5
Stephan, I found this old post while researching Cayucos jasper. I've collected similar jasper north of Cambria. I'm planning a trip from Utah to CA soon. I'll be taking Hwy 46 to Cambria & then I will go south to Cayucos. So I don't have to walk the entire beach, is there a spot you'd recommend to find the jasper?
BTW, your flickr links are dead. Lynn you just have to find the beaches with the gravel. They change. Typically in the winter a lot more of the gravel is exposed. In the summer it's more sand. I've found nice jasper along the entire area. The beaches between Morro Bay and San Simeon. I like to stay at Avila Beach or Moonstone Beach. A lot of my beach hounding is at Moonstone and the little beaches that are just north of Cayucos. I've done great on Morro Strand Beach during a storm. It was nothing but rocks down at the water line. Other times it's a sandy beach. There's almost always rocks at the high water line but they tend to have lots of pits and flaws. Moonstone Beach is popular. The gravel is usually all at the south end. Use the stair access across the street from The Oyster Chest. We've done lots of hounding on this beach. Winter after storms is the best but there is usually something there. Also done well at the William Randolph Hearst Memorial State Beach a few minutes north of Moonstone. Jamala is a bit of a haul south of Cayucos. It's also about 20-30 minutes off the main drag. I went there once when I stayed in the Malibu area. I'm actually headed there next weekend. Leo Carillo Beach. I've found some fish fossils at Jamala but have not done too well yet that far south. Holy cow. Has anyone else found any more of this Jalama Beach "rainbow orbicular jasper" that is pictured above?!? |
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rockbrain
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Member since January 2022
Posts: 3,120
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Post by rockbrain on Oct 22, 2022 14:45:51 GMT -5
I have found a couple of very tiny pieces of orb jasper around moonstone. A cool looking green one but it's only about the size of my fingernail.
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gemfeller
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Post by gemfeller on Oct 22, 2022 15:47:45 GMT -5
I lived in Pismo Beach for many years (the part known as Shell Beach). I found lots of fossilized whale bone on the beach just a few hundred yards from my house. It's interesting as specimen material IMO but sort've "blah" for cabs -- dull grayish to brown colors but nice cell structure. I'm sure opinions will vary on that. I still have a few nice pieces. rockbrain is right about finding rocky beaches for jasper. There are lots of other materials along that part of the coast. I've heard old-timer stories about marcasite in agate comparable to the Nipomo material from Avila Beach, but was never able to find any myself. Access to hounding areas is an increasing problem, especially to the south, such as he "bean field" sagenites in Nipomo. But the area is so beautiful a visit there is a reward in itself even if no rocks are found. Enjoy some Santa Maria-style barbecue and relax in one of Nature's most lovely settings. |
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NRG
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2018
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Post by NRG on Mar 16, 2023 13:26:43 GMT -5
Scott knows everybody!!! That's the kind of person he is. We go way back too, around 25 years, and also have a lot of friends in common in the reptile raising world.
Always out in the public eye. He used to own a pet shop, probably the reason he met Otie in the first place.
I met him even before the store. He approved a venomous permit for a friend way back when. I met you at Bob’s yeah? You are correct. I like meeting people. Huggz miss you |
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