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Post by melhill1659 on Oct 4, 2017 8:06:55 GMT -5
We landed in Salt Lake City, was in our little 4x4 Jeep Cherokee (no little car this time) an on our way by 11:00am.  we stopped by the Great Salt Lake first. It is massive  that’s Chris standing out there. Gotta admit Wendover Agates weren’t even on our list but decided to go anyway.      We stayed the night in Wendover to rest up and get a fresh start the next morning. For the next 2 days we would be in a very remote area. Not much if any cell service. We were ready, so we thought.  We’re off and heading to Gold Hill! Armed with 3 atlases, a hand help GPS, rockhounding books and hopefully all the tools we need.  One of many abandoned mines in Gold Hill. After wondering around a few hours at sites that were obviously severely picked over we came across 2 locals (had to be the ONLY 2 that still lived in that ghost town). They were very informative! AND WE ARE OFF  We parked by The Cave. While exploring we found this    2 hours later, after me standing on a 5 gallon bucket and Chris holding the flash light, this specimen was separated from its hiding spot an in my hands. Still need help with identifying! Some of the other things that were found are:      It was getting later in the day and before night fall we wanted to get on our way to our next stop. This one was going to be more difficult. It’s not in any rockhounding guide books, the locals and forums all tell you the only stuff left are on private land... I was ready with literally hours upon hours of pouring over geological studies, studying formations and when you put this mineral with these what it produces. Yes we were looking for Tiffany Stone. Here’s what happened:    When we found that, we knew we were in the right place! It was late, getting dark and quite cold. We set up camp, built a fire and hunkered down for the night. It was on public land and others before us had started fires before, left wood so we figured it was legal. We did however spend an hour building up fire pit walls for better safety.   That Morning was COLD!            It’s Wednesday, 2 days without coffee, food or a real bed. We haven’t spoken to the boys in over 29 hours. It’s time to head back into civilization before the National Guard is called out! |
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Post by wigglinrocks on Oct 4, 2017 8:29:43 GMT -5
Super trip report with an awesome rock haul .
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Post by captbob on Oct 4, 2017 8:34:25 GMT -5
Part 2 then Part 1 - this is like watching Star Wars!
Great report. Was all that purple rock just all over like the picture or is that rocks that you piled up together? Lots of purple! Very cool.
Did you go back in any of those gold mine shafts or are they pretty unstable?
Again, beautiful country. Thanks for sharing with us!
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Post by melhill1659 on Oct 4, 2017 10:06:03 GMT -5
Part 2 then Part 1 - this is like watching Star Wars! Great report. Was all that purple rock just all over like the picture or is that rocks that you piled up together? Lots of purple! Very cool. Did you go back in any of those gold mine shafts or are they pretty unstable? Again, beautiful country. Thanks for sharing with us! Those are piled up at my house but we found tons piled up off a beaten path at an old mind. The mind shaft in the first pic at Gold Hill I actually have an in-depth study on an I WAS HURTING TO GO DOWN AN EXPLORE but my sis told me no! We explored the cave extensively. There was another mine shaft along the way I didn’t take a picture of that but it looked very safe and Chris said she’d stand look out. Which meant, go on with ya ignorant self, go get snake bitten, I’ll be out here. So no exploring. I needed Ann!! fantastic5 would you have explored with me? |
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Post by Garage Rocker on Oct 4, 2017 10:14:10 GMT -5
Very thorough trip reports. Looks like a fun time. Thanks for sharing!
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Post by melhill1659 on Oct 4, 2017 10:59:43 GMT -5
Very thorough trip reports. Looks like a fun time. Thanks for sharing! We had a blast! Can’t wait to go back in the spring! |
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller 
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491 
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Post by fishnpinball on Oct 4, 2017 15:27:11 GMT -5
What a haul.
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Post by aDave on Oct 4, 2017 15:42:07 GMT -5
There was another mine shaft along the way I didn’t take a picture of that but it looked very safe and Chris said she’d stand look out. Which meant, go on with ya ignorant self, go get snake bitten, I’ll be out here. So no exploring. I actually laughed out loud when I read that. That's just funny. Great report Mel. Thanks for sharing. Dave |
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Post by spiceman on Oct 4, 2017 15:44:52 GMT -5
It sounds like and looks like you had a blast.
Even got a nice bunch of rocks.
Have fun and be happy. I'm sure that's not a problem.
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 4, 2017 17:26:12 GMT -5
Great looking haul. Be interesting to find out what the purple is. Some of it looks like the Tiffany stone out of Utah.
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Post by melhill1659 on Oct 4, 2017 18:05:07 GMT -5
Great looking haul. Be interesting to find out what the purple is. Some of it looks like the Tiffany stone out of Utah. I’m hoping it’s Tiffany Stone cause I picked it up thinking it was James 😂😂 |
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utdigger
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since January 2012
Posts: 84
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Post by utdigger on Oct 4, 2017 18:10:29 GMT -5
Spor Mountain area is where Tiffany stone is found in Utah. The big beryllium mine is right there and that's where Tiffany was coming from before they closed it off to collectors.I believe they call the soft stuff Flourospar. If it's hard and opally, I'd call it Tiffany stone. I think this is good info. Feel free to correct me. jeff
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 4, 2017 18:24:20 GMT -5
Great looking haul. Be interesting to find out what the purple is. Some of it looks like the Tiffany stone out of Utah. I’m hoping it’s Tiffany Stone cause I picked it up thinking it was James 😂😂 That would be great since it will finally dispel the myth that Tiffany Stone only comes from the Brush-Wellman mine. |
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Post by vegasjames on Oct 4, 2017 18:30:06 GMT -5
Spor Mountain area is where Tiffany stone is found in Utah. The big beryllium mine is right there and that's where Tiffany was coming from before they closed it off to collectors.I believe they call the soft stuff Flourospar. If it's hard and opally, I'd call it Tiffany stone. I think this is good info. Feel free to correct me. jeff Tiffany stone has actually been found in several locations in Utah and is also found in Nevada in two locations. I think the story of it only coming from the Brush-Wellman mine is to keep the price propped up and to prevent further falling. About 5-6 years ago the stuff was selling for $500 a pound retail. Now the cheapest I have seen on the internet is $25 a pound. The drastic drop is likely due to the Utah Tiffany stone having a reputation for commonly being highly friable (crumbly). Making it appear more rare than it really is will help prevent further price drops. And the closing of the mine to collecting will further help to propr the prices up. |
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Post by fantastic5 on Oct 4, 2017 20:52:27 GMT -5
Part 2 then Part 1 - this is like watching Star Wars! Great report. Was all that purple rock just all over like the picture or is that rocks that you piled up together? Lots of purple! Very cool. Did you go back in any of those gold mine shafts or are they pretty unstable? Again, beautiful country. Thanks for sharing with us! Those are piled up at my house but we found tons piled up off a beaten path at an old mind. The mind shaft in the first pic at Gold Hill I actually have an in-depth study on an I WAS HURTING TO GO DOWN AN EXPLORE but my sis told me no! We explored the cave extensively. There was another mine shaft along the way I didn’t take a picture of that but it looked very safe and Chris said she’d stand look out. Which meant, go on with ya ignorant self, go get snake bitten, I’ll be out here. So no exploring. I needed Ann!! fantastic5 would you have explored with me? You know it! Caves are my friends! Rotten timbers in old mines, I may question, but if it looks solid, I'm in! |
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Post by fantastic5 on Oct 4, 2017 20:53:07 GMT -5
Great trip report BTW! Looks like you both had a blast.
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Post by melhill1659 on Oct 4, 2017 21:07:09 GMT -5
Great trip report BTW! Looks like you both had a blast. The bad thing is she wasn’t worried about the mines structural safety. She is terrified of snakes 😂 She would fling her body on mine to save me from stray bullets and such. But guess who she sent in that cave first 🙄 |
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fishnpinball
Cave Dweller
So much to learn, so little time
Member since March 2017
Posts: 1,491
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Post by fishnpinball on Oct 4, 2017 21:09:08 GMT -5
That is too funny.
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quartz
Cave Dweller
breakin' rocks in the hot sun
Member since February 2010
Posts: 3,359
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Post by quartz on Oct 4, 2017 22:26:22 GMT -5
Thanks for making another attempt at posting this, looks like a great trip with a whopper of a haul.
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Post by fantastic5 on Oct 5, 2017 8:21:00 GMT -5
Great trip report BTW! Looks like you both had a blast. The bad thing is she wasn’t worried about the mines structural safety. She is terrified of snakes 😂 She would fling her body on mine to save me from stray bullets and such. But guess who she sent in that cave first 🙄 Here in the south I have only encountered a few snakes in the caves. They were all very lethargic and clearly didn't mean to be there. Either myself or another person in our party would always rescue them. I wonder if snakes in the high desert actually seek out caves and mines? A Utah BLM ranger told us that they look for cooler spots in the heat of the summer. Very different than around here. |
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