choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 18, 2021 16:48:50 GMT -5
Hi guys,
I'll be driving to Las Vegas from the SF Bay Area next week. Any recommendations for rockhounding I can do along the way? I have the Rockhounding California book and, with just a family minivan (no 4x4), I'm currently planning to visit Gem Hill (Rosamond) and the Field Road Agates spot.
My current plan looks like the following. What do you guys think?
Day 1: leave SF Bay Area and drive to Gem Hill to rock hunt and spend the night in the area Day 2: drive to Las Vegas and hunt the Field Road Agates spot along the way
I was originally hoping to visit Lavic Siding, but some info I read suggests a 4x4 may be needed.
The limiting factor is probably my vehicle (no 4x4) and my kids, who maybe have the patience for about an hour of rock hunting, maybe more if they can find cool stuff.
Any suggestions for a better plan? I also have no info on exact spots beyond what's in that book, so if there are more specific locations anyone would be generous enough to share, I would really appreciate it!
Thanks in advance!
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 19, 2021 8:00:52 GMT -5
What route are you planning to take? There are various ways to get to Las Vegas. Knowing which direction you are coming from can help with ideas of places to look on the way.
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,592
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Post by Tommy on Dec 19, 2021 10:21:39 GMT -5
Field road was kind of crappy last time we were there - if you're on hwy 15 anyway I would swap that one with Afton Canyon for sure.
I've been to Lavic a number of times and never needed a 4x4. Depends on where you go I guess.
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 19, 2021 11:54:17 GMT -5
What route are you planning to take? There are various ways to get to Las Vegas. Knowing which direction you are coming from can help with ideas of places to look on the way. I'm coming via Barstow on highway 15.
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 19, 2021 14:11:24 GMT -5
Field road was kind of crappy last time we were there - if you're on hwy 15 anyway I would swap that one with Afton Canyon for sure. I've been to Lavic a number of times and never needed a 4x4. Depends on where you go I guess. Ah, thanks, I'll swap out for Afton Canyon in that case. I'll plan to park at the campground and hike south into a canyon to the spot below I read about on this site. I picked it because it looks like a short hike, so should be good with kids. I'm hoping to get some cutting size material, not sure if that will be a good spot?
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,592
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Post by Tommy on Dec 19, 2021 14:26:18 GMT -5
Field road was kind of crappy last time we were there - if you're on hwy 15 anyway I would swap that one with Afton Canyon for sure. I've been to Lavic a number of times and never needed a 4x4. Depends on where you go I guess. Ah, thanks, I'll swap out for Afton Canyon in that case. I'll plan to park at the campground and hike south into a canyon to the spot below I read about on this site. I picked it because it looks like a short hike, so should be good with kids. I'm hoping to get some cutting size material, not sure if that will be a good spot? Sounds like a major upgrade in plans to me. Field road is mostly scattered with ugly desert varnished agate (and old abandoned junk piles) that to me isnt worth the time and energy. Afton Canyon and the area you mapped is also oft-visited but still produces good finds mostly up on the ridges for those who walk slower and farther than the last person did.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 19, 2021 20:36:52 GMT -5
What route are you planning to take? There are various ways to get to Las Vegas. Knowing which direction you are coming from can help with ideas of places to look on the way. I'm coming via Barstow on highway 15. Then definitely Afton Canyon. There are two roads in from the 15. Afton Canyon Road is your best best. Found some nice stuff around the campground there. The road starts at Dunn. California. If you turn to the left instead of right you can also park right past the cattle guard. The little hills there have a lot of smaller chalcedonies that would be great for tumbling and occasionally nice pieces of magnetite. If you walk over the little soft sand hill there you can also find a lot of a glassy looking stone that comes in various colors and patterns. Have even some that looked like mahogany obsidian there. Basin Road is the next road going in to the Afton Canyon area. You can drive in on the dirt road about 5 miles then start searching the washes in the area. Have found some nice jasper and agate in this area.
As you get closer to Las Vegas there is the Kokoweef area at Mountain Pass. Exit Mountain Pass then go straight along the frontage road. When it turns there is a wash to left that is good to check or a little further up the dirt road you can find some blue-green jasper along the sides of the road. Also a lot of unakite, garnet in white quartz, and specular hematite that can be found in the area.
When you reach Jean, Nevada the desert behind the truck stop up to the Goodsprings compressor station is good for chalcedonies, quartz and ocean fossils. No specific spot. Kind of spread out so you just have to get out and do a lot of walking. Found one small piece of common opal out there as well.
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 20, 2021 1:31:17 GMT -5
Ah, thanks, I'll swap out for Afton Canyon in that case. I'll plan to park at the campground and hike south into a canyon to the spot below I read about on this site. I picked it because it looks like a short hike, so should be good with kids. I'm hoping to get some cutting size material, not sure if that will be a good spot? Sounds like a major upgrade in plans to me. Field road is mostly scattered with ugly desert varnished agate (and old abandoned junk piles) that to me isnt worth the time and energy. Afton Canyon and the area you mapped is also oft-visited but still produces good finds mostly up on the ridges for those who walk slower and farther than the last person did. Good to know that Afton Canyon is the much better choice! I'll report back with how it went.
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 20, 2021 1:44:41 GMT -5
I'm coming via Barstow on highway 15. Then definitely Afton Canyon. There are two roads in from the 15. Afton Canyon Road is your best best. Found some nice stuff around the campground there. The road starts at Dunn. California. If you turn to the left instead of right you can also park right past the cattle guard. The little hills there have a lot of smaller chalcedonies that would be great for tumbling and occasionally nice pieces of magnetite. If you walk over the little soft sand hill there you can also find a lot of a glassy looking stone that comes in various colors and patterns. Have even some that looked like mahogany obsidian there. Basin Road is the next road going in to the Afton Canyon area. You can drive in on the dirt road about 5 miles then start searching the washes in the area. Have found some nice jasper and agate in this area.
As you get closer to Las Vegas there is the Kokoweef area at Mountain Pass. Exit Mountain Pass then go straight along the frontage road. When it turns there is a wash to left that is good to check or a little further up the dirt road you can find some blue-green jasper along the sides of the road. Also a lot of unakite, garnet in white quartz, and specular hematite that can be found in the area.
When you reach Jean, Nevada the desert behind the truck stop up to the Goodsprings compressor station is good for chalcedonies, quartz and ocean fossils. No specific spot. Kind of spread out so you just have to get out and do a lot of walking. Found one small piece of common opal out there as well.
Thanks so much for your very clear and specific instructions. I'm guessing these aren't in any books, so I really appreciate your generosity. I'll be sure to report back. I hope the kids will let me stop often!
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 30, 2021 22:59:28 GMT -5
AFTON CANYON So Afton Canyon turned out to be fun but challenging. Perhaps due to our inexperience (we didn't really know what to look for), we spent most of our time oohing and aahing at small chalcedony pieces after crossing the river, and after an hour, still hadn't found any way to get on to the ridges. We finally climbed up a somewhat steep side canyon, where we made a nice find (see below): We had to go by then as the sun was getting low. We ended the day with two other smaller but nice pieces: I also collected some light green rocks. Any idea what they are? Some of them have pinks and yellows mixed in: We didn't find a way up to the ridges in the end, but we had fun. Maybe next time I'll go with people who know the way! We drove to Las Vegas after that. It was dark by the time we passed through the spots that vegasjames shared, so we didn't stop there. ORE CAR MINE In Las Vegas, we visited Red Rock Canyon and really enjoyed how beautiful it was. I especially enjoyed the wind carved rocks. After earning enough non-rockhunting points with the family, I took everyone to Ore Car Mine on Christmas Day. I had read about it online, and watched a video or two on Youtube, but didn't know what to expect. It turned out that the road to the mine quickly became inaccessible to our family minivan, and we had to park and hike in. I told everyone it would be a 15 minute hike, but, ahem, maybe I'd closed one eye and just eyeballed things like a crow flies. Well, it took much longer than 15 minutes, but part of it was we were stopping a lot to look at rocks. We were finding chalcedony along the way, so the kids were having enough fun to keep going. Some of the pieces were nice, such as this one: When we got to the Ore Car Mine sign, the wind had kicked up, and it was COLD, and we beat a hasty retreat. We are still in Las Vegas, and I'll write more if we do more rockhunting. I hope we get some time to stop at the spots vegasjames shared when we drive back.
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Post by vegasjames on Dec 31, 2021 5:02:55 GMT -5
How long are you in Las Vegas for? I came back from my trip earlier than I planned to avoid some major storms about to hit Northern Nevada where I was. So,I am back in town. Need to show someone how to get to one of the local copper mines for an upcoming event. Maybe I can plan it before you leave and you can come along.
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,197
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Post by quartzilla on Dec 31, 2021 5:49:00 GMT -5
Cool update and finds! Love Red Rock! That’s where my wife and I got married!
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Dec 31, 2021 22:15:40 GMT -5
How long are you in Las Vegas for? I came back from my trip earlier than I planned to avoid some major storms about to hit Northern Nevada where I was. So,I am back in town. Need to show someone how to get to one of the local copper mines for an upcoming event. Maybe I can plan it before you leave and you can come along. Visiting a copper mine sounds neat, but unfortunately I already have plans for tomorrow, and then I leave early the next day.
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Post by vegasjames on Jan 1, 2022 10:30:22 GMT -5
How long are you in Las Vegas for? I came back from my trip earlier than I planned to avoid some major storms about to hit Northern Nevada where I was. So,I am back in town. Need to show someone how to get to one of the local copper mines for an upcoming event. Maybe I can plan it before you leave and you can come along. Visiting a copper mine sounds neat, but unfortunately I already have plans for tomorrow, and then I leave early the next day. Some of what you will miss. These are from the copper-silver mine we will be going to.
Some cabs from the material.
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quartzilla
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2020
Posts: 1,197
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Post by quartzilla on Jan 1, 2022 10:39:15 GMT -5
Wow! Those would be a plan changer for me!
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choochoorocks
starting to spend too much on rocks
Rock hounding
Member since April 2020
Posts: 143
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Post by choochoorocks on Jan 4, 2022 2:47:14 GMT -5
Those rocks do look cool! Sorry I missed them. I did stop by the other side of highway 15 from Afton Canyon for ten minutes on the way home. I found a big 1 lb hunk of chalcedony by the road!
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