Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Dec 1, 2005 23:33:24 GMT -5
Hi All! I was lucky enough to be given a couple cheapo passes to fly from a friend at an airline. So, today, I flew into Phoenix to go see what's what in the rock world. IT'S HEAVEN! There are rocks everywhere! I don't know how Banjo ever stays at home with all this stuff lying around! So, I'm here until Sunday and thought I'd "journal" my trip here for everyone. Calgary, Alberta, is 3 hrs flight time north of Arizona. We fly straight down beside and over the Rockies. Then we flew right over the grand canyon. I had never seen it before. From the airplane alone it was an unbelievable site! I arrived late afternoon, grabbed a rental, and headed north from Phoenix. Found a road that aimed for the hills and got out as far as I could to poke around. While there I saw this cactus and it reminded me of that hand sign people make when listening to heavy metal. It was getting dark, so not a lot of time, but did OK. Here's the first batch of rocks I collected - probably 10 lbs altogether. Gonna be a heavy carry-on going back. I know that some of this is quartz. No idea on the others, but the big one's are a dark burgundy and I can see that it is "agatized" when I look close. Isn't that orangey one stunning? The saga will continue tomorrow!
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Post by rockds on Dec 1, 2005 23:36:07 GMT -5
good looking start, hope you brought extra money to get those back home!!
robert
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firecop
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2005
Posts: 103
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Post by firecop on Dec 2, 2005 0:06:26 GMT -5
Nice haul! The little green one in the middle looks cool.
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 2, 2005 1:35:06 GMT -5
Hey, I just went to Phoenix and went rockhunting! I tried going west to Tonopah/Saddle Mountain and picked up all kinds of chalcedony with fire agate. I got the site description and directions online and it is also in one of the rock trail guides. I can give you better directions if you need them. When you went north where did you end up collecting? And yes, it is awesome, isn't it, there really are rocks everywhere. Have fun!
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Post by tmorris6654 on Dec 2, 2005 6:40:38 GMT -5
plz post more pics.
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Post by rockyraccoon on Dec 2, 2005 7:17:46 GMT -5
wish i could help you hunt! have fun and find lots.
kim
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Dec 2, 2005 8:16:04 GMT -5
Puppie - left you a PM. It's 6:15am...I'm off!
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stefan
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2005
Posts: 14,113
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Post by stefan on Dec 2, 2005 11:54:06 GMT -5
Congrates on the trip- Loved the pix- Can't wait for more!!!!
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Post by Cher on Dec 2, 2005 12:42:20 GMT -5
Lucky lucky you, nice pics. Good luck hunting.
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Post by puppie96 on Dec 2, 2005 14:46:38 GMT -5
Hey Skipper, I wasn't up that early but I just PM'd you.
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Post by pinemountaintrader on Dec 2, 2005 19:55:14 GMT -5
That's so cool, what a great opportunity, have terrific time and keep posting pics!
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Dec 2, 2005 23:12:23 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Day Two[/glow] Yahoooooooooo! What a great day! This trip has already been a dream come true. Lots of pics below, so may take time to load. Got up early and enjoyed the buffet, then off to New River. I had a map from Banjo that said I could find agates near Skunk Creek. Ah! Hear I am! If you have never seen a cactus, they are really something to behold. I stood beneath many of them today marveling at such a wonderful creation - perfectly adapted for it's environment. No sign of any skunks so far. I headed towards the creek...and went in. No water! And i figured if agate was near the creek, there would probably be more in the creek bed itself. Voila! This thing looks like green moss agate and weighs about 10lbs. I threw that in my backpack and carried it the rest of the day. Got heavy! So here's the water! Not much of it. Clearly, this creek varies widely in size, likely based on flash flooding events. Lots of rocks, though! From the creek bed, I left a full bucket of rocks and headed up a steepish slope. On the way up, found this. About a foot long. Neat design. Left it there. Made it to the top. Gorgeous view! These things are massive. This one was about 15ft tall. (Shaving was not allowed on this trip) Lots of wildlife. I saw a lot of rabbits. I spooked an owl - it flew away from me at a distance of about 15ft. Very cool. I found a few nice white agates on the ground and started thinking "I wonder where that bed of agate is?" then I looked around me. I was in it. Jackpot! I can't tell you how excited I was. My backpack got very heavy, very quickly. This is another dried up stream that I jumped down into. My cell phone started ringing and startled me. The missus was saying hello! Floor of the stream: full of agate. I have never been jealous of a cactus before...until now. Imagine living on stone like that! It's everywhere! (all the white spots) See how big they are? OK, if you look close, my car is in the parking lot, far left. I did some good climbing today. Needed a rest. (lovin the camera timer) Next, I journed to cave creek and wanted to head out for some jaspers. Stopped at the local ranger station. They were awesome people - very helpful. Gave good directions. The Tonto Forest had a big fire recetly - you can see all of the trees are black. This is where I was headed - wayyyy out. No pix, but basically, I found a place with a lot of red and green jasper. Woohoo! The day ends. Back to the Ramada Inn bathroom! You can see I pulled a variety of stone. Lots of that white agate. Bottom left, I found a few really nice purply agates. All of them were found separately - seem to be much rarer than everything else. Red jasper is top right. Green in the middle. Here's the big one from the beginning. I also stopped somewhere else along the highway and found this buried in the dirt. It's also massive - all white quartzy agate. Hurt my toe when I kicked it to loosen it up - only two small parts were peeking up on the surface. Well, that's it for today. I'm exhausted! Tomorrow, I'm gonna try and hit 3 sites. Wish me luck!
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Post by joe on Dec 2, 2005 23:19:12 GMT -5
What a great day Skipper! Thanx for sharing. Great pics, great rocks, looks like you're havin' a great time. Enjoy yourself.
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Post by rockds on Dec 2, 2005 23:21:35 GMT -5
Good luck
Great haul - "Back to the Ramada Inn bathroom!" - love the ones on the bottom right.
robert
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Post by Bikerrandy on Dec 2, 2005 23:26:41 GMT -5
Wow, I'd be out looking every day if I lived out there! Nice rocks!
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Post by Original Admin on Dec 2, 2005 23:36:59 GMT -5
That is living. Clint Eastwood would be jealous - those cactus are superb aswell as the rocks.
I can picture in my mind Clint with a watch in his hand and that haunting tune comes to bear.
Is it the good the bad and the ugly at the end where they are in a circle?
Thanks for the scenes Skipper.
Thats a nice trip out.
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Post by nepherite on Dec 3, 2005 1:43:41 GMT -5
Cool trip ! Those cactus are incredible, Some of those green ones kinda looks like jade. Great job, looks like you had fun ! Tony
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Dec 20, 2005 23:50:59 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]Day 3[/glow] Sorry it took so long to finish this. Life was a whirlwind once I got home. So without further ado, here is the 3rd day of my trip. I wanted to head out to Bagdad, Arizona where Banjo had found red and yellow jasper. On the map, it looked like a straight line. WRONG! Start of the day: Balloons! Along the highway, lots of cool shapes. And more cactuses. I started noticing these gnarled trees, and then there were more and more of them. Finally a sign "National Joshua Tree Highway". Very cool. After all these years I had assumed that since U2 was from Ireland that that was where the trees were located. Nope. Simply gorgeous. Rugged terrain everywhere. So beautiful. Big boulders mean an oppty to climb. View from the top. Desert all around. Nice. I sooo love these things. I actually found myself talking to them. Really missed them as I moved further north and they dissapeared from the landscape. Couldn't get this one in my backpack. :-) On the way down I noticed very large mounds of turds. What could have made that I wondered? I bet it was mountain lions...I moved quickly back to the car. Finally made it to Bagdad. Now, where to search? I followed the signs down to the mine and asked at the front desk. Well, I didn't find any good jaspers, but I did find some different looking rock nearby... That's right, you can forget the King of Beers. Enter, the Lake of Beers! Absolutely gorgeous. I scooped a bunch of rock nearby. I didn't venture far since the lady said "watch out for rattlesnakes." Ugh. Then I started down what appears as another straight line on the map, but was one of the most windy, hairpin-turn-laden, most gorgeous drives I've even been on. Through mountains and canyons. UNBELIEVABLE! This took me to a spot which I was given directions to via puppie. It said there would be onyx all over the ground. There was. Jackpot! So, after a solid day of collecting, back to the hotel I went. Very tired. Drove all over the place, up to Flagstaff, and then back down to Phoenix. I brought 70lbs or Arizona home with me. Triumph! And of course, at the airport, I did warn the lady to be careful with the bag - very heavy. And she said "What, do you have rocks in here?" You know the answer!
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Skipper
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2003
Posts: 258
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Post by Skipper on Dec 20, 2005 23:54:53 GMT -5
Once I got home, I sorted the rocks and took some picks for ya. Softer rock - lots of reds and whites. From Coors Lake, Bagdad. Not sure if it will tumble well... These are the crowning jewels. Never found more than one of these beautiful agates in a single place. Red Jasper from East of Cavecreek. Tonto Forest Green jasper (I think). Various This is not the big one I found on day one. It's another I pulled out of the dirt after hurting my toe when I kicked it. Da ya like how I gave it size perspective??? Thanks for coming along for the ride! I will be going back to Arizona!
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Post by stoner on Dec 21, 2005 0:31:29 GMT -5
Nice adventure Skipper. Those will keep you busy for awhile. Those blue agates are really nice.
Thanks for the road trip, almost felt I was there with you.
Ed
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