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Post by Michael John on Jan 19, 2009 3:08:57 GMT -5
PICS! Let's see whatcha got!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 19, 2009 1:52:23 GMT -5
I can park on the side of a gravel road and hike less than a mile on flat land to get to it, plus it's just a short drive from my house. I wouldn't mind having easy access to something good for a change LOL. It's also just this side of the Nevada/Cali border, so I don't have to ever worry about the damn Cali hippy tree huggers closing it off. There's probably other good stuff in that wash, too, but I just don't know/recognize it. I need to get Mel out here LOL.
Funny thing is, I've known about this stuff for a long time, but figured since it's kinda soft it wasn't any good. It was by pure coincidence that I just learned that Indian Paint Rock IS soft LOL. It fetches pretty good money, too! ;D
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 21:17:12 GMT -5
Randy, a kilt can't be any worse than your pink chaps! :cheesy:
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 21:14:01 GMT -5
Now you can take the money you used to spend on manicures and put it into machines, stones, and gas money for hounding!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 21:09:29 GMT -5
Groovy!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 21:07:39 GMT -5
Yeah, it's understandable that people want specifics for precious stones, but for most of what we deal with here, the specifics are more for interest and curiosity than anything else. Pretty is pretty, regardless. However, I think it's real cool how a few folks here are so keen at spotting such a wide variety of materials due to only subtle differences.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:53:55 GMT -5
Ralph and Maryann TRULY rock!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:37:23 GMT -5
Are you going to do the blue quartz, too?
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:32:23 GMT -5
Awesome! Thank you! I made it into a wallpaper.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:27:40 GMT -5
Yeah ... what navi said ... the worst that can happen is you end up with a lot of pretty rocks for your yard, but you still had fun!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:22:56 GMT -5
Burro Creek is about 100 miles up the 93 from the center of Phoenix. You can be there in an hour ... oh ... no ... that's if I were driving ... about an hour and a half. ;D
If you start that Phoenix thread in the Location section, I'm sure you'll get some definate locations to go hounding near you. Better than just driving off into the desert. Go out and collect at a few locations that people give in that thread, then decide whether you want to keep tumbling what you got with the tumbler.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:06:50 GMT -5
Hmmm ... fingernail polish ... but there ARE nicks and cuts ... methinks by the end of this summer you'll have sported The Rock Monster look many times. ;D
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:01:44 GMT -5
Wow, you really got busy! Beautiful work! Fantastic job on that seam agate!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 19:24:56 GMT -5
Hehehe ... DUDE ... Phoenix ... you are in the midst of The Rock Gods of this forum LOL.
You could probably just drive away from town, take a turn on any dirt road toward a hill or mountain, and find something good. The area is THAT good.
OR ... you're only like 100 miles from Burro Creek. Drive your truck up there and pick up a few hundred pounds of agate.
OR ... start a new thread in the Location Location Location forum entitled "Phoenix, Arizona" and be prepare to be bombarded. Hehehe.
Living in Phoenix and tumbling the stuff you got with your tumbler ... tsk tsk ... LMAO
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 17:29:18 GMT -5
What kind of vehicle do you drive? Do you have a 4-wheel-drive truck by chance?
You're about a 3 to 4 hour drive from the Cady Mountains. There are a Gazillion areas to collect all kinds of good stuff around there. To work the area "right", you need a 4WD, but a high clearance 2WD pickup can suffice in a lot of the areas. For that trip, it would be wise to drive there EARLY one morning, stay in a motel/hotel or camp overnight, then drive home at the end of the next day ... at least! It's a BIG area, and you'll wanna hit many different spots while you're out there. With a bit of research and help from members here, you could set-up a workable itinerary for your trip.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 17:10:34 GMT -5
Kev, where are you at in Arizona? There are a LOT of folks here from Arizona, and they'd probably be happy to tell you a spot or two where you can collect your own rocks. Actually, it would be in your best interests to put your city or town in your profile. Unless you bought your tumbler from someone REALLY nice, chances are that the freebies included with your tumbler probably aren't worth the time and effort to tumble.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 16:50:50 GMT -5
I forgot about a penny ... I don't normally have a reason to test "soft" stones. Yeah, a penny is about 3.5 Mohs ... I just tried it and it will barely scratch the beige color in the stone, but not the other colors. So, yeah, it seems to be in the general hardness range of Indian Paint Rock, and the slightly varying hardness between colors is also an indicator.
Opinions? What would you folks say? Would you call this an Indian Paint Rock?
The chunks that I collected were from the outer surface of one of the outcrops. Do you think it's possible / probable that if I mined-in a foot or two that the material may be a little harder?
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 16:17:21 GMT -5
I'm glad you're enjoying it all! Can't wait to see pics after you work some of your magic!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 15:56:58 GMT -5
Those are among the finest cabs I've seen. The material, the shapes, and the finish are absolutely superb. Some people are just born with a gift, and apparently you've found one of yours!
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 15:42:54 GMT -5
It looks like you were doing well ... but I think it was a wise decision to get better stones to tumble. ;D
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