elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 17, 2010 13:49:43 GMT -5
My club acquired the collection of former member who had passed. His children needed to move the rocks in the yard before the house was shown and we wound up taking about 4-5 garbage cans worth of material. The man had lived in Oregon for many years and we have quite a bit of carnelian, some incredible bruneau, snakeskin agate, etc. A couple of us were sorting through the rock refugees. One looking at the t-eggs and nodules (and arguing with me that some were Montana which I thought were Indian Blackskin), another sat at the polished stones. (I didn't argue with him.) As I dug through a two foot pile of slabs (bloodstone, picture jasper, plume) a saw a chunk buried beneath everything and a hint of blue: I pulled it from beneath the pile and started rubbing off the dirt. I was thinking Royal Aztec Lace as I had found some at the Harris House sale a couple months ago, and it was on my mind. But as the mud slid off I immediately fought the demon in the head that said (Nobody knows about this....take it...it's yours) but instead I hoisted it with a "Wow!" and then plunged it into the water bucket. Take a peak and let me know: Holly? Could it be Holly blue? No, it isn't mine. I brought it back home to clean it and take a few shots to see if I could verify with you fine folks if this is what I think it is. My club probably will be polishing a face and putting it in the museum. There's no way we'd get the proper price at a silent auction if it is Holly. But for the club, it was an incredible find. Thanks for your thoughts, Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 17, 2010 0:17:04 GMT -5
Wonderful material!
I love the rhodochrosite and the amazonite. (Love the reds and greens.)
How much of this is self collected and what pieces did you have to acquire by purchase or trade? I don't know how open Colorado is for collecting, especially in regards to mineral specimens.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 15, 2010 9:07:42 GMT -5
Thank you RocknCritter!
Correcting mistakes is exactly the feedback we need on this! The whole project is based on the local collector providing the knowledge and specimens about his area. Who better to do so? We're just trying to put everyone's knowledge together in these indexes.
I'll adjust the information accordingly.
Again, thank you (and if you have any specimens from your area ...)
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 15, 2010 1:36:55 GMT -5
Steve,
I can't help with an ID but I can say that those are AWESOME!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 15, 2010 1:30:44 GMT -5
The American Agate/Jasper Index for Texas is out! (Over 60 pages of material for free!) The American Agate/Jasper Index is designed to be a database of material found in North America. The main goal of this collection is to aid people with identification of specimens as well act as an visual guide to quartz gem materials. Each index will focus on a different region. These are designed to be downloaded for free and are created from photo submissions by rockhounds across North America. Updates will occur periodically as new material is submitted here and via email. To download a file, click on the desired link and then click on the BLUE download box. Wait about 10 seconds and a prompt will then appear to download the file. Click on it and it will load. Volume 1 (Utah and Colorado) is currently being updated with a lot of new material and revised to better match the format of the later files. Vol 2:Wyoming and Montana www.4shared.com/file/224404408/51585e57/Agate_Index_Vol_2.htmlVol 3:Idaho and Washington www.4shared.com/file/229956030/cc07189f/Agate_Index_Vol_3.htmlVol 4:South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma www.4shared.com/file/242786005/91b2476f/Agate_Index_Vol_4.htmlVol 5: Texas www.4shared.com/document/oCLei3tU/Agate_Index_Vol_5.htmlWe hope you find these files interesting and helpful. Thank you everyone who has contributed. Lowell and Mel
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 15, 2010 1:29:12 GMT -5
The American Agate/Jasper Index for Texas is out! (Over 60 pages of material for free!) The American Agate/Jasper Index is designed to be a database of material found in North America. The main goal of this collection is to aid people with identification of specimens as well act as an visual guide to quartz gem materials. Each index will focus on a different region. These are designed to be downloaded for free and are created from photo submissions by rockhounds across North America. Updates will occur periodically as new material is submitted here and via email. To download a file, click on the desired link and then click on the BLUE download box. Wait about 10 seconds and a prompt will then appear to download the file. Click on it and it will load. Volume 1 (Utah and Colorado) is currently being updated with a lot of new material and revised to better match the format of the later files. Vol 2:Wyoming and Montana www.4shared.com/file/224404408/51585e57/Agate_Index_Vol_2.htmlVol 3:Idaho and Washington www.4shared.com/file/229956030/cc07189f/Agate_Index_Vol_3.htmlVol 4:South Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma www.4shared.com/file/242786005/91b2476f/Agate_Index_Vol_4.htmlVol 5: Texas www.4shared.com/document/oCLei3tU/Agate_Index_Vol_5.htmlWe hope you find these files interesting and helpful. Thank you everyone who has contributed. Lowell and Mel
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 12, 2010 21:09:51 GMT -5
#10 looks like actinolite. After a mudslide back in the late 60's or early 70's, massive boulders of this stuff were exposed near Wrightwood, CA. Be careful messing with it. I believe it's in the asbestos family.
#9 looks like a geode you might get in the plains states. There does not appear to be a matrix, so I wouldn't classify it as a thunderegg, which takes out most of the west coast.
#3 looks like calcite. I bet it is real soft and scratches easily.
#7 if that is shimmering with different colors, I'm wondering if it is ammonite. That left specimen cries out "shell". (edit - saw your video, is the curving feature part of the rock, or did someone try to cut it?)
But I am not a minerololololologist.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 10, 2010 10:11:10 GMT -5
Cady Mountain Material Sagenite: (Ron Wise specimen)
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 10, 2010 10:04:57 GMT -5
Mel, Yeah, few other places in CA will produce the thrill of the hunt better than the Cady's. I'm taking a day off in May and going again. I gotta. It had been way too long since I've hit the field. In fact, I have a picture of me getting ready to hit the field (literally): But the best sagenite of the day wasn't found by me. Take a look at this: Nate, The day actually included a two hour drive to Anaheim after I got home. We had a funeral to go to the next day. My day: Up at 3:00 am. Drive at 3:30 Get there at 9:00am Leave at 4:00 pm Return at 9:30pm. Leave again at 10:00pm. Arrive in Anaheim at 12:00am. They pried me up the next morning with a crowbar and the threat of a bucket of ice water. johnjsgems North Cady's is how I know them. We entered through Basin Road, one exit up from Afton. There's a CFMS field trip up there I believe on the 16th-17th. Look on the website for details. I'll let you know the next time we head out. Never hurts to have another vehicle with you. It was beautiful. Tons of wildflowers and the lizards were running helter skelter. Here's the canyon we stopped at - we hunted up the right side and then HIKED.
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 9, 2010 18:00:28 GMT -5
Ha! I got out Wednesday and drove 225 miles to spend a perfect day rockhounding. Found a 'new' road and next time will get even farther back. Stopped at a new location and hiked back into the hills and found a flat spot that was covered with agate nodules. What was great was that it didn't look hunted at all. Good sized nodules covered with desert varnish littered the ground. Overall hundreds of nodules lay across the surface of a half acre. The broken ones showed blue and white banding - fortification and onyx. Some also show hints of sagenite. Lugged the bag to the car and pushed farther back. Came across a couple small seams then found some scattered pieces that I followed up a hill and hopefully came away with some good plume. The buckets - White - nodules Black - seam Orange - Whatever didn't fit into the other two. (aka what flew out of the other two buckets on the way home... Calcite crystals and some quartz covered pieces (That's my cat Lizzie trying to get into the picture in the background...) Nodules (Random samples plucked from bucket) The Seams: Example of a small red seam near nodules: Then the largest collection: Found in float trail up hillside: Wow - Getting nearer and more excited Then the dig: Thanks for looking Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 6, 2010 10:16:26 GMT -5
Love the fire agate! That first one looks like a marmoset paw. (I have a good imagination.)
Do you know the source? CA, AZ, MX?
Thanks for sharing!
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 5, 2010 14:55:09 GMT -5
I have done several times what we call a 'There and Back Again' trip in one day - Up at 3:00 am, drive 250 miles, hunt until dark, drive 250 miles home. Get back around midnight. Wednesday I'm heading out from Ventura at 3:30 am to drive to the North Cady Mountains (a 200+ mile one way trip) for a day hunt.
My schedule doesn't work for many overnights. I have a 4 year old so I need to coordinate time from home with my wife.
Occasionally I get an overnight which I'll spend hunting deep in the desert - which most of the time is digging geodes at the Hauser Beds, but most of my trips are one day shots during the week.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 4, 2010 9:58:57 GMT -5
I believe the second one is wavelite.
Not a mineralolololologist but I that's my guess.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Apr 4, 2010 9:47:04 GMT -5
So what I am hearing you say is:
To get good results it's better to be forgetful than patient, because you can still lose your patience at any time, but your memory you've already forgotten!
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 30, 2010 18:59:35 GMT -5
Donnie,
I bought my Pixie from Diamond Pacific a couple years ago. Late last year I took the machine into their factory as there was some problems with it. They replaced the bearings for free. I had the time to drive it out to Barstow, but did you try to contact them directly? They are an excellent company to work with.
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 28, 2010 20:22:49 GMT -5
Yep! My problem is that they also come from Mexico and Coon Hollow in California. I have samples of each of those locations, but none from Arizona.
I'm just starting spring break (been a busy boy lately) so there'll be a couple more indexes coming out and I'm hoping to find some images from fire agate to include, both from Arizona and California. (Keep your fingers crossed).
Lowell
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 20, 2010 23:11:11 GMT -5
Actually I don't have anything to say, I just thought as everyone else was apparently tossing out Laker titles, I might as well try....
Please don't hate me..... ;D
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 20, 2010 23:08:55 GMT -5
I'm really liking the Mississippi stones. They aren't the bright reds I see from up north and not the blues from here in California.
Impressive and different.
Enjoy!
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 17, 2010 21:39:47 GMT -5
Egad! A new excuse! (Heard from a couple sitting on a couch watching TV.... "Honey, oh my heavens, was that you? " "No, dear, that was my freshly 'cut' geode!!!") (please forgive me....)
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elementary
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Post by elementary on Mar 16, 2010 21:10:56 GMT -5
The American Agate/Jasper Index for South Dakota, Nebraska and Oklahoma is out! www.4shared.com/file/221879833/810dc669/Agate_Index_Vol_1.htmlUtah and Colorado www.4shared.com/file/224404408/51585e57/Agate_Index_Vol_2.htmlWyoming and Montana www.4shared.com/file/229956030/cc07189f/Agate_Index_Vol_3.htmlIdaho and Washington www.4shared.com/file/242786005/91b2476f/Agate_Index_Vol_4.htmlSouth Dakota, Nebraska, and Oklahoma (I have to say the majority of this is South Dakota from Fairburned's photos - thank you very much to Roger for his generosity.) We hope you enjoy the Index as much as we enjoyed putting it together. It took a little longer as people kept on supplying us with such great pictures. A great big thanks for all those who helped. For those who have material that will fill in any gaps in the above indexes, you can now email material to agateindex@yahoo.com. Mel and I will be watching for the submissions as they come in. If you have trouble downloading, please let me know. Most people have no trouble, but some have run into issues. Also, any feedback would be greatly appreciated - this resource is being done for you. Anything you like/dislike or want changed or added? And if care to share the links with your local rock club - feel free. It's what this is here for. Thank you Lowell and Mel
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