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Field Trip Sunday, December 7, 2003
By Steve Decker
We are planning a trip led by our friends Bill Gardner and Ed Davis. The usual requirements for sturdy shoes, long pants, hats, sunglasses, and plenty of water should be observed.
Take I-10 west to Salome Hwy (about 10 mi. west of Tonopah). Head NW, 12 miles or so, to Eagle Eye road, which dead-ends into Salome Hwy. Turn north toward Aguila. Just past the 7 mile marker there is a curve and a wide flat place to the left side of the road, and we will meet there.
Bill says the Spectrum Mine has blue green and blue Fluorite cubes (some octahedrons), barite, and copper minerals. At the Prism Mine there is low grade massive amethyst, barite blades up to 2" with galena, wulfenite, quartz, and some other surprises. It is 93 miles from Bill's house. Give it 2 hours, leave the house by 6, and try to arrive at the meeting place by 8:00.
The trip will be free for Foundation members, and $10 for non-members. This is a good time to renew your membership, as it will keep you in good standing through the 2004 membership year, as well as giving you membership privileges for the remainder of 2003. Attend the Collection Committee meetings or email SunDog@AzMinFun.com for more information.
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Verde Valley Field Trip
By Steve Decker
The Verde Valley fieldtrip led by Ken Dunham was great fun, with a good turnout of new members, including some great kids!
We met at the McDonalds at Cordes Junction (those golden arches make a good rendezvous, don't they!) and quickly shaped up for the drive to the near-by glauberite psuedomorph locality.
Ken showed us where to easily collect selenite replacements of the unusual glauberite crystal form; sharp, complex crystal groupings, some of them nearly clear, were abundant! These were some of the best specimens I have ever seen of this psuedomorph, (false form).
The younger collectors had a special treat climbing up and down the steep walls of the wash. The Richardson girls were like little mountain goats, joyfully scrambling up the sheer sides of the mud cliffs with little thought for their Mom and Dad's peace of mind. Even though they were very exuberant, they were respectful of other collector's positions, and no injuries were reported.
Ken next led us to a spot near the Ironite Mine, where small, lustrous crystals of siderite were found. The view here was remarkable, revealing much of Prescott Valley in a sweeping panorama. One of our members made sure Darrel Dodd's collecting bucket was full of lovely specimens of CowPieite, which was relatively abundant in the area.
The final field locality was near Poland Junction, where we collected magnetite, hedenbergite, calcite and chalcopyrite. The sharp eyes of our youngest members found small chalcopyrite crystals on the surface, where they had weathered out of matrix.
Finally, we went to the shop in Mayer, where Ken and his friend Dave offer many fine minerals, displayed like in a jewelry store. They have nice display cases, and the shop smells really good, scented with candles and incense. We made a good buy on some specimens of Azurite from Morocco to sell at the Family Day in October.
Darrel and I made it home safe, with only a brief stop to change a flat tire (a common rockhound experience).
Another excellent adventure in the boondocks!
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