elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Jan 16, 2011 4:48:36 GMT -5
Hi everyone,
In putting together geode/t-egg section of the California Index, I got the urge to put together a collector's guide the the Hauser Bed region of Southern California. The guide will cover from the Chuckwalla Mountains across to Thumb Butte/Clapp Spring, and down to the Southern Hauser beds (Road's End, etc.) It does not provide GPS level coordinates but will have basic maps and color photos of many of the locations - along with images of the agate types found at each site. I have material from a wide range of sites, but if you have something different or awesome from anywhere down there, take a photo and post it and please allow me to include it in my guide. Just post it here and PM me with your name, if you want to be credited. This guide, like the indexes, will be free to download, so I'm not making money with it. I'm doing this as a service to the hobby. The guide will probably be updated with major additions as I revisit the Wiley Well district, but I don't know how often that will be.
Items or specimens that I have few or no images of include - Opal Hill Fire Agate Paisley Agate Strawbeds Geodes Hidden Saddle Geodes Psilomene (heck - this is probably misspelled but I am not checking spelling this late at night.) Chuckwalla Well agate Gem Hollow Nodules (Graham Pass nodules) what might you have that is different or unusual or spectacular???
Thanks all for the help,
Lowell
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Rockdogger
starting to shine!
Member since October 2010
Posts: 28
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Post by Rockdogger on Jan 17, 2011 3:06:33 GMT -5
I hav some Hauser Bed Eggs cut and polished, well post soon.
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 17, 2011 12:03:58 GMT -5
I'll try to find some material to get pics of. You forgot the potato patch in your list. I have some common opal cabs from that area, and a bunch of fire agate that I picked up on the desert floor below opal hill.
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Jan 22, 2011 12:39:05 GMT -5
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<'))))>< Fish
Cave Dweller
Gone Fishing
Member since April 2005
Posts: 1,841
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Post by <'))))>< Fish on Jan 24, 2011 16:00:05 GMT -5
I live in Anaheim and was planning a trip to the beds with my son. I just need a good map to find the best location,
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 24, 2011 16:15:45 GMT -5
No problem finding good digging spots. After you pass the Wiley Well BLM campground, follow any dirt road to your right and watch for places that look like giant gophers have been at work. Pick out a hole, and start digging into the side of it. A person could spend weeks in there and never visit all of the diggings. Hope you have a good truck. Some of the roads are pretty rough. Watch for rocks walking across the dirt roads. I almost put my wife through the windshield stopping for a desert tortoise. Don
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<'))))>< Fish
Cave Dweller
Gone Fishing
Member since April 2005
Posts: 1,841
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Post by <'))))>< Fish on Jan 25, 2011 21:51:52 GMT -5
Thanks
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Jan 27, 2011 2:03:13 GMT -5
The book Desert Gem Trails has a good general map of the area (which is the one you see in the photo). There is also the book GPS Guide to the Wiley Well Region by Delmar Ross. It provides no maps but tons of GPS coordinates and milage numbers. see link: www.desertusa.com/web_cart/db/pages/5096b.htmlThere is also a great website for the Nuggetwranglers (gold hunters) that breaks down the Wiley Well area into 5 regions with topographic maps: www.nuggetwranglers.net/hauser_geode_beds.htmI hope this helps, Lowell
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mossyrockhound
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since January 2011
Posts: 1,278
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Post by mossyrockhound on Jan 27, 2011 15:15:55 GMT -5
Nice job & very informative. There sure are a lot of places to go hounding in SoCal.
Garry
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rallyrocks
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since November 2005
Posts: 1,507
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Post by rallyrocks on Jan 28, 2011 15:05:48 GMT -5
One bit of advise- the first weekend of March isn't the best time to go hounding at Wiley's Well as the Desert Storm Rally has several roads in that area closed that weekend. Hate to have anyone disappointed after driving all the way out there... www.desertstormrally.com/index.html
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 28, 2011 15:25:45 GMT -5
Hey Lowell, when you finish the Wiley Wells project, why don't you start one about all of the hounding sites along old Rt. 66. There are tons of locations along that Rt., through the Cal desert. Some are well kept secrets. Don
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Jan 29, 2011 13:41:39 GMT -5
Don,
What's funny is that I've been thinking about doing sections across Southern California, so you beat me to the punch.
I've been thinking about doing one of the I-15 from Victorville through the state line. Another would be I-40 from Barstow to Needles (which - as you said - is full of locations) but I really like the idea about using Rt 66 as a name rather than the I-40. Another one would be from the Acton (just north of L.A.) up through Mojave and then along north of Edwards AFB touching on Castle Buttle, Kramer Junction, etc.
These are quite a ways into the future as I don't have as much in the way of photographs of the locations like I do Wiley Well, and some of my material from these places is sketchy at best - (I have nothing from Opal/Black Mountain for example). But I think these places cry out for a visual tour of both the material and the physical locations. The one thing they won't be is a "Dig Here" guide, as Dig Here guides, as I said before, are usually only good for the 1st couple people who dig there.
Thanks for the interest! It's nice to know people are interested in these booklets I seem to be driven to put out!
Lowell
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Post by jakesrocks on Jan 29, 2011 13:50:57 GMT -5
Hey Lowell, when you do the I-15, don't forget the Kramer Hills area. Some beautiful golden jasper there. I only got to spend about an hour there, but have cabs of the material I collected. Once I figure out my camera, I'll post pics of them. I lived in Riverside until 96. Spent a lot of weekends in the desert.
Don
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Post by jakesrocks on Feb 4, 2011 16:30:18 GMT -5
Another little known location for the Rt. 66 area is the old abandoned Black Jack silver mine. It's 5.9 miles east of Amboy to the Kel - Baker Rd. Just over a mile north on Kel - Baker there's a head frame and tailings pile on the west side of the road. It's not safe to enter the mine, but some nice Dumortierite of cabbing quality can be found in the tailings. With luck you can also find tiny clusters of Dumortierite crystals, and possibly a mining artifact or two. Don
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Feb 4, 2011 23:05:03 GMT -5
Don, Hey, thanks for the head's up! I've never been there. It sounds interesting. Actually, I've never been along the Kel-baker road and want to take drive along it just to see the desert there.
I'm looking forward to heading back into the desert. My traveling friend has just returned from AZ and we're comparing notes.
I think we're hitting the N. Cady's again, but right now I could go almost anywhere.
Lowell
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Post by jakesrocks on Feb 4, 2011 23:33:54 GMT -5
The pieces of Dumortierite at the Black Jack aren't big, but cut nice cabs. They range in color from almost white to a very deep purple. It's my understanding that the crystals are rare and very collectable. The mine itself is very dangerous. The timbers are rotted and what I could see with my flashlight, the roof was starting to cave in. The old guy that ran the gas station at Amboy Liked to talk, and told me some of the history of the Black Jack, but I'm told that some Chinese guy bought the whole town a while back. I wonder if he knows something about the area, since Chinese labor was used in the mine.
Don
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