SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Dec 16, 2012 15:39:05 GMT -5
To my suprise...the Dugway Geodes are now a pay to dig site. I have been going out there for years, and a few months ago..I decided to take my wife out there....and found a new sign posted. The mine owner was out there in his excavator with several groups of scouts, and he was digging in one of the pits. I asked for his permission to dig in one of thepits and he said it was 30.00 to dig...and that we had to call ahead of time. I told him I had been going out there for years, and this was all news to me. If I would have known...I would've called ahead of time and paid my fee. I didn't have cash, nor a check....and he didn't really want me to dig in the pit with the folks who had previously paid. He told me of the area where it is public digging, and that they had worked with the BLM to open a few pits for the public so to keep the public off their claims. We decided to go check out the pits he had mentioned...and it was so/so. I didn't find nearly what I used to find....and was quite disappointed for driving that long and not being able to bring back a few to share. Here's the info if any of you are planning on going out there in the future. I just don't want someone to experience the let down we had. steve
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2012 15:51:06 GMT -5
There is nothing worse then people who put claims on old rock hound sites. I have ZERO respect for these people and there claim to the area. This is starting to be a common problem in Arizona on sites that people have been collecting for over 20 years.
Tim
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Post by johnjsgems on Dec 16, 2012 16:28:05 GMT -5
Open public (BLM) land is open to claims to anyone willing to jump through the BLM hoops. Many clubs file their own claims on collecting locations to keep the possibility of collecting open. I'm guessing AZ is much more friendly to small miners than CA.
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Dec 16, 2012 17:11:57 GMT -5
This is very disappointing! I would like to know exactly what the boundaries of this claim is so I can compare maps. There is more than once place up there to collect thundereggs...
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Post by catmandewe on Dec 16, 2012 20:26:06 GMT -5
The dugway beds have always been a private claim but the previous owner would let anyone go through the tailings after he had taken what he wanted, it was a win win for everyone because he provided the equipment to dig deep enough to get great material and the rockhounds loved him for doing so, even if he did get first pick. He passed away recently and the kids have taken it over. I understand that they also own the trilobyte fee-dig claim.
Tony
PS-Steve, thanks for providing the contact information, I think our club is planning a trip down there next spring and that would have been a bummer.
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SteveHolmes
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since July 2009
Posts: 1,900
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Post by SteveHolmes on Dec 16, 2012 21:03:29 GMT -5
Your correct Tony...they also own that Trylobite claim. Just wanted to pass the info on to everyone as it was NEWS to me. Never been down there with any problems....I was quite suprised. steve
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berry
off to a rocking start
Member since December 2012
Posts: 1
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Post by berry on Dec 17, 2012 19:23:10 GMT -5
Steve and others--this is still a designated Rock Hound Area. The claim that is there is an old one and the man who had it was generous in letting us dig in his tailing piles and sometimes opened up his pits to us after he was through them. He gleaned the best of the geodes from his pits to sell around the world. The kids who inherrited it, have decided to make money a different way on it. That is their right, although disappointing to us. It would have been nice if they had advertised and let clubs know they were doing this. The $30 fee seems quite reasonable. I had heard there were some much higher fees when they started doing this. The rest of the beds are open for us to dig in. You have to find a new spot on start on the edge of someone elses and dig 4-10 feet deep. There is still a lot of nice material out there. Of course, with the heavy equipment the claim owners have, they can go 50-60 feet deep for even more layers, although not always the best material. I have found really nice stuff on the higher layers. On another note, many public lands are being closed to us. We need to be proactive in keeping them open. Happy Rockhounding, Kay Berry
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Don
Cave Dweller
He wants you too, Malachi.
Member since December 2009
Posts: 2,616
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Post by Don on Dec 17, 2012 20:21:46 GMT -5
Thanks Kay, I have passed along the info to my rock club as well.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,455
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 17, 2012 22:29:32 GMT -5
*sigh* So much rockhounding is now becoming all about the money, especially since the advent of E-Bay. The south Cady's and to some extent the north Cadys have been hit hard by commercial collectors and of course, a fellow put my buddy Tom and I's poppy pits, we prospected (*L* Actually Tom's dog discovered the best ones ) under claim and I heard that guy's a doctor so money should not be an issue for him. I have heard he's pretty generous about letting folks on his claim though. It's sad when it becomes all about the money as when I was a kid, rockhounding was one of the few hobbies folks of little means could enjoy....Mel
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elementary
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since February 2006
Posts: 1,077
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Post by elementary on Dec 17, 2012 23:08:42 GMT -5
As of last you, you can add the Paul Bunyan Plume site to the claimed sites.
I knew the people who dug out the base of the old diggings and revealed a lot of good new material.
Then they came back and saw someone else popped their dig with a claim.
There's a difference between a Rockhound and a Dealer. One of the differences is claiming previously available sites for personal gain.
Lowell
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barclay
has rocks in the head
Lowly Padawan of rocks
Member since November 2011
Posts: 510
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Post by barclay on Feb 10, 2013 18:59:16 GMT -5
Last April I went with a group (CFMS I think) and we paid to dig at the Dugway claim. As I recall it was $99 for two 5-gallon pails of geodes (pick your own) plus a couple of bigger ones. I know that some people enjoyed this area before the claim was enforced. We all had a great time with these folks. They operated the excavator and kept digging until we all had our fill. It did not take long. Next they moved the excavator to the area where the "big" geodes are and again they dug until we all had a couple of trophy geodes. I came away with two basketball sized geodes. Later a couple of us who did not have access to slab saws asked if they would cut our larger geodes for us and they did it for free. One of the guys had two solid geodes and the claim owners wanted all of us to go home with good ones so they let him choose two more and cut them open. We all left there very satisfied with our treasures. A couple families with kids showed up during our paid digs and the owners let them go through the tailings. They were not ogres about it, they were polite. Yea it is strange that the State has signs showing the way to what is now a private claim. Yes it sucks that this is now a private claim. The holes they dug are a lot deeper than what most of the rest of us could dig safely. My point is that these folks were very nice and for those of you who want to sell stuff you can still make a healthy profit from what they will sell you. Maybe they were on their best behavior since this was a rock group trip, but everyone at the Bug House we met was great to deal with. They have many 55-gallon drums of other material at their shop so more than geodes are available, and no- I am not a paid endorser.
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Minnesota Daniel
freely admits to licking rocks
A COUPLE LAKERS
Member since August 2011
Posts: 891
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Post by Minnesota Daniel on Feb 10, 2013 21:56:31 GMT -5
This is very disappointing! I would like to know exactly what the boundaries of this claim is so I can compare maps. There is more than once place up there to collect thundereggs... If you are serious about that, do some checking. Just because the original claim owner dug there doesn't me he was digging in the right place. Go out there with a GPS. Just because his children think they own that claim doesn't make it so. The claim ownership must be transferred -- his kids don't just take it over. Check and see if it was done correctly, or if it was even done at all. All the information about location and ownership of the claim is public domain and it can be challenged if you think it doesn't follow the rules or the law.
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mrg
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
Posts: 3
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Post by mrg on Jan 25, 2014 20:52:22 GMT -5
I realize this thread is over a year old since last posted on, but would like to offer a comment from first hand experience with the claim owners who work primarily out of their business The Bug House in Delta, Utah. I too have been to the geode beds when it was free to dig. It had been/is a private claim - for quite some time. Loy Crapo/family indeed own a claim there at Dugway, U-Dig Trilobites down the road from Delta, UT, and claims in Orderville, UT where you can dig for septarian nodules. They are all excellent sites to go to. I met Loy a few months before he passed away. He was kind enough to discuss his claims, his business, and his plans. He even hand-wrote a map for me to go look for sepatarian nodules, and that was for free. You might not realize that to hold those claims, they have thousands of dollars locked up in bonds. They don't make money on those, so they have to rely on business. He would use his heavy equipment at his sites to reveal the great specimens that his business is known for. When he passed, the family needed to decide if they could keep running everything without financial strain. People enjoyed digging in his pits (not desired due to safety concerns) and tailing piles. Running that heavy equipment is expensive. In return, some people would damage the equipment. Loy had thought about big events where people could dig while the heavy equipment dug for them and they could collect premium material. His family kept that alive and did it. Of course you needed permission so you could even know when they would do such an event. Other than such events, a modest fee to dig sounds fair to me since I don't personally want to dig holes deep enough to find my geodes (treasures as my wife calls them). My wife and I have a blast there and it provides great samples for my middle-school science students. I hope more readers find such fun and success there too.
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Mark K
Cave Dweller
Member since April 2012
Posts: 2,528
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Post by Mark K on Jan 25, 2014 23:00:54 GMT -5
I'll drink to that.
I suppose it keeps a spot open that I would figure the bureaucrats would love to close off just because they can.
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ash
spending too much on rocks
Prairieville, Louisiana
Member since July 2012
Posts: 361
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Post by ash on Jan 26, 2014 7:30:51 GMT -5
To me the shame of the original post was not that it was an "enforced claim" if that is the right word or a pay to dig site, it was that those folks drove there, from a good distance away, and did not know that they should call ahead first. The sign doesn't even state that you have to call a day ahead before coming out. They could have taken their money and let them dig. I may be missing facts, but seems to me that if they are running a pay to dig site, they should allow folks to pay when they come. Maybe there was not enough room in the hole they had? But just off the cuff, I'm surprised they turned customers, that were potential future customers away.
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Post by Tonyterner on Jan 26, 2014 18:08:02 GMT -5
I sent the owner an email and wishing him luck in his endeavor to become rich by claiming the site. I've never been there and apparently I never will be (as long as the current owner has the site. Quite frankly I have no idea where the beds are. We are planning our trip west next year and are planning on driving from Vegas to Gooding ID then to Oregon and back to Vegas. We do plan on doing some pay to dig sites but this one will not be on the list.
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mrg
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
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Post by mrg on Jan 27, 2014 23:39:06 GMT -5
I agree with that Ash. I wonder if he was just an associate of the owner, not authorized to collect money. If an employee, it would have been better for business, and customer relations and referrals to take the money. I went out there in a sedan; that is one heck of a rough drive to find out you are turned away. I remember a guy out there once saying he was a friend of the family, watching over the site... and he was kicking people out of the pits (cave-in danger) telling them/us to go through the piles only.
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mrg
off to a rocking start
Member since January 2014
Posts: 3
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Post by mrg on Jan 27, 2014 23:44:51 GMT -5
I sent the owner an email and wishing him luck in his endeavor to become rich by claiming the site. I've never been there and apparently I never will be (as long as the current owner has the site. Quite frankly I have no idea where the beds are. We are planning our trip west next year and are planning on driving from Vegas to Gooding ID then to Oregon and back to Vegas. We do plan on doing some pay to dig sites but this one will not be on the list. Tony, you might miss out on a great opportunity. At any rate, the Dugway Geode Beds (geodes), U-Dig Fossils (trilobites), and Kemmerer, WY (fossil fish) yield plenty of specimens for the small fee paid... I've enjoyed them all. Have a good trip.
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pshay4
off to a rocking start
Member since July 2015
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Post by pshay4 on Jul 7, 2015 21:37:03 GMT -5
The first poster stated that he didn't have any cash or check. The owners were reluctant to let someone dig for free along with the ones who had paid. Not that they just didn't want to be bothered.
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