Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 12, 2014 9:44:09 GMT -5
Howdy folks,
Just got a note from my gem club that the Singleton Ranch south of Marfa, TX is being opened up for field trips this year. This is one of the prime locations for plume and bouquet plume in West Texas. Check out Matt Dillon's site if you want to see how fancy this stuff is. The Bouquet at this site is some of the darker skinned variety and much nicer than in some of the other locations. Anyway, four day trips will start the weekend of Jan 16 and continue thru the weekend of May 22. Total of ten trips will be offered. You must join the Rolling Rock club for $10 before the trip and the trip cost is $50 per day with the $50 covering your first five gallon bucket. $40 per each additional bucket of agate. Trips leave from Alpine, TX. You can get more info from the folks at the contacts below. Our club post said nothing about camping or motel arrangements.
Contacts: agatehunter@sbcglobal.net phone: 1-800-880-8106
Just a note: I was fortunate enough to be invited on a small Woodward Rch sponsored private field trip to one of the ranches ( Think it was the Bishop Rch or one adjacent) near Marfa many years ago. The ground was almost paved with agate nodules, plume, bouquet, waterline, fortification, black and white agate etc. In addition, we were there in the spring and the scenery and wildflowers were incredible. Great herps, insects etc too if you are into photography. The cost way back then was $35 for the first bucket, so really the prices have not gone up much and according to the folks putting these trips on, this new area is really loaded with agate. When you consider how much one good bouquet agate is worth, the prices is quite reasonable.......Mel
|
|
|
Post by roy on Jan 12, 2014 12:40:28 GMT -5
to far for me ! how about you mel are you going!
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 12, 2014 14:35:27 GMT -5
Roy, Probably not. Working on a couple of health issues right now ( getting old sucks *L*) and have to get them figured out before I embark on any new rock hunting trips. Plus, I've still got forty or so pounds of Marfa stuff left to cut from my last trip and those nodules are a bee-atch to cut properly too....Mel
|
|
|
Post by Tonyterner on Jan 12, 2014 17:33:09 GMT -5
I blew my vacation money on Quartzsite (and Vegas) this year but this is really tempting.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 12, 2014 21:10:45 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by Pat on Jan 12, 2014 21:47:30 GMT -5
Your marfas are absolutely stunning! Wow! Thanks for the link.
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 12, 2014 22:24:11 GMT -5
Not my pics Pat. That is a link to Darwin ( Matt) Dillon's site. Met Matt several years ago and often see him and shop his booth at the San Antonio show. He is one of American's premier agate and pet wood collectors and is extremely knowledgeable and an excellent photographer to boot. If you want to blow your mind, cruise his site and look at his other sets. Better than the best agate and pet wood books around....Mel
|
|
|
Post by Tonyterner on Jan 13, 2014 12:14:43 GMT -5
Wow some amazing rocks there.
|
|
|
Post by socalagatehound on Jan 13, 2014 12:31:13 GMT -5
Am I correct that his sets on Flicker are Dardilrocks? Love 'em all. Need to look into those trips. It seems like a bargain for both the rocks and the adventure!!!
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 13, 2014 13:55:11 GMT -5
Yep those are his sets agatehound. I look at them and drool all the time *L*.....Mel
|
|
turnedstone
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since January 2006
Posts: 766
|
Post by turnedstone on Jan 22, 2014 4:31:34 GMT -5
Dang it Mel why did you have to go and post the picture's now you got me planning a trip. This is one of my favorite areas in all of the U.S. then you post the rock pics I just about have to go now, who's in for a west Texas rock hunt this spring. George
|
|
|
Post by Donnie's Rocky Treasures on Jan 22, 2014 8:53:34 GMT -5
I love that stuff! Too far away for me to travel though! That right there is what makes cutting rock so much fun! Lovin' those surprises inside!!
|
|
|
Post by roy on Jan 22, 2014 10:21:51 GMT -5
Roy, Probably not. Working on a couple of health issues right now ( getting old sucks *L*) and have to get them figured out before I embark on any new rock hunting trips. Plus, I've still got forty or so pounds of Marfa stuff left to cut from my last trip and those nodules are a bee-atch to cut properly too....Mel i would be interested to know just how you would cut them and why there so hard to cut !please tech me i like learning new things
|
|
|
Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 22, 2014 12:46:40 GMT -5
This sounds like the same ranch I went to with my daughter, Roswelljero, and Spikeict a couple of years ago. The trip leader, Teri, described it as a "target rich environment". The ground was covered with agate and chalcedony. I've never seen so much at once. Some of the agates are ringers for Montana agate, which still surprises me. We took 5 buckets down the hill and then high graded them down to 3, so about 200 lbs. of agate.
The trip will likely start at the Antelope Lodge in Alpine. Great rock museum in the hotel office. There are several hotels in Alpine and likely camping in the area (I camped at Stillwell Ranch). While you're there you can make a trip to Stillwell or Woodward Ranch (although I was pretty disappointed with Woodward).
Roy: They're a pain to cut because they're small and they have to be candled to orient them properly in the saw.
Chuck
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 22, 2014 13:57:45 GMT -5
Yup Roy, what Chuck said. These are kind of small biscuit like nodules and the orientation of the plume is often parallel to the top and bottom and just under the skin.Makes them a booger to vice and if you wind up cutting through the plume, it can ruin them. Best cut is often when there is just a tiny bit of clear agate over the plume. Some of the plume is kind of soft too, so, for best effect, a lot of folks cab these as doublets with quartz crowns .....Mel
|
|
|
Post by roy on Jan 22, 2014 22:27:04 GMT -5
interesting! so how small ? mel could you post a picture of one in the rough state"? just curious
|
|
|
Post by Condor on Jan 22, 2014 22:42:31 GMT -5
I'm going out there this Friday (jan 24th). Anyone else plan on being there?
Condor
|
|
Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
|
Post by Sabre52 on Jan 22, 2014 23:20:15 GMT -5
Roy, Sure, I can post a couple of pics either tomorrow or Friday. I have a couple of tubs of the untouched nodules somewhere in my shop. The ranch we hunted them on had nodules that ran mainly maybe 3-4" by about an inch or so deep. They wear out of bubbles in the basalt and are very rough textured and whitish on the exterior, unlike the Woodward type biscuits which are, when unbroken, smoother and brown.....Mel Here's just a lousy teaser pic. This is a Texas Horned Lizard at the Bouquet Agate beds. If you look carefully at the pic, you can see basalt full of small agate nodules and several larger nodules scattered in the pic. There's a plume nodule still in basalt just to the left of the lizard's nose. The whitish skinned ones are usually the plume and the black skinned ones showing are either Marfa Black and blue or black and white. Those varieties are usually banded or waterline agate. There's two of those, one right under the lizard and one to the right at the edge of the pic.
|
|
|
Post by Hard Rock Cafe on Jan 24, 2014 11:45:32 GMT -5
A lot of the plume nodules I picked up are in the 1"-2" range, which are really going to be a pain to cut. I made one of bobby1's rock clamps so that should help. Fortification pieces ranged much bigger. A lot of the plume nodules I picked up were translucent white, but with other colors thrown in. Some of the nicest pieces of bouquet were just very thin (quarter inch or less) bubbled pieces. Those will remain as specimens because there's really no good way to cut them.
Chuck
|
|
jollyrockhound
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2013
Posts: 409
|
Post by jollyrockhound on Jan 24, 2014 12:19:09 GMT -5
That stuff out there is very very nice!!
|
|