Post by rockbrain on Nov 7, 2022 21:28:35 GMT -5
Took a trip on Saturday. Out to area 54. I've got my son-in-law interested in rockhounding now and he's been wanting to go out there for a while. I haven't found anything amazing out there but have found decent stuff. Certainly plenty of landscape boulders! I'm still holding out to find something great. I know it's out there! Probably one of the nicer days I've been there. It's kind of rare to have a blue sky with clouds. The really nice part is it's only about an hour from my house.
This I always stop when I drive in. Looking out ahead. Area 54 is to the left and center of the picture. The dirt road off to the right is the orchard road that runs along the rim of the area. 54 canyon. My son-in-law Ryan was having trouble getting away from the vehicle. He kept picking up rocks! We both had a great time.
There's lots of rocks at this place! Loads of Jasper. The trick is finding something that's not weathered pitted or fractured.
Area wildlife
This is very typical of how it looks. The cliff looking areas are hard dirt with lots of rocks imbedded.
A lot of rocks on the surface. If they're buried at all it's amazing how tough it is to get them out. It was a little softer this time. (We had a bit of rain that week) The stuff can be like concrete! A lot of the rocks have a crust that I've only been able to get off with an acid bath.
I sprayed a little water on these to bring out the color a bit.
Well here's the real wildlife. This guy was about 1/2 way up a sheer cliff about 6 feet high. He got to this rock face and couldn't scale it. Eventually he turned around.
A big chunk of brecciated jasper, quartz, probably some other things as well! Too big to carry!f
I think they were loading something into trailers with this. There's a little chute in the hole in the center. I got pics out of order. In a few more you'll see the underside.
The underside I was talking about.
You can see the hills in the background of this shot. If you head straight over them you'll end up in the Clear Creek, Hollister area.
I liked the colors on this one. Didn't like it enough to dig it up! This one may be 50lbs. It might be 150lbs.
This is what happens when you walk away from the vehicle without your bucket.
This piece might have a fracture or two!
This one doesn't look like much in the pic but has some interesting colors. I thought it was very shallow. But by the time I realized how deep it was in there I had already committed too much time to it! The bad part is it was about the only place I couldn't drive right to the rock. Probably about a 70 pounder but it was up a pretty good hill! I felt it.
I like this area. Right around the corner are some large birds nests in holes in the side of the cliff.
This I always stop when I drive in. Looking out ahead. Area 54 is to the left and center of the picture. The dirt road off to the right is the orchard road that runs along the rim of the area. 54 canyon. My son-in-law Ryan was having trouble getting away from the vehicle. He kept picking up rocks! We both had a great time.
There's lots of rocks at this place! Loads of Jasper. The trick is finding something that's not weathered pitted or fractured.
Area wildlife
This is very typical of how it looks. The cliff looking areas are hard dirt with lots of rocks imbedded.
A lot of rocks on the surface. If they're buried at all it's amazing how tough it is to get them out. It was a little softer this time. (We had a bit of rain that week) The stuff can be like concrete! A lot of the rocks have a crust that I've only been able to get off with an acid bath.
I sprayed a little water on these to bring out the color a bit.
Well here's the real wildlife. This guy was about 1/2 way up a sheer cliff about 6 feet high. He got to this rock face and couldn't scale it. Eventually he turned around.
A big chunk of brecciated jasper, quartz, probably some other things as well! Too big to carry!f
I think they were loading something into trailers with this. There's a little chute in the hole in the center. I got pics out of order. In a few more you'll see the underside.
The underside I was talking about.
You can see the hills in the background of this shot. If you head straight over them you'll end up in the Clear Creek, Hollister area.
I liked the colors on this one. Didn't like it enough to dig it up! This one may be 50lbs. It might be 150lbs.
This is what happens when you walk away from the vehicle without your bucket.
This piece might have a fracture or two!
This one doesn't look like much in the pic but has some interesting colors. I thought it was very shallow. But by the time I realized how deep it was in there I had already committed too much time to it! The bad part is it was about the only place I couldn't drive right to the rock. Probably about a 70 pounder but it was up a pretty good hill! I felt it.
I like this area. Right around the corner are some large birds nests in holes in the side of the cliff.