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Post by MyNewHobby on Jan 18, 2009 14:47:43 GMT -5
I live in Ventura County California and I have been trying to find local places to go to start learning how to find rocks and stuff.
There are two local mineral and gems societies, however, their field trips for the most part are around 4-6 hours away and usually overnight.
I have surfed around and maybe I am not giving the right search parameters.
I would really like to find places locally to start teaching myself and learning on how to look for rocks and what to look for in rocks.
I can then come back here and post pics, say what I think, and get input and your expertise.
Thank you again!
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Post by Jack, lapidaryrough on Jan 18, 2009 15:06:58 GMT -5
Here is a site of links to Shop and club`s in your area, www.mapmuse.com Jack P.S. I`d trade Oregon`s Back yard to hunt in your area, close to the Fire agate beds in Az.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 17:29:18 GMT -5
What kind of vehicle do you drive? Do you have a 4-wheel-drive truck by chance?
You're about a 3 to 4 hour drive from the Cady Mountains. There are a Gazillion areas to collect all kinds of good stuff around there. To work the area "right", you need a 4WD, but a high clearance 2WD pickup can suffice in a lot of the areas. For that trip, it would be wise to drive there EARLY one morning, stay in a motel/hotel or camp overnight, then drive home at the end of the next day ... at least! It's a BIG area, and you'll wanna hit many different spots while you're out there. With a bit of research and help from members here, you could set-up a workable itinerary for your trip.
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navi
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2008
Posts: 229
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Post by navi on Jan 18, 2009 19:48:37 GMT -5
find a local creek, find a local road cut, find a local rock outcropp. look for neat stones. pick some up, put them in a bag or bucket. after a while, your eyes will adjust to look for patterns, and colors. dump out what you collected and keep the ones that are interesting to you. the others are leaverites.
that's how you start to learn.
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Post by Michael John on Jan 18, 2009 20:27:40 GMT -5
Yeah ... what navi said ... the worst that can happen is you end up with a lot of pretty rocks for your yard, but you still had fun!
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Saskrock
fully equipped rock polisher
Member since October 2007
Posts: 1,852
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Post by Saskrock on Jan 19, 2009 10:21:17 GMT -5
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 19, 2009 16:42:22 GMT -5
Hi mynewhobby, here is 4 locations that should be local to you, what you may find there is unknown to me, but others may tell you that are more local than me. If you do not have a geological hammer you can use a standard hammer & chisel & always wear at least a pair of goggles to protect your eyes, when chipping a bit off, and beware of others a round you. Natural running water A burn, brook, creek, stream, river & seashore: This is where i get most of the best stuff & i do not need to use a hammer most of the time, also the rocks may have traveled over 100 miles inland depending on the source. Marina park: rock out cropping along the beach.Grant Memorial parkInteresting quarry
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Post by MyNewHobby on Jan 19, 2009 21:11:07 GMT -5
Good evening all!
Once again .... you guys come to my aid.
lapidaryrough ... thank you for the site and I am off to check it out
michaeljohn ... no 4wd ... 4 door dodge intrepid. I need to get acquainted with the 2 local groups. I have had contact with one and their next one-day field trip is in February. I am told it is Gem Hill, in Mojave CA - the trappings are agate and jasper.
navi ... of course I do not think of the most obvious. I have a great river bed system to walk about in. This weekend ... I am so there!
ps .... other than a bag or bucket .... do I need any other items or tools?
saskrock .... thank you!!!! so many sites .... so many rocks ...
asi industries .... thank you, thank you .... I had forgotten that beaches can be rich in ... well .... maybe shells and stuff AND .... Marina park .... outcropping?! .... sounds like I am going to have to make multiple trips. Dam ..... cannot do it in one day.
I have a compressed rubber hammer/mallet and a couple of flat head screwdrivers. These okay until I make to Harbor Freight?
Thank you again all ....
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Deleted
Deleted Member
Member since January 1970
Posts: 0
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Post by Deleted on Jan 20, 2009 20:24:43 GMT -5
Hi mynewhobby, if you are totally new to geology you do not need any tools whatsoever, just look for small pebbles nothing larger than 6 inches, in tidal areas follow streams and rivers inland until they are above the tidal surges, that way you avoid all junk brought in with the tide.
No your rubber mallet is great for wood, but does not have clout for stone, screwdrivers with wooden handles are ok, but with plastic handles they are no good as the plastic ones usually shatter.
A 2lb or 4lb steel hammer head 1lb steel masonry chisel A hand trowel (hand sized garden spade) A pair of safety goggles, snorkeling mask or even a pair of sun glasses / glasses do not provide full eye protection.
You should be able get these parts from any DIY or hardware store, the trowel can be invaluable for digging stones out of river / sand banks!
Be very aware of other people within 30 feet around you, as you may have eye protection others may not & rock fragments are known to fly everywhere within a zone of several yards.
Some rocks types are known splinter or shatter when hit also for small stones can be broken with just a hammer, it is best to put the stone in a cloth bag or any old clothing can the same job, then hit the stone with your hammer, it may take several strikes before it the stone breaks.
Just for interest, what site was closest to your home?
On Mulimaps the best zoom is birds eye view if available, then aerial, to place a red circle right_click over the spot you wish to mark & a drop-down box appears, left_click place red circle here.
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DeanW
has rocks in the head
Member since December 2007
Posts: 721
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Post by DeanW on Jan 21, 2009 14:48:27 GMT -5
Hi MNH,
You should be able to find lots of local places to look and collect. What you might try is attending the meetings of your local societies and as part of your intro tell the people you are wanting to do local collecting trips. I'd bet that there will be one or two people that have time to share and show you around, or at least offer some suggestions. Just because the more formal trips are further away and overnite does NOT mean that local trips don't happen, they are just less formal (the overnite ones, just by their very nature, have to be more formal and organized). I'm the 2009 president for the Santa Cruz MGS, my wife and I have been field trip committee chairs for many years now, so that is why I am sure that you should be able to find some local trips.
As far as gear goes, you should basically cover three bases: caring for yourself, caring for your rocks and lastly obtaining the rocks. While some of that may seem sort of obvious, I hate to hear/read about first-timers that go out unprepared and get hurt or disillusioned.
So, covering all the bases you should have for you: Shoes & clothes appropriate for the terrain; snacks & water; sunscreen; bug spray; sun hat; gloves; eye protection if you plan on anything more than surface collecting.
For "caring for your rocks": some sort of bag or bucket; often times newspaper or other protective wrapping; medium and soft brushes to remove dirt.
For obtaining the rocks: the most common tool is a rock hammer with a pointed end. Another popular (but spendy) tool is the Gem Scoop (I use one all the time); shovel; chisels; squirt bottle with water.
Of course, if you are only surface collecting then a bag, hammer, and gloves are all the collecting gear you should need.
I offer many of the rockhounding tools for sale (hammers, chisels, the Gemscoop) plus a nifty bright red collecting bag. But most of it should be easily found at local hardware stores also.
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rockwizz
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2007
Posts: 971
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Post by rockwizz on Jan 22, 2009 14:51:35 GMT -5
Hey we have a few trips lined up this year here in Utah...Why don't you come down, we will hook you up with a truck load of rocks Ozzy
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Post by MyNewHobby on Jan 22, 2009 15:43:42 GMT -5
Rockwizz .... sounds great ... would love to ... cannot plan anything long distance just yet, but I will keep this on top of my "love to do things" list.
Thank you so much for the invite ...
Julie
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Post by MyNewHobby on Jan 22, 2009 15:47:28 GMT -5
ASI and Dean ....
Once again I get more great information!
The many links I got from you two are awesome and each one has great information.
I do have one question though .... should I make sure to keep my health insurance card on me when I am looking for rocks? ;D
Julie
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,466
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Post by Sabre52 on Jan 22, 2009 23:20:32 GMT -5
Howdy, I just moved to Texas after living more than 30 years in Ojai. You've got several good rock collecting places right handy. The gravel beaches both sides of the Venture River Mouth from Surfer's Point behind the fairgrounds north are pretty good hunting at a low tide. Brecciated Jaspers of several types, some similar to Stone Canyon jasper, the occasional agate, great agatized whalebone, quartzite and silicified sinter ( sort of a banded a chert) are all to be found. All the rocky beaches clear north to Gaviota are also good especially in winter after a storm, when the sand is off the beaches and the rocks are exposed. I found one of my most beautiful hunks of whalebone on a gravel bar by the first breakwater south of the Ventura pier. The rocky beaches south of Mugu Rock down to Malibu have Pt. Mugu Shell Rock which is a nice fossil cabbing material ( black with white coquina shells throughout. Any of the gravel beds along the Ventura River have a little polishable stuff ( jasper, quartzite, fossil stone) You might try the gravels along the river by the new hiking and horseback riding trails off Rice Rd near El Roblar out in Ojai. I lived right there and saw some interesting stuff on hikes a a couple of times. Most the Ventura area is sedimentary but there are still things washed out of old gravel beds.
Kanan Road from Hwy 101 to the beach has agate too as do some of the washes draining the AG fields just the Ventura side of Moorpark. Also some Jasper and wood in the Cuyama River gravels. There latter two places will take permission which might be hard to obtain.
Good place to ask about sites will be the Ventura Gem show in March plus, they should have a great silent auction because I donated a ton of my rocks before I made my move. You should join the club too as they've just got a nice new clubhouse and shop at Camp Comfort. Great bunch of folks in the club too....Mel
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