Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 2, 2014 8:42:14 GMT -5
Started working on this rock last year but it was almost too big for my little saw. Got one more slab almost identical to some I cut last time and then the rock got too wide again. Covington vice attachment extends way far to the rear so your rock can't travel more than about four inches into the blade before the vice carriage runs out of room. From now on, if I have cabs of the stuff I'm cutting, I'll try to post a cab pic along with the slab.....Mel Flora claim cabs Lots of variety from that site.
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donkeyrokman
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Member since June 2014
Posts: 78
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Post by donkeyrokman on Jul 2, 2014 8:55:57 GMT -5
Beautimous!
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roundrock
noticing nice landscape pebbles
Holding on to the Stone of Destiny
Member since June 2014
Posts: 91
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Post by roundrock on Jul 2, 2014 9:19:15 GMT -5
Really nice!
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luvtogrow
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2012
Posts: 194
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Post by luvtogrow on Jul 2, 2014 10:17:09 GMT -5
Eye popping!!
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Post by rockpickerforever on Jul 2, 2014 12:02:11 GMT -5
Fantabulous! Great material, and the slabs are sweet. Mel, thanks for posting the poppy pics and the story. Hmmm, how much more do you think is out there somewhere, waiting to be found?
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junglejim
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2014
Posts: 344
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Post by junglejim on Jul 2, 2014 12:18:11 GMT -5
Awesome slab, the colors and patterns on the cabs are too cool, I can't pick a favorite.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 2, 2014 12:35:43 GMT -5
To answer your question, tons. On the one long hill where the Flora clam was, there was some kind of poppy or brecciated jasper in nearly every hole we dug. At the Firefly site, I hiked back in to find my pit full of thistles I did not feel like dealing with, with only a hunting knife. A machete would make all that jasper available as I only dug to a depth of maybe a foot or so and was still hitting large blocks of jasper. That entire ravine was shot full of jasper veins and I only ever dug two of them. Don't think there's much left at the Stinky Horse hole though I'll admit, I never really did figure out where the heck those tailing went cause of the stank all over there. Holy Grail has had it's tailings pretty dug over on top but the lower side is hardly dug at all and was really good for small high quality chunks ( nasty ants though). My buddy Tom dug the pit below the Holy grail pit one time only and found some good jasper. Pit has at least four feet of tailings and good dirt so I'm sure there's still great stuff there. On our crawls we found tiny surface outcrops all over the hills on both sides of the road by the Holy grail pit. Overall, if I went out there now, I'd have no problem scoring some good poppy. There is also a monolith of good red brecciated jasper as big as a stadium down canyon towards the lake and who knows what all else is down that way.
Now the negatives. Without a guide, it would be very difficult to find any of the more remote locations. That major league basketball player has I think, illegally, gated off the good access road so it's a long and nasty four wheel drive road in, especially if it's wet. Lots of bears, mountain lions and rattlers all over that area as its really off the beaten track. Country is so steep it almost killed me off a couple of times and I'm a hiker. Ground is rocky and hard digging. Many months of the year the Gold Country is hotter than the devils backside making digging very tough. Muddy and slick when wet. Finally: Dr. Trumbell has filed a claim on at least some of the poppy so I don't know the status of the pits I've discussed. he comes on here every now and then so you might be able to contact him as a guide or for permission to dig his claim which he said he allows......Mel
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Post by phil on Jul 2, 2014 13:01:42 GMT -5
The claim is in Texas? I didn't think you could claim in Texas.... or that they had such pretty rocks there! If I had known, I'd probably looked when I lived down in Waco.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,484
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Post by Sabre52 on Jul 2, 2014 13:06:32 GMT -5
phil: Nope, the jasper sites are in the southern Mother Lode country, Mariposa Co, CA. I used to own a ranch out there. Texas does have a lot of poppy jasper though, down in the Uvalde Gravel deposits along the Rio Grande....Mel
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,709
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Post by Fossilman on Jul 2, 2014 15:47:11 GMT -5
Really nice Mel...Those colors really "POP" don't they!
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Post by snowmom on Jul 5, 2014 5:29:41 GMT -5
it almost makes a noise........
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