On the rocky road again!

This past Tuesday was an absolutely splendid day for rock hunting here in our central Arizona deserts.  With rain and colder temperatures predicted for the long New Year's week-end, I decided to take advantage of Tuesday's opportunity.  With a little bit of lunch and a lot of water packed in my cooler, I set out for one of my favorite chalcedony locations.



And you're going to have to humor me, because this is a "secret" location.  I'm not going to tell you where it is.  You'll understand, I hope, when you finish reading.



My late husband and I discovered this place about 25 years ago, by accident.  We were looking for another site someone had told us about, but either the directions were wrong or I misunderstood them, and we ended up sort of lost.  Not lost in the sense of "Where are we?" but in the sense of not being where we intended to go.  But being out in the desert, we figured we might as well look around and see if we could find anything.



As it turned out, we didn't find much, except for a few small pieces of what looked like orange-ish, pinky jasper.  Just three or four chunks, none of them very big.  And then we gave up and went home.

Two of those jasper chunks, however, produced some very lovely cabochons, including this one:

 

 

Life being what it is, we didn't have a chance to go back to that spot, wherever it was, for a couple of years.  We had acquired a four-wheel drive pick-up at that time and one day I suggested we try to find that spot and look for more pink jasper.

 

Somewhat to my husband's surprise -- and mine as well, to be perfectly honest -- I navigated us right back to that spot.  This time we were able to drive further off the main road than we had before.   We came upon a track that led away from the road and into the desert, so we knew people had been driving through here before.  After about a mile, the track more or less ended at a wash that had a steepish bank on the other side.   We made it across, barely, then drove just a little further before we stopped.

 

As soon as we stepped out of the truck, I began seeing small pieces of chalcedony . . . everywhere.  I'd never seen so many in one place!  Most were small and broken, but there were many nicely formed desert roses.  A lot of the pieces had areas of brightly sparkling druse; some were entirely covered with the tiny crystal coating.  Without much trouble, we located larger pieces of this material, large enough for slicing to make small cabochons.

 

Over the next several years, we returned to this location many times and we were never disappointed.  Though we never found very much more of the pink jasper, the occasional piece turned up.  In one particular area we found substantial-sized pieces of pink chalcedony.

 

 

The last time we went out there was December 2004.

 

So I headed back out there this past Tuesday for the first time in 10 years, by myself, adventurous.  Would I be able to find the same location?  Would I have any difficulty crossing that little wash with the steep bank?  Had the area been picked clean by other rockhounds?

 

Google maps confirmed the main roads hadn't changed, and Google Earth confirmed other details, so I set out with a certain amount of confidence that I'd have no trouble finding the place.  Sure enough, I drove right to it, turned off the paved road, and headed into the desert.  All the old excitement returned.

 

When I reached a point where I wanted to start looking for rocks, I parked and stepped out of the car.  I almost immediately reached back inside to grab the camera.

 

All those little red circles are around bits and pieces of chalcedony on the ground about two steps from my truck.  And now as I look at the photo again, I see some pieces at the bottom I missed!

Obviously not all of these stones are worth picking up.  They're pretty little leaverites.  But they're indicative of larger pieces . . . somewhere.



And the first of those larger pieces  wasn't very far away.

Yes, just lying on the ground, waiting for me to pick it up.



This is my secret place.  I brought home three small bags of rocks, not all of which really needed to be brought home.  I'll put some out in the "sparkle garden" by the front gate.  Others will be cut and polished and made into jewelry.  Some may end up wrapped in wire almost just as I picked them up.

That's what I did with this one, which my husband picked up on that second venture to what we dubbed "the Chickenman place."

Did I find anything quite that lovely this past Tuesday?  Did I find any nice chunks of pink chalcedony?  Well, you'll just have to wait and see. 

 

 

 

 

Why you should go to the Mesa show

If you've come to my blog by way of my Really Neat Rocks! book, you may already know that I like to include my personal experiences when writing about rocks.  And if you arrived here via a face to face chat at an art show, then you know I love to talk about the stones, how I acquired them, where they come from, and so on. 

One of the things I plan to do with this blog is include more of those tales, to give the background not only of some of the individual pieces I've acquired, but additional information on the minerals, locations, and techniques involved.

Because the Mesa Flagg Gem and Mineral Show is just a couple of weeks away, and because it's one of my favorite shows, I thought I'd give an expanded portrait of this event.

Please note that the 2015 show is a week later than usual because of the New Year's holiday.  Usually the Flagg show is the first full week-end in January, but because New Year's Day falls on Thursday -- the set-up day for the show -- the event is scheduled for January 9-11, 2015, Friday through Sunday, 9:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m.

The main attractions of course are that it's free and it's conveniently located for those in the greater Phoenix metro area.  Free parking, free admission, and it's located at Mesa Community College on Dobson Road immediately off U.S. 60.  For anyone who's ever gotten lost trying to find a rock hounding location, "easy to find" is a big plus!

As I wrote in the book, the Tucson experience can be overwhelming for anyone not really prepared for it, and Quartzsite is a rather longish drive from just about anywhere in the state.  But Mesa offers a very comfortable and casual venue for anyone to be introduced to the rock, gem, mineral, and related arts and hobbies.

Mesa Flagg Gem & Mineral Show, January 2014.

 

Bring the kids, the grandkids, even the dog!  All are welcome.  In fact, this is one of the few shows I've been to where there are lots of activities specifically for youngsters, aimed at getting them interested in a hobby that sometimes seems exclusively for old folks.

 

Let's face it -- Most kids like rocks.  If you have or had kids, you know they're always finding neat rocks, whether fossils or crystals or something they see a picture in or whatever.  And most of the time they're told, "Leave it alone.  It's a rock.  It's dirty.  It's nothing.  Put it down right now!"  C'mon, admit it.  You've said it . . . or you've heard it.

 

But rocks are part of our world, and a child's curiosity and interest should be nurtured and encouraged, not squelched.  The Mesa Flagg Gem & Mineral Show is just the place to take them.  They'll see lots of rocks, they'll have the opportunity to look and touch and collect and buy.  They'll also be able to buy books and magazines about geology and mineral science.  What better way to encourage a reluctant reader to read than by giving him or her a book on a subject they're already interested in?  And where might an interest in mineral science further lead?  Why, to math, of course!   Rocks are educational!

 

Rocks and gems aren't age discriminatory either.  This is a hobby the whole family, all ages, can participate in.  Stroll up and down the aisles, chat with some of the sellers, and learn something new every single time.  There will be merchants from around the world, from Arizona and British Columbia, from Arkansas and Afghanistan, from Mexico and China and Thailand and Montana. 

 

Most of all, however, all the oohs and aaaahs and wows! are free.

When I exhibit at an art show, I always have a bowl full of miscellaneous tumbled stones that I cally freebies.  They're free to children "of all ages," and most of the takers are children in the upper end of the "all ages" range.  I love watching adults give in to their inner child as they sift through the stones searching for one special stone.  Even more, though I love watching the children.  So many of them just can't decide which rock to take.  They like them all!  Even when I tell their parents that I have plenty of rocks and the kids can have more than one if they like, most of the time the parents say no, just one is plenty.

Excuse me, but "one rock" is not plenty!

That's why I often pause along my own stroll through the Mesa show just to watch kids with their parents and/or grandparents who are actively encouraging a budding interest in rocks. 

For the experienced rockhound, there are all kinds of neat rocks to see and to buy, without all the hassle and stress of Tucson.  Don't get me wrong; Tucson is unlike any other congregation of rock and mineral enthusiasts in the world.  But it's so huge that it can be just too much to handle.  Mesa is like a mini Tucson, with a little bit of everything that you'll find at the bigger show.

And you may find some remarkable bargains, too.

 

 Mexican Crazy Lace Agate purchased at Mesa Flagg Gem & Mineral Show.

 

 

It's fun and it's free, and if you're interested but don't know if you want to get more interested, check it out.  I might even see you there.

 



Really Neat Rocks now available on Amazon

The Kindle edition of Really Neat Rocks is now available at Amazon.

With over 25 color photos by the author.

This is what it's all about