Any Rock Hounds?

[Kathleen]

Kathleen:  "I showed our mining institute ID person what I was finding up my arroyo. She said 'That's not supposed to be there.' So we had to come up with a theory on why that particular area was so diverse when the next arroyo over was mostly red rock."

Pack rats (the animal kind).  They pick up something interesting and carry it around until they find something else.  Then they drop the first thing and pick up the new one. Repeat.  Repeat.  Repeat.  The old prospectors would sometimes lose a button and find a gold nugget in its place.  (They were not upset.)  Sounds like that area has a LOT of packrats.

Abnorm:  "I keep thinking of the old movie "The Long Long Trailer" with Lucy and Ricky........"

I did, too!

Lol, gold for a button, good trade. I'd be happy with that. Yes, pack rats get busy moving things around. But one particular stone I showed our ID lady was from the northwestern part of NM, hundreds of miles away. And there were quite a few specimens like that for miles up the arroyo. The stone was old. Maybe pack rats were bigger in those days. I've got to search YouTube for that Lucy movie!

 

[WriterMs]

.....Now they're ALL mine

What to do with them?
doug

Doug,
If you are ever having a garage sale, alert any local rockhound clubs, etc.

When I had to move temporarily back home, I sorted through my stuff and figured I needed to get rid of a LOT. I made hundreds of dollars off of a small table full of specimens with only a couple of really large ones. When I get to travel again, the freedom will be worth the sacrifice. Those rocks had been away for years. They deserved light a new owner to marvel over them. (not that I won't still pick up NEW rocks LOL)

So you may find some real cash treasure in your inheritance.

 

[Kathleen]

Doug,
If you are ever having a garage sale, alert any local rockhound clubs, etc.

When I had to move temporarily back home, I sorted through my stuff and figured I needed to get rid of a LOT.  I made hundreds of dollars off of a small table full of specimens with only a couple of really large ones. When I get to travel again, the freedom will be worth the sacrifice. Those rocks had been away for years. They deserved light a new owner to marvel over them.  (not that I won't still pick up NEW rocks LOL)

So you may find some real cash treasure in your inheritance.

Yes, could bring in cash laid out on a table like that, esp if you advertise it in advance. But the petrifed apple is special. You should have someone look at that. Takes at least a million years for wood to petrify. A million+ year old apple. If that was not a joke :-/ you may have an object of interest on your hands. Can you post a photo of it??!! I found a rare flying fossilized insect from 300 million years ago plus a shiny scaled fish from that same era.

 

[Kathleen]

I keep thinking of the old movie "The Long Long Trailer" with Lucy and Ricky................

My BIL Butch .....RIP......traveled The Western states every vacation collecting "rocks"........Petrified wood ......arrowheads.......fossils......geodes....crystals....even a petrified APPLE.....Now they're ALL mine

What to do with them?

I GUESS I'll take them in the VAN with me and TRY to put them back where they came from ??????

doug

Doug,

I've been a major Lucy fan all my life. She's funny and gets into trouble. (Often reminds me of my own antics and predicaments.) You and another member mentioned that movie. I could not find the full version on YouTube last night but saw the 6 minute segment where they are pulling the long trailer up that steep dirt road with the huge drop off. Hysterical, especially in light of the fact people here are mobile travelers. I've gotta rent that film, can't believe I never saw it before. The backing up sequence where he crushed the building behind him is great too!

 

[Kathleen]

Kathleen, is most of your rock hounding near Santa Fe or do you know anything about the Silver City area for that?

Dennis,

Unless I'm on an expedition with my science bunch I'm in Northern NM rock hounding. You might be able to call the Mining Institute in Socorro for Silver City info. Or look online for used NM rock hounding books. I've got a couple of those. Smithsonite is one of my favorites from this state, pale translucent green. Found further south of here.

 

[blars]

If you want to go to a free swap meet with lots of rock hounds, there is the victor valley tailgate every year in March. http://www.vvgmc.org/tailgate.html
BLM land, free to camp, sell, and buy. I went once when I was downsizing.

 

[ArtW]

Lol, gold for a button, good trade. I'd be happy with that. Yes, pack rats get busy moving things around. But one particular stone I showed our ID lady was from the northwestern part of NM, hundreds of miles away. And there were quite a few specimens like that for miles up the arroyo. The stone was old. Maybe pack rats were bigger in those days. I've got to search YouTube for that Lucy movie!

Maybe the folks disusing 'salting' here aren't the only ones to come up with the idea?
LOL
I wonder if there's any truth to those old tales of 49ers firing a shotgun loaded with gold into the shaft of a played out mine to trick some greenhorn into dropping $$$ on a worthless hole

 

[Kathleen]

Maybe the folks disusing 'salting' here aren't the only ones to come up with the idea?
LOL
I wonder if there's any truth to those old tales of 49ers firing a shotgun loaded with gold into the shaft of a played out mine to trick some greenhorn into dropping $$$ on a worthless hole

Yes, and those who found legitimate claims often "disappeared" after letting others know. Mining is a dangerous business. The group of techies I trek with know their GPS, public and private land boundaries, and where private mines are. Recently they were accosted by a hostile individual who told them to get off his claim. They knew they were not on his claim, but sent a warning to other members.

When I'm not with the group I like to hike and rock hound alone, but I chose my locations wisely. Northern New Mexico still has a lot of flavor of the wild woolly west. Don't want to end up like a greenhorn at the bottom of an old mine shaft.

 

[abnorm]

I had a garage sale and had plenty of folks check out the "rocks".........I selected thirty pounds of the minerals and crystals to keep and trade/'salt' on-the-road...the remaining 400 lbs will stay in Florida and become aquarium art

it was suggested the apple may be an OLD carved example......it was originally a gift from a family member who assumed it was petrified........found in the creek bed of a family farm in Missouri circa 1953......further investigation needed

doug

 

[anewbiewannabe]

Yay! Looks like I've got some catching up to do on reading here. Soon as I can focus better I look forward to it.

 

[TrainChaser]

I recently borrowed a good book from the library:  Gem Trails of Arizona by James R. Mitchell.  Very good and very specific on locations (has maps & location descriptions).

I will be buying it later.

 

[abnorm]

Finally a photo of my Apple (with small arrowhead).........Petrified or carved stone ?

What say you............................doug

 

[Kathleen]

When I enlarge the image it appears round and smooth and the hole in the center seems intentionally carved. If you are curious enough, you could take it to a mining institute when you are near one. They have high quality scopes. Looks like an old hand carved bead to me.


Finally a photo of my Apple (with small arrowhead).........Petrified or carved stone ?

What say you............................doug

 

[TrainChaser]

It looks too perfectly symetrical to be natural. Nature doesn't usually work that way.

It kind of looks like these: http://www.beadstore.com/collections/african-amber-coral-stone-beads/african-amber

 

[highdesertranger]

I agree with TrainChaser. for they same reasons. highdesertranger

 

[sushidog]

It looks like an example of intelligent design to me. Just sayin'....

Chip

 

[Sandra D]

If I find a pile of dirt with great rocks, I'm gone for day!

 

[TrainChaser]

Sandra: "If I find a pile of dirt with great rocks, I'm gone for day! "

Oh.... another one of us who walks with her head down, eh? Welcome!

 

[abnorm]

Today I visited a local Gem Society that teaches cutting, polishing......wiresmithing and metalcasting etc.........the three senior members on duty agreed it "could be" a petrified apple......they put it under some bright lights and magnifier to form their opinions........they said "we could cut it open and verify !".....showing me photos of prepared-cut-fruit in a technical publication........One comment was there was that the surface appeared porous and was NOT polished as they thought a carved specimen would be..........

There is a local gathering soon with PhD types presenting seminars......I did not want to "leave" the rock for further examination.......I was invited to return and get more opinions and valuation from the 'rock-docs' at the event.....we'll see

I realize what didn't appear in the angle-of-the-photo is the irregular shaped bottom of the rock that is buried in the fabric background 

we'll have to wait for the-rest-of-the-story...........................


doug

While I was out I visited my Ford dealership and finally got to tour and explore a HIGH Top Transit like I have on order.................WOW....... it's a monster !

 

[grimmal]

My wife loves to go rockhounding. Where ever we are we have to go . I do all the research and she finds them . Me and the dog go to keep an eye on her most of the time. If I lose her I just asked the dog to go find her. I cannot count the amount of priority mail boxes we have shipped back to farm. Right now we are around Arrey New Mexico and I don't think we are going to get out of this area for a long while.  Her biggest problem is she forgets to look up every so often so she doesn't get lost.  We went to the Arrey rv park to do laundry and she was talking to all the people who stay there and gold pan and rockhound which is not going to get us out of this area any sooner.