Droned in Orogrande NM - Lots of Nice Minerals!

As I said in an earlier post, we were in New Mexico for a family reunion and couldn't pass up the chance to check out some old mining areas.  one of my favorite stops was Orogrande near Alamogordo NM and also near White Sands Missle Range.

Unfortunately the timing of our visit coincided with the hottest time of the year in NM - June.  We tried to reach the area early enough in the day, but it just didn't happen.  Oh well, it was still a wonderful stop anyway.  The desert is truly beautiful anytime and very nice seen from an air conditioned car!

In searching out this area, we made a wrong turn and ended up on a very nice road that took us right to some giant satellite arrays, just like in the alien contact movies.  We decided we were getting too close to White Sands, so we turned around and tried a different approach.  Our second road was much more on target, but not quite as nice.

When we drove into the area, we stopped at a major washout near the road and checked things out.  Everyone knows metals settle in the lowest spots.  We were rewarded with piles of pyrite, copper and galena filled rocks.  We also picked up a few nice samples of wanna-be turquoise.  Orogrande is the site of one of the more famous New Mexico mines, the De Meules Turquoise mine.

This Photo Does Not Do the Colored Rocks Justice - They Were Very Colorful

The road we drove in on, was a recently graded road that is being highly contested by the BLM with a local mining company trying to rework some tailings from one of the Iron mines in the area.  After we turned off of this road, we began following an old railroad grade that was extremely rough.  We came into the mining area from North of Orogrande and unfortunately the road became so bad and washed out we only got close to the Garnet mine.  The railroad grade from the South may be the best bet for getting closer to the main mining area.

Narrow Canyon on the Orogrande Railroad Grade - Looks Like We Got Droned!

Bad Road suitable Only For High Clearance 4 Wheel Drive

We were driving a rental, so we opted not to try navigating any further, and got out and walked.  All around the area there are marked active mining claims.  We avoided these.  We noticed that "Eddie the Hitman DeLuca" has been extremely busy claiming lots of spots! :-)

We did manage to walk fairly close to the Garnet Mine.  There were lots of beautiful specimens laying on and near the road everywhere!

Garnet Mine and Tailings from Destroyed Road

Gorgeous Colors! The One on the Right is Chalcopyrite - Not sure What the Green one is yet

We picked up some nice specimens until the heat overcame us.  This is definitely a place where you could spend days exploring and not see everything.  There are mines everywhere!  From the South, you pass through the old townsite of Brice where there are supposed to be a couple of buildings still standing.  From the North we passed through the townsite of Ohaysi, but didn't see anything.
This really is an amazing area.  We need to put it on our to do list for our next NM visit on our fall chile collecting run.  There are hundreds of tailings to check out!

One good thing, we didn't see a single snake!  We did see some gorgeous landscape though!

A Lone Yucca Graces the Orogrande Desert

Here is a picture of some of our New Mexico Finds

Some of our New Mexico Finds

For further reading about the Orogrande Mining district, check out the links below:

Otero County at odds with BLM over ownership of road in Orogrande

Santa Fe man hopes to transform garnet market

GhosttownsandMines.com Orogrande Mining District Otero County NM

Glass Butte Rockhounding Trip

We had to make a quick driving trip to New Mexico and back and decided to make a really quick stop in Central Oregon to pick up some obsidian and hopefully some agate.  Well, we got the obsidian, but not much of the agate.  

Our first stop was Graveyard Point on the Idaho/Oregon border looking for the fabled plume agate.  We drove out on the very bad dirt road a ways and pulled over and decided to walk the road.  Wouldn't you know it, we ran into a really bad thunderstorm and had to run back to the car before we got much collecting done.  We had lightning cracking over our heads, and as soon as we got into the car, the radio was broadcasting an emergency alert for a severe thunderstorm.  Oh well, that spot gets added to the bucket list.  We only found a few bits of agate and haven't even looked at them yet.

Graveyard Point Thunderstorm

Our next stop the following day was Glass Butte in Oregon.  We had our sights set on some rainbow and flame obsidian.  We didn't find much of the rainbow obsidian (as far as we know - we haven't cut any yet), but we did hit the mother lode on the flame obsidian.

Rainbow Obsidian Pits

Our first stop, the rainbow collecting pits looked pretty picked over.  We knew there were other rainbow spots, but we decided to head over to the area where flame obsidian is supposed to be.  I had the spot marked in the Garmin, after using an older WSMC (Washington State Mineral Council) map of the area and Google Earth to pinpoint the different collecting areas.  The Garmin tried to take us up the steep side of a hill, so we knew the spot was on top of the hill.  After locating a road that wandered that direction and seeing a big mud pit in the road, we decided to park and walk up the hill using the road.

A stone cairn near where we parked

We knew we must be close when we spotted a neat stone cairn below the hill near our parking spot, the only shade tree around.

View to the east from the top of the hill

We walked up the road and then headed cross country using the Garmin to guide us.  We came out on another road and there just happened to be a large chunk of flame obsidian shining at us next to the road.  We knew we were close.

Flame Obsidian Collecting Pit

Still using the Garmin directions, we walked to the side of the hill and there were the pits.  There were large chunks of various colored obsidian laying everywhere.  There was flame, and mahogany and even several pieces of the pumpkin agate laying around.  And what a view!  Boy, was it work carrying many large chunks of obsidian back to the car!

Boy are we a long way from the car!

Before we left, we decided to check out one more spot that was labeled opalite mine.  Not sure what we were looking for here, we just picked up some interesting gray, white, and pink banded specimens.

Large Opalite Collecting Pit

We headed out from here and made a lunch stop at Hampton Butte, where we found nothing much but a bunch of dig holes.  I had actually been out here a few years before with a large group and those people would just start digging holes anywhere.  We didn't understand it.  We asked an older gentleman about it and he explained that just digging was useless.  What you need to do here is use a metal probe and stick it into the ground until you hear a distinctive "tink" sound, then start digging.  That made more sense to us.  This time we did prospect a nearby area some with a probe and found a few nice indications of a good spot to check out on our next trip.

Hampton Butte Dig Holes Everywhere!

Hopefully we will get back to the area soon to continue our hunt!  Happy Rock hunting!

Since you are here, check out our stone creations and minerals at our Etsy shop at SouthPrairieHandmade

Gorgeous Black Brown Moss Agate Pendant

New Mexico Rockhounding - Parson's Mine - Nogal Mining District

Day one of travels.  We were headed to Ruidoso NM for a reunion, so we decided to take a trip through history and headed up CO15 Road to Forest Service Road 400 to FS Road 108 outside of Nogal (Nogal Canyon Road), which cuts through the mountains and comes out near Bonito Lake.  This whole area is pockmarked with mines and history.  For an interesting read about this area check out this NM Archaeology Report of the area.  It is full of murder, thievery and mayhem!

The best mine site we checked out was the site of the Parson's mine and mill site.  It was wonderful.  The drive was cool, beautiful and fairly uneventful.   Contrary to what the description of Parson on Ghostowns.com says, the mines have not been dynamited as far as I can see.

Unknown Foundation

Road into Canyon with Mine

Parson's Mine - Getting Close

Parson's Mine - Getting Closer

View Inside Mine - Looks Pretty Stable

Parson's Mine Boilers

Parson's Mine Mill Site

Parson's Mine Separator

We didn't really find much here, but my husband did find what appeared to be a nice green fluorite crystal specimen.  I think the area has been fairly well picked over.  If you dig enough, or get away from the main areas, you may find something nice though.  It was getting late, so we called it a day and headed on to Ruidoso.  We will have to come back some day and check out some of the other well-known mine sites in the area.

Quick Eastern Washington Trip

Before leaving for New Mexico we got in a quick rockhounding trip to eastern Washington.  Despite the horrible heat wave here right now we still managed to find some great rocks.  

We drove State Route 410 over Chinook Pass and made a quick stop at what I think is called the Blue Bird Mine near Bear Gap.  I have been here many times, but for my compadre it was a new experience.  She is just not used to driving to the opening of a mine. 

Mouth of Blue Bird (maybe Belle) Mine

Nice Ore Specimen

Large Tailing Pile

We hung around the tailing pile and found a few nice ore specimens before we decided to move on to the Little Naches River.

When we got to the Little Naches River, the temps were getting pretty warm, so we pulled off and took a little hike back into the woods to view Horsetail Falls.  Boy was the water low!  It was pretty cool back near the falls though.

Horsetail Falls

We drove a little ways down along the Little Naches River and finally found a shady spot to search the river for agates and thunder eggs.  Someone else was there ahead of us adding rocks to their buckets.  We were worried they got all the good rocks, but I soon realized that they were picking up too many to have gotten any real good ones.  There just aren't that many there to be found and they probably didn't know what they were looking for.  

Nice and Shady Little Naches River

A Pleasant Surprise - Serpentinite or Jadeite! 

After scouring the river for good rocks, and having found only a few possibles, we decided to head back to the cooler side of the Cascades.  One of my best finds was a nice large serpentinite or jadeite! I keep finding these in just about every WA river.  Go figure.

Meanwhile, be sure to check out our beautiful mineral specimens on our Etsy shop!

Gold Sheen Mahogany Obsidian Slab

Agatized Petrified Wood Rough

Dying to get out Rockhounding Again!

I  have been cooped up in this house for weeks now, and I am ready to get going again!  I have several northwest places in mind, but lucky for me, soon we will be traveling back to our home state of New Mexico for a family reunion and hopefully some successful rockhounding!

I have only been out a couple of times recently, and one trip was to Greenwater where half the gates were still closed, and up to the Carbon River mining district down the road.  We did find a few OK rocks and one awesome rock!

Those of you who know rocks and the areas I am referring to will know where I got this rock.  It is amazing!  I hate to say it, but I have kept some of our best locations secret, well, for obvious reasons. Duh!

Tourmaline Crystals, Malachite, Azurite

Now the big question is; sell this stone as a specimen or keep it and pass it on to my family.  Huh!  Good question.  I will have to think about it.

I am in particular looking forward to my trip to get back to NM and collect some great petrified wood!  It is everywhere!  I remember a Girl Scout hike into the Sandia Mountains near Albuquerque, and when we stopped to eat lunch, I was sitting beneath a juniper and picked up a large chunk of what I thought was wood.  Lo and behold, it was petrified wood.  Who knew!  It may be at that point that a rockhound was born.  I still have many pieces that my Dad collected over his lifetime.  One of the things I did when we had to move my parents out of their home of 50 years, was scour the rocks in their yard.  My brother and sister thought I was crazy!

Anyway in NM we have one wonderful spot where petrified wood is everywhere and free to collect.  It comes in all shapes and sizes, some is agatized, some is crystal lined, some looks like plain sandstone.  It's amazing!

One of My Last Rockhounding Trips with my Parents

Seriously this wood is laying everywhere.  And some of it is large!

Petrified Tree Trunk

Pieces of Petrified Wood and a Cactus

Some people may wonder why I like New Mexico.  There is something really beautiful about the blue skies and being able to see forever.  I love the desert.  It is awesome.  I even love the cactus, particularly after a recent rain, when they bloom!  I don't particularly like the heat sometimes, but in the spring and fall, it is wonderful!  I also miss the feeling of history that surrounds you there.  Here in Washington it seems like everything melts back into the forest.

Old Adobe - Big Skies

Cactus After Rain in New Mexico

A Different Color

Did I forget to mention New Mexico has lots of rocks?  I must also mention the neat Pecos Diamonds we will be searching for!

Pecos Diamonds

Anyway, to make ends meet since I had to quit my job to help care for my parents, I have been selling some of my wonderful finds on Etsy.  You might want to check it out  And keep checking back.  I am going to have some great things coming back with me from NM.

Check out my minerals for sale on my Etsy shop, SouthPrairieHandmade!

Large Crystalized Petrified Wood Half Round

Drilling River Rocks

So, if you have been wondering what in the world we are up to now, check out our latest video below.  We have been extremely busy drilling rocks, polishing rocks, cutting rocks, and the video shows how we do it.

Enjoy!

Goodbye 2014, On To More Rocks!

Anyone who follows this blog may have noticed that 2014 posts are missing.  Last year was an incredibly bad year for me. I started the year with a family of 5 and ended it with a family of 2.  To top it off my 5 year old Granddaughter was diagnosed with Kidney cancer.  Thank the Lord she is now in full remission.

Needless to say, I didn't get much rockhounding time in. I spent most of my time in hospital rooms and at funerals and memorial services.  RIP Becky, Mom and Dad. See you in the future. Not too soon I hope.  So now I am starting a fresh new year.

A Portion of the Foothills Trail

I have not had much time for rockhounding until recently, when my Sister-in-law and I have started walking local trails and we have really gotten the rockhounding bug. We have it so bad, we now have to pull a wagon. at least we are keeping up our bone density.

Near the Foothills Trail

We are also embarking on a brand new adventure.  Because I had piles of rocks everywhere, we decided to put them to good use. We are now selling them on Etsy.

Beautiful Polished OR Dendritic Chalcedony Resting on a Nice Piece of Carbon River Marble

We are also making E-cigarette mod stands with the bigger specimens. Drilling big holes in rocks was a big learning curve. At least I now have my own Rock Saw and Drill Press. They are awesome!  We even have giant petrified wood logs for sale for landscape use now.

Giant Petrified Log - It Would Make a Great Water Feature or Landscape Feature!

Where do we walk, you might ask?  Well we mostly walk a trail near my home called the Foothills Trail.  It goes for miles. Our favorite spot to start is in South Prairie, Washington. Thus the name of our new Etsy shop, SouthPrairieHandmade. At several points it comes near South Prairie Creek and the Carbon River. No earth shaking agates here, unless we get lucky and find one in the glacial till.  There is some awesome sandstone and carbonized petrified wood though. we have also found some great granite and marble.  Here are some examples of the E-cigarette stands, check out our shop for more examples.

NM Petrified Wood E-cigarette Mod Stand

WA Boulder Opal and Jasper

What some of you may not know, is that I am also an artist. Thus you will definitely see some of my art for sale on Etsy.  One of my favorites is a torn paper collage of cattails which were surrounded by mist one morning when we were out near the river.  You be the judge of my art. Let me know what you think.

Cattails in the Mist Torn Paper Collage

This is What We Saw That Morning

Anyway, stay tuned for many more rock hunting adventures and rock art. We are now working on jewelry.  My husband actually want us to make some bolo ties out of our rocks. Who woulda thunk it?