Golden Tunnel Mine New Links

Golden Tunnel Mine Claim Map

Many thanks to Tom A. for sending me this link to a 1901 prospectus for the Durango Boy Mining Company who owned the Golden Tunnel Mine.

Here is the link: http://hdl.handle.net/2027/uc1.31822031028566

And here is the mill site and vein map.

Ore Veins and Mill Site of Golden Tunnel Mine Area

The Strange New Mexico Crop Circle? Plus some Fluorite and Smokey Quartz

So, we are planning a trip to New Mexico soon and will probably be going to a family reunion in Ruidoso. So what do I do? I get to work seeing what I can find for rockhounding spots in the area. Right away I find another wilderness study by USGS. Why is it that every time I find a good rock hunting spot, the government has blocked it with a wilderness area? I discovered some of the most beautiful crystals are now closed up in a wilderness area. What a shame.

Sierra Blanca, White Mountain Wilderness, Lincoln Co., New Mexico

Anyway, after realizing that this area is not going to see me, I started looking for nearby areas and as usual I ended up a long way from where I started.

I got to read all about Fort Cummings, Cooke's Spring, Cooke's Peak, and the Butterfield Trail. Pretty interesting actually. I really liked the nearby Peak named Massacre Peak that I noticed on the map.

Fort Cummings

When I read about this stuff, I always check out the USGS map locator and look at the topographic maps of the area and Google Earth. I just love Google Earth. I can look at stuff that I want to see and have even pinpointed petrified logs using it. While looking at the topographic map, I noticed there were mines everywhere near Cooke's Peak. Some info I got from a mine claim for sale said that this mining area had lots of agate, jasper, quartz and petrified wood. Cool! I'm sure there's a USGS report about it. I just haven't found it yet.

Topographic Map Showing the Mines

Apparently there used to be a mining town called Cooke's Town at the bottom of the mountain. Woohoo! A ghost town! I also ran across another report, this one from the Museum of New Mexico discussing The Fluorite Ridge, Fluorspar Mines and I am ready to head out! 

New Mexico Fluorite - Fluorite Ridge

Anyway, while I was scrolling around using Google Earth, I noticed this VERY STRANGE IMAGE. Near the Fort Cummings area. I have no clue. it is not a mountain, It is not a mine, It is flat. It circles through the ground and lava. I'll let you all figure it out. I'm clueless, well not clueless. I might have an idea, but of course it involves the GOVERNMENT. Of course it does!

Strange New Mexico Crop Circle

So much to see, so little time! I'm ready to go now!

North Fork Snoqualmie River

Last Friday was such a beautiful day, and I was off, so I just had to get out. Looking for rocks at this time of year can be difficult due to the snow. But a couple weeks ago I stumbled across a neat Geological Survey Report about the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area and it made me want to check out the North Fork Snoqualmie area. I figured that the elevation would be low enough for me to get to without snow and it's not a huge distance away. So off I went.

The first part of the North Fork Road was a nice gravel road, but that soon changed the further I went.

North Fork Snoqualmie Road

As soon as I got up the canyon, it turned to mud. Pretty deep mud. But I kept going anyway. Pretty soon my car was covered in mud. I passed quite a few areas where it looked like the road had been washed out and repaired. I stopped to check out the rocks and take some pics on the way.

Small Creek at a Washout - Should Have Looked Closer at the Red Boulder

Unfortunately as I got close to my destination I ran into snow. I was only .2 miles from my target mine, but the snow just got too deep. The canyon that it's in just doesn't get much sun.

The End of the Road

One of the mines I wanted to see was on the other side of the creek, and I noticed that unless I had on waders I would never get across now. It's just too deep.

Lennox Creek

So, I turned around and headed back towards North Bend. I stopped and checked out the North Fork Snoqualmie River for awhile. It too was running pretty fast. 

North Fork Snoqualmie River

I had read a report that there was a mine up above this area that didn't have a road, so they tried floating their ore down the river in barrels. Needless to say a lot of them didn't make it and you can find the ore in the river sometimes. Unfortunately I only found one little rock that has a bright speck of gold on it. I actually picked up the rock because I liked the colors in it, greens and red. I also found a nice piece of serpentinite (I think) for a yard rock.

If You Look Real Hard You Can See the Gold Speck - Hah!

Following a brief stop there I headed on back down the road. After crossing the Sunday Creek Bridge, I noticed a small stream coming down from the hill, so I stopped and got out to look over the rocks. I found a nice piece of pink feldspar (I think) here, and a heavy piece of quartz. 

Small Unnamed Creek

Needless to say, I didn't hit the jackpot here, but I sure got to enjoy the beautiful day, scenery and weather. 

Mt. Si - What a Beautiful View! 

I will definitely be back after the snow melts.

My Finds - Not Sure what they are - But They're Pretty!

9/6/13 Update:

Just took some rocks out my polisher and found that some of these polished really well. What do you think? It's not really jasper, more like sandstone, but it polished nicely to this point. I figured it would break up into pieces...

Kind of looks like Picture Jasper

Kelly Mine New Mexico

I am blessed in that I have two states I can go rockhounding in. Living in Washington gives me access to hundreds of good sites and visiting New Mexico several times a year gives me the freedom to hunt there also.

Back in October 2012, my sister and I paid a visit to our aging parents and decided they needed to get out rockhounding. We decided to visit the ghost town of Kelly, New Mexico where for a fee you can visit the mines and collect rocks.

Kelly is best known for its specimens of Smithsonite and according to the brochure, up to 80 different minerals. It has been greatly picked over, but a lucky hunter can still find some. We got lucky and found little Smithsonite (Zinc carbonate), lots of pyrite and some azurite copper ore. But what made us really lucky was that Bennie Zamora, the owner of Tony's Rock Shop in Magdalena decided she was going to clean out her stock on the day we visited. She literally gave us many great specimens for free!

We first stopped at Tony's in Magdalena to purchase passes to the mine area. It was a wonderful day, not too hot and not too cold. The rock shop has thousands of various rocks just laying everywhere.

Tony's Rock Shop, Magdalena, NM

After our brief stop, we headed on up the road to the ghost town of Kelly and the Kelly mine. The last few hundred feet of the road were horrible. Good thing we had a high clearance vehicle.

Great Sign 

After Arriving at the parking area, we all piled out and started searching the parking area. I found a small tarantula crawling through the weeds.

Small Tarantula in Center of Photo

We could see the old headframe up the hill from the parking area.

Headframe in Far Background

We got out our map and headed up the road.

Map of Kelly Mine and Townsite

Once we reached the top of the hill, we started looking for rocks.

Refractory, Boiler and Assay

The headframe is in remarkable condition, considering it's over 100 years old.

Kelly Mine Headframe

Here is the sign telling about the mine and townsite.

History of Kelly

The sign says, "The town of Kelly New Mexico, which thrived here, was more than a mining boomtown.... it was home to it's thousands of citizens. The mining operations sent huge shipments of lead, zinc, and silver ores to smelters, which helped build America during the industrial westward expansion. These great shipments made Kelly the foremost mine in New Mexico's 19th century past. John S. Hutchason arrived here in 1866 after serving in the Civil War to prospect this area at the invitation of his partner Pete Kinisinger. The early town on this site as called "Middle Camp:, and formed a hub for the Graphic, Waldo, Juanita, and Kelly Mines.

The name Kelly came from Patrick H. Kelley who held a few of the claims. By 1884, Kelly Township was established with banks, churches, saloons, a clinic, and several mercantile stores, while Magdalena was established 3 miles north as the AT & SF Railway terminus to haul away the preciousores from these mines. The last residents of Kelly departed in 1947, and most of their homes were painstakingly hauled down to Magdalena.

The Kelly Mine headframe still proudly stands today as the sentinel of New Mexico's famous mining heritage. This headframe was erected in 1906 by Gustav Billing owner, being purchased from the Traylor Engineering Company of New York, which acquired this headframe in kit form from the Carnegie Steel Works of Passaic New Jersey after it was designed by Alexander G. Eiffel to be the state-of-the-art technology of that era. It stands today as a lasting monument to the men who toiled and sacrificed their brave lives for the prosperity of an emerging nation, towering 121 feet over the Tri-Bullion Shaft which drops nearly 1,000 feet down into a maze of over 30 miles of tunnels, all now closed, silent as the grave."

We had a wonderful afternoon searching the area. We could have spent days there, but had to get home. You must stop at the rock shop on the way out, so they can weigh your rocks and make sure you didn't fall down a shaft. This was when Bennie gave us many of her great rocks. She is a wonderful person. I know I want to visit again in the near future.

Below are some of the great rocks we found and were given by Bennie. All in all it was a great trip. Well worth the time and money.

Chalcedony Rose

A Wonderful Geode

A Neat Crystal

A few of the Better Ones

Great links to info on Kelly and the Kelly Mine:

http://www.rozylowicz.com/pdf-files/kelly-update-12-2010.pdf

http://www.rozylowicz.com/retirement/kelly/kelly.html#up

http://books.google.com/books?id=6KLmAAAAMAAJ&dq=kelly%20mine%20nm&pg=PP1#v=onepage&q=kelly%20mine%20nm&f=false

Salmon Creek Agates and Carnelian

Because my beloved Greenwater is under snow at this time of year, I have been looking for alternate places to hunt for good rocks.

I have been reading quite a bit about agates, petrified wood, jasper and carnelian being found in the Salmon Creek area, so when we finally had a decent day and time off, we headed down there.

Needless to say, we got our usual late start. Then we discovered that we couldn't find our makeshift probe (a fireplace poker), so we had to make do with a flimsy probe I made for locating old outhouse holes (yeah I know, weird huh?).

We headed out towards Salmon Creek around 12:00pm with about 75 miles to travel. Since it was I-5 most of the way, we made good time and arrived around 1:30pm.

With about 2 1/2 hours to look (we had to be in Tacoma by 6:00pm for a family dinner),  we packed up and headed out from the end of Salmon Creek Rd. near Toledo according to an older map I had. With the deep ruts placed across the road to block four wheelers, we decided to leave our trusty wagon behind. I figured the area would be fairly well picked over, but we decided to check out every stream we passed on our trek through the woods.

http://www.gametrails.com/Maps/salmon%20creek.pdf

At the very first stream we came to, near an old dilapidated bridge, (Cougar Creek) we headed down to the gravel bars and immediately began to find agates. I was shocked! The water was fairly low and we could see the rocks really well. Of course the sun coming out and highlighting the clear stones certainly helped.

Cougar Creek Bridge

While I hunted near the bridge, Michael went upstream a ways. He seems to be particularly drawn to black rocks for some reason. He kept finding what he thought looked like obsidian. Maybe black agate?

Michael Looking

Every few steps I took, I'd find something else worth keeping. There were lots of small chips of carnelian, which I left behind. With the water being so clear, it was easy pickings.

Nice Gravel Bars

We saw quite a bit of red jasper, which we also left behind. I've got lots of that from Greenwater.

It looks like I missed some.

After we had halfway filled our handy Home Depot aprons, we decided to head further down the trail. Somewhere along the way we zigged instead of zagged and ended up at the top of a fairly large waterfall and a dead end. I tried to get a picture from standing above the falls but with really muddy banks to the sides, I decided not to risk falling. 

Looking around the area, we noticed quite a few chips of carnelian laying around, but we didn't really feel like digging, so we turned around and headed back to Cougar Creek and looked below the bridge for a while. We found a few more keepers and decided to head back to the car. I did find one really interesting piece of petrified wood that has red and black coloring with crystals along the sides.

All in all it was a great day. We will definitely be back to this area in the near future. With my Alaska sister coming to visit next month, we now have a place to take her that isn't under snow. I have also found further information on better (and less well known) spots along Salmon Creek to check out.

A Few of Our Great Finds

For further trip reports on this area, view the links below.

http://www.brianpen.com/Journal/Journal_2009February.asp
http://home.comcast.net/~wams1939/trips/Salmon_Creek.htm
http://mcrocks.com/ftr06/RichardPrice-February06.html
http://www.gametrails.com/wordpress/?p=270

Greenwater Agates

OK, so I know I have been rather remiss in my postings. I have been out rockhunting, but just haven't had the time to post anything lately.

Back in July of 2012, my family all gathered here in Washington for a family reunion. What is a good reunion without a rockhunting trip. Since Greenwater is close by we took a couple trips up there to try our luck.

We headed up FS Rd 70 and decided to try a well known site with about a 1/2 mile walk to a BIG landslide. Most everyone advises to only go here after a good rain or early in the season, but we have always found lots of pretty stuff here and it didn't fail us this time.

The trip in was beautiful. It was a great day for getting out and enjoying the woods. My Dad had a great time, but boy did we wear him out.

Dad On The Trail

When we got to the rockslide, there was plenty to find and everyone found something. The landslide is full of agates, jasper and even wanna-be petrified wood, which Michael proudly brought home as his prize. It's partially rock, partially wood. Kind of neat.

Almost Petrified Wood

There is a giant agate there, waiting for someone with a miracle to take home.

Big Agate

Everyone was looking all over the area and finding lots of different stuff. Did anyone see this one?

Another Big Agate

Even the kids were looking and finding.

Lots of good rocks

We found lots of agate and jasper. Even some pretty green colored jasper.

Green Jasper

All in all, it was a great trip and as usual, we came home with more than we left with.

Our Agates and Jasper Finds

For other blog posts about this area, check out these links: 

http://www.gametrails.com/wordpress/?p=354
http://www.gametrails.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/Greenwater.pdf

Check out our rare purple/green Greenwater agate slab for sale at out Etsy Shop.

Rare Blue/Green/Purple Greenwater Jasper

Golden Tunnel Mine Update

View of Golden Tunnel Mine From Below - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.

10/10/2012 Update - Many thanks to Aaron G. who sent me the photos of the Golden Tunnel Mine from his recent visit.

Golden Tunnel Mine Location from Overlook - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.

"There weren't too many more artifacts laying around, just a flattened ore bucket outside the mine (cave) entrance. I've had location information for approximately 2 years, and tried 2 unsuccessful attempts last year, and made it on my 2nd attempt this year (4th total). The 1st attempt this year was foiled by thick fog that ended with us spending the night on a cliff a few thousand feet below the mine. The site is very interesting, and we were very excited to finally make it, but the "hike" (or more appropriately climb/scramble) is a bear. We ended up completing the trip in 10 3/4 hours (8 hours of hiking)." Aaron G.

Closer View of Golden Tunnel Mine - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.

View From Mouth of Tunnel - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.

Old Stove - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.

Tram Wheel - Photo Courtesy Aaron G.