My last outing, A Weekly posting Options

[swizz]

Woody,
Those are definitely some worthy specimens. Have you tried soaking them in a solution of Super Iron Out? It can be purchased at the hardware or sometimes grocery store. Strong stuff and works really well. Otherwise, I would try hitting them with a textile cleaning gun. Next time we meet up at my claim or Dreamtime Mine I can bring mine and happy to loan it to you if you'd like.
Those two things can do wonders.

[Woody]

Thanks Swizz,

That is what I was talking about, the Textile cleaning gun. I will look into trying to get one. I'll ket you know how it works.

[Denise]

Very cool specimens and pictures Woody! Here is a link to the cleaning specimens thread. I think your pieces are perfect for a super iron out soak, especially if the warm vinegar didn't do much to them. After the iron out treatment and time soaking in water, then blast them with the textile gun. It does wonders!

Always remember to use distilled water, as tap water will leave mineral deposits on the specimen in the iron out.

[Woody]

Did the family outing thing this weekend,

Loaded up the trailer, family, & the dog and headed to Pueblo Lake for the weekend. This place is located very close to the Front Range but still offers everything from hunting small game in the winter to jumping off the cliffs in the summer. It also has several hidden talents as well. If a person knows where to look they could easily find fossilized Clams as big as Cantaloupes, a wide variety of Shark teeth, and even some Crystallized Iron Pyrite. This Pyrite is every interesting. It is commonly found in these thick layers of shale as a rusty inclusion that can be solid or crumbly. But occasionally it is a perfect round ball and solid pyrite inside. It seems that only the round ones are solid pyrite and the ones that are not perfect spheres are crumblier or only about half pyrite. I read or heard somewhere that the pyrite formed in deep, oxygen depleted seas. Interesting!

This set of pics shows the size of the clams and also shows some of the Pyrite inclusions.

Have a good one, Woody.

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[Woody]

Here are a few Clams and some casts. Inside one of the casts I placed one of the pyrite spheres. Although rare, some of the spheres have little crystals on their outer shell, this one is like that. The next pic shows how the balls look inside the thick layers of shale.

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[Woody]

This last pic shows several pieces that I collected years ago and one that I broke in two. The pyrite is really bright in the perfectly round ones.

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[Woody]

Returned to the Chris’s Yooper Gold Claim this weekend.

Left out Friday evening and spent the weekend hanging out with Chris at his Gold Claim. I took my brother, “Steve”, along for the ride and he was able to get in some swinging time with his detector. We arrived around 630 that evening and before the sun had gone down, Steve had all ready found a nice piece of gold with his detector. Nice way to start the outing.

The next morning I did a little exploring, as is my general nature, and got to know the place a little better. I decided to do some digging and testing about ¼ mile away from where we were camping. I figured we all ready knew there was gold in the immediate vicinity and wanted to see if it could be found in other places as well. Turns out it can be. I worked an area that was void of any running water but showed where a trickle does run during runoff or heavy rains. I quickly found some nice pieces of color and by the end of the day I had found the biggest “Flake” I have ever found. I have found heavier nuggets, but this was a true flake and it was between 3/8 and ½ inch. I did not find much else, maybe a total of 7 pieces showed up in the black mat of the sluice. I did a fast pan of the cons and did not see much. This place does not have a lot of fine, flower gold. It is either go big or go home it seems.

The weekend was a terrific success. The only negative thing is the drive. I always seem to get caught up in that nasty traffic on I-70 coming out of Denver. It has a tendency to put a dark cloud on things. But I am sure in a couple of weeks I will be chomping at the bit to get up there once again.

Thanks once again to Chris for allowing us to come hang with him. I am very envious of his little slice of heaven. He has got a good thing going there. If anybody is thinking of taking a trip up there I’m sure you will find it enjoyable as well as I have. Have a good one, Woody.

[Woody]

Breakfast of Champions, oh they were sweet. Who brought the Ice cream. If I had the time I could of picked a whole gallon full.

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[Woody]

Here is an unknown item I found while poking around a bit. Anyone got a clue as to what it could of been used for??

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[Woody]

Here is a pic of Steve hard at work. You can see there is not much bare ground. A little water slowly started to appear as we dug, but getting enough to run any material through a sluice would be difficult.

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[kmontoya911]

Here is an unknown item I found while poking around a bit. Anyone got a clue as to what it could of been used for??

It looks like an old cable spool from that picture. is the metal tube open on both sides? Usually the spools used wood between the wheels, but they could have used metal. My first thought was an old outhouse.

[Woody]

My first thought was for it being an old spool, "the type us batchlors used as a Coffee Table", but after looking at it, that metal center piece is WAY too heavy. I think it might have been used as some sort of Pully System like a Drum for a Winch or something. But you could be right, we may never know for sure.

[Woody]

Alas my “Rabbit Hole” has played out. It is not so much that it stopped producing as much as the crystals were very small and encrusted with a hard overgrowth. It is almost as if the rocks got a little too close to the fire and got burnt or melted. I’m sure if someone was to put several hours into removing a lot of overburden and gaining better access they could find some interesting items. The Fluorite left the show completely. If it were still popping up every now and again I would still be working the area. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

So just to get my spirits back up, I went to one of the known locations and dug for Amazonite. I kind of use this place as an, “Old Faithful”. Found lots of pieces of around an inch in size. Some showed good hexagonal shape to them. One day I will figure out how to work lapidary equipment and probably wish I spent more time here. Who knows?

I spent the entire day up in on that hill, Sunup to sundown. Before I left I scouted around to find a couple more spots that looked promising and will need more investigating. That’s the way I like it, always have a spot in mind that I can turn to in case a day of prospecting starts to turn uneventful. Sometimes it makes it easier to continue to prospect knowing you have a back-up plan. Have a good one, Woody.

[Woody]

Aug 20th, 2011

Got out today with some friends and went rock hounding. I also brought along my Step-Daughter. It’s her birthday and she is now 14. It was very difficult to keep her attention focused on collecting minerals when she knew there was cake waiting at home, “a lesson learned on my part”. I wish I could have stayed longer as I’m sure the best was jet to come. I can’t wait to hear back from the rest of the folks and see how they fared. Although I did not stay long, I managed to find some of the best quality smokie Crystals that I have found so far. Here is a pic of a Smokie that looks like it ate a Christmas tree. I’ve never seen one with that kind of coloring.
The day may have been short but I got to met some great people, learn a thing or two, and did not have to spend the day bushwhacked in the lowlands. Thanks guys for the invite and I am looking forward to future endeavors, Woody.

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[leonard]

The Fluorite left the show completely. If it were still popping up every now and again I would still be working the area. Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

If you haven't seen this, you might like it.

http://golddredger.com/fluoritemine/fluorsparmine1.htm

This is an old mine near Jamestown.
Leonard