My last outing, A Weekly posting |
My last outing, A Weekly posting |
May 30 2012, 06:28 AM
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#201
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
Awesome outing Woody! Love the Bear bridge.
Also looks like a great mineralized area. Blue Mesa Res is in the Curecanti National Recreation Area (CNRA). Do they allow prospecting and/or mineral collection? or.... look but don't remove? Hope you were legal in your endeavors. CP readers should know before planning an Opal hunt there... what is the current land status where you were collecting? Is CNRA land open to prospecting.... or were you outside of their jurisdiction on BLM or NFS land? I'm assuming that you called CNRA prior if you were on their land. We have Arapahoe National Recreation Area (ANRA) here in Grand County... unfortunately they chose not to allow prospecting or collection on ANRA land (since it is a designated recreation area where 1872 mining law rights don't apply). This sucks because we have some exceptional fossils, agates, geodes, and petrified woods sitting on the ANRA land surrounding the lakes and reservoirs that I would love to collect... but it's all 'look but don't collect'. All designated recreational areas have different regs... maybe CNRA allows it as a recreational activity? -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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May 30 2012, 08:21 AM
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#202
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
Found this map, maybe Gunnison National Forest north of CNRA? CNRA Boundaries
I don't know what the designation or status of the white-shaded land is on the map. -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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May 30 2012, 08:23 AM
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#203
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 5-April 11 From: All of Colorado Member No.: 15,615 |
This is well outside of CNRA and is on BLM. To be fair, I did not check with the county seat and specifically check this exact location for land status. I am quite sure it is open as I have frequented this area for 40 years. There is really not much to mention as far as prospecting for minerals go. Even this Common Opal is just that, Common. Doesn't shine much.
-------------------- Proud CP Lifetime Member
(currently working hard in the procurement department) |
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May 30 2012, 08:30 AM
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#204
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
This is well outside of CNRA and is on BLM. Good To be fair, I did not check with the county seat and specifically check this exact location for land status. Bad I am quite sure it is open as I have frequented this area for 40 years. Ya never know... -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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May 30 2012, 08:39 AM
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#205
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 5-April 11 From: All of Colorado Member No.: 15,615 |
Nice jab Chris-
-------------------- Proud CP Lifetime Member
(currently working hard in the procurement department) |
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May 30 2012, 08:49 AM
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#206
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Master Mucker! Group: Admin Posts: 7,186 Joined: 7-October 03 From: Colorado Member No.: 4 |
Very cool finds Woody, but I believe what you have found is Chalcedony. We have found lots of it here in the San Luis Valley. One piece I have put aside has the same strawberry tint to it due to the matrix under the Chalcedony layer on top. Love those bubbles! Many pieces we find are layers on top of Agate. Makes for some really cool pieces, especially cut. Doing a hardness test will answer that question as Opal is alot softer than Chalcedony. Chalcedony is a 61/2 - 7 on the hardness scale.
Always remember that reverifying land status before venturing out is always important, as a claim may have been filed on that land at any time of the day. -------------------- Education is the key to the future,
and participation opens the door to opportunity. Discover your prospecting independence & success! ColoradoProspector.com Owner/Webmaster Core team member ♥ |
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May 30 2012, 08:52 AM
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#207
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
I'm not jabbing and apologize if that's the impression.
Just don't want to send CP readers to CNRA or other lands without checking land status prior. Initially you didn't state that you were on BLM land. It would be easy for a reader to assume you were hangin out at the CNRA Blue Mesa beach and just wandered up the hill and started picking rocks. I'm glad that wasn't the case. Sorry, but I'm a stickler regarding land status. -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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May 30 2012, 10:17 PM
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#208
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 5-April 11 From: All of Colorado Member No.: 15,615 |
Will try to do better next time.
-------------------- Proud CP Lifetime Member
(currently working hard in the procurement department) |
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May 31 2012, 09:47 AM
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#209
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
Hi Woody,
Sorry, my intention wasn't to discredit you or put a speed bump in your great thread (and I love this thread!). I'm a bit passionate about research and land status. Blue Mesa drew a red flag and I thought readers might think it's ok to prospect there as to how your post was worded. I sincerely apologize and wasn't doubting your research or status knowledge, more-so I was concerned with the wording as many novices and beginners read the threads... you can beat me up at the CP mtg this Monday. I really meant nothing personal. Yours truly, The Land Status Nazi -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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Jun 1 2012, 08:54 AM
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#210
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 5-April 11 From: All of Colorado Member No.: 15,615 |
Actually Chris you raise a good point.
If someone heads out on a planned prospecting outing then obviously they have done a good land status research. However a person does not think about including land status in their daily routine. Especially in a spur of the moment event, but they should. It should never be an afterthought, but rather more planned and less impromptu. I, "especially as a lifetime member", should show more discretion in my actions and possible include how I came to know the area was open for prospecting. If we are not leading the way on this how can we expect others to follow? If we could include a couple of examples of outings where good research was conducted prior to going out in the field it might make it easier for others. -------------------- Proud CP Lifetime Member
(currently working hard in the procurement department) |
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Jun 2 2012, 10:30 AM
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#211
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Master Mucker! Group: Admin Posts: 7,186 Joined: 7-October 03 From: Colorado Member No.: 4 |
Good post Woody, and reflecting that in your thread more would be great! People are always willing to follow good examples when they see it leads to good honest things like the goodies you are prospecting for.
That is exactly what the CP researched areas are are all about. The Past Colorado Prospector events listed on the "News And Events page" shows some great examples also. It definately pays to do the right research. Keep up the good work and we all will continue learning together. -------------------- Education is the key to the future,
and participation opens the door to opportunity. Discover your prospecting independence & success! ColoradoProspector.com Owner/Webmaster Core team member ♥ |
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Jul 3 2012, 06:03 AM
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#212
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Moderator Group: Members Posts: 4,459 Joined: 25-August 09 From: way on up thar Member No.: 6,983 |
Woody,
.... ya haven't posted a weekly outing update in a while, hopefully you've been getting out and the fires haven't kept you down. -------------------- /l ,[____], l---L-OlllllllO- ()_) ()_)--o-)_) BLACK SANDS MATTER! Very Happy CP Lifetime Member CP CORE TEAM Referral Code CE213 |
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Sep 15 2012, 05:23 AM
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#213
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 637 Joined: 5-April 11 From: All of Colorado Member No.: 15,615 |
Haven’t posted much lately, been suffer’n from a bit of writer’s cramp it seems.
Last week I was able to get back up to my Crystal hunting spot. I found an area that had good potential and started digging around a bit. I did not really find a lot of items but did find several big chunks of fluorite. As these pieces were coming up out of the ground they did not look like much and I could have easily tossed them aside without paying them much attention. However there shape immediately gave them away. When I find fluorite in this area it normally has a square, kind of a blocky, shape to it. Think of a section of Lego’s that a child has put together. They start off with a good thick base and stack different sizes and shapes of squares and rectangles on top of it. Whenever I see this stacking of squares effect I instantly think, Fluorite! When I got them cleaned off at the house they looked a lot better. The light green color with just a hint of purple now and again is typical and allows one to look deep into the rock. So this morning I got up 3 hours before sunrise and am looking forward to another day spent playing in the dirt. Hopefully I find some more chunky pieces of fluorite. Have a good one, Woody. -------------------- Proud CP Lifetime Member
(currently working hard in the procurement department) |
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Sep 15 2012, 06:06 AM
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#214
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Master Mucker! Group: Admin Posts: 7,186 Joined: 7-October 03 From: Colorado Member No.: 4 |
Fantastic finds Woody! I can definately see the Fluorite shapes.
Have fun and stay safe out there today! -------------------- Education is the key to the future,
and participation opens the door to opportunity. Discover your prospecting independence & success! ColoradoProspector.com Owner/Webmaster Core team member ♥ |
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Sep 15 2012, 09:01 AM
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#215
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Rock Bar! Group: Members Posts: 426 Joined: 6-February 04 Member No.: 84 |
Speaking of florite! This place is now buried thanks to renovation.
http://golddredger.com/fluoritemine/fluorsparmine1.htm http://golddredgervideo.com/prospecting/floritemine.wmv Leonard |
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Lo-Fi Version | Time is now: 28th March 2024 - 02:43 AM |