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My last outing, A Weekly posting
Woody
post May 13 2012, 11:02 PM
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Here is my hand for compairison. The smallest was just under 13 inches. None made it to the 15 inch mark. Fishing on Mothers Day is allways exciting.
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swizz
post May 13 2012, 11:04 PM
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smiley-shocked003.gif
Those are honkers... I say you need a couple on the wall.


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russau
post May 14 2012, 10:52 AM
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or in the frying pan!
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Woody
post May 23 2012, 07:41 AM
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I went fishing this last weekend with my family at Pueblo Reservoir. I must say the fish did not let us down. Don’t recall the total number of fish caught but we were mainly after Crappie and the limit is 20 apiece, and we returned many back to the water. We also caught lots of Bass and some Walleye but not many would measure up. Spent that night on the bank hoping to catch a Catfish or two but none showed up, only a few small Walleye. Had a great time with family and am headed over to Blue Mesa next weekend to hopefully do the same over there.

If anybody was waiting for the right time of year to take their kids fishing, “or go themselves”, this is it. But you will want to hurry as the temps and Mosquitoes are only going to get worse. As a rule of thumb after Memorial Day, I head to the high country.


First pic is of Aspen wanting to know if I was going to answer that bell.

The next two is Steve working two rods at once on a rare double hook-up and these two Crappie show the average size of what we were catching.

Remembering all who have paid the ultimate sacrifice so that we may live in freedom… Happy Memorial Day, Woody.

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Woody
post May 29 2012, 10:59 PM
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Memorial Day weekend has kind of been an unofficial family reunion for the past several years now. We seem to gather at Blue Mesa and spend long hours fishing, visiting, and hanging around the campfire. This Memorial Day we had 15 family members which I believe was the biggest to date. We had a great time even though the fishing was slow and the wind was fast. A couple of neat things happened worthy of mention;

My middle brother, “Eddie”, caught a Yellow Perch that was 13 inches plus. For those of you in the know that’s a heck of a fish, worthy of a Master Angler Award.

The Kids were playing one evening and they rolled a large log of driftwood crossed the small creek where we were camping. The sand was very wet and muddy because the lake had gone down quite a bit recently and tracks were easy to see. I got up before the sun and walked over to the lake and discovered that a Bear had walked a crossed the log they put down. I couldn’t wait to wake them up to show them the tracks and tell them they had built a Bear Bridge.

Whenever I am out camping I have to go hiking around in the hills. My dad and one of my sisters accompanied me and we headed out for a look around. We were just about to turn around and head back when I started to find some interesting pieces of rock. At first I thought it was just a small piece of druzzy quarts from a seam. Then I started to find more and the pieces started to have bubbles on them. I quickly realized that what I was finding was Common Opal. This excited me greatly. I have never found Opal in Colorado except in Petrified Wood but this was not from anything like that. It was a layer or seam that rested on top of a piece of common Rhyolite rock. I gathered everybody around and explained to them what was happening here and up the hill we went, looking for the source. The higher up the hill we went the bigger and more abundant the Opal became. My sister was the first to find a large host outcropping. The coloring was wonderful. Just about every color you could think of except very little blues and no greens. One of the first bigger pieces found was kind of blue and for a while there I was thinking it might be Lapis but now I am sure it was just a bluish piece of Opal. I worked my way above that and found many more seams. I did not find any more host outcroppings but am sure there must be more judging from the amount of material found.
We carried some good specimens back with us and the next day we went back for some more. I am fascinated by the Strawberry, Cream colored pieces. I can’t wait to see what these would look like when cut and polished.

More pics will follow of some of my favorite pieces but for now here is a few I took this weekend. First is the Bear Bridge, Next is a piece of Bubbly Opal I removed from a seam, and the last is a small shot of the outcropping. Take care, Woody.


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swizz
post May 30 2012, 06:28 AM
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Awesome outing Woody! thumbsupsmileyanim.gif 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'. kick_can.gif
All designated recreational areas have different regs... maybe CNRA allows it as a recreational activity? confused0082[1].gif


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swizz
post May 30 2012, 08:21 AM
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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.


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Woody
post May 30 2012, 08:23 AM
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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.


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swizz
post May 30 2012, 08:30 AM
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QUOTE (Woody @ May 30 2012, 08:23 AM) *
This is well outside of CNRA and is on BLM.

Good

QUOTE (Woody @ May 30 2012, 08:23 AM) *
To be fair, I did not check with the county seat and specifically check this exact location for land status.

Bad

QUOTE (Woody @ May 30 2012, 08:23 AM) *
I am quite sure it is open as I have frequented this area for 40 years.

Ya never know...




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Woody
post May 30 2012, 08:39 AM
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Nice jab Chris-


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Denise
post May 30 2012, 08:49 AM
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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.


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swizz
post May 30 2012, 08:52 AM
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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.


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Woody
post May 30 2012, 10:17 PM
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Will try to do better next time.


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swizz
post May 31 2012, 09:47 AM
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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. cheers.gif

Yours truly,
The Land Status Nazi


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Woody
post Jun 1 2012, 08:54 AM
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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.


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