I dunno bout you - but the weather has been supreme for scouting out new locations and/or pockets. As long as the weather holds - would anyone/everyone be down for a dig, the Saturday after xmas? Try out those new metal detectors/pans/sluices/knowledge - My family doesn't celebrate xmas anymore - but I get paid that week - so I'll have gas money for whomever picks me up. Get out Sat morning, early, make the most of the day... let's go as a fantastical group adventure.

Colin

Next Sat works for me; let's do it.

All right, with it only forecasted to be in single digits until 0900 with a high of just over 20 and snow on the ground, I think I'm gonna pass on tomorrow.

There will be plenty more warmer days over the winter; would be down to hook up with you for one of those.

I hear you Crusty! Woke up this fine Saturday to a crisp -10 and completely fogged in.
Would definitely make for some cold digging hands, even in gloves!!

I did consider just bringing my chainsaw and making a giant bonfire to keep us warm lol

I like where your head is at, Crusty. But, me being a skinny guy - cold weather isn't to grand. I know how to layer properly, but sometimes that doesn't work - COLD is COLD

You pick the next day to go out - pref weekends.

Colin

I'm sure there will be a nice weekend soon and we can get up there.

Bump Bump, Bump it up! LoL, that worked rather well... Anywho, Crusty and myself are meeting a couple other prospectors (from FB groups) this coming Saturday. We're heading to Penrose area for Calcite. And possibly Curio Hill in the afternoon for Agates and this and that.

Figured, I'd offer here, (CP) if anyone would like to join us. ....Caveman, that's close to yer neck of the woods?

Speak up now if you'd like to attend. I know, kinda short notice, but things didn't get squared away until today.

Colin

IT's close, but I'm staying home with Mrs Caveman.

Sounds like a fun time Colin! Just curious since this is an open invite, if you don't mind me asking....Is this an open place that's researched for prospecting, private location claim or private land that this invite is for?

It's open that's been researched. Both Crusty and this other gal Mary have done the research on it.

Colin

You better be right.... minig is watching you now.

MINIG!!!!!

Don't want this to get lost in the sea of posts - gunna bump bump, bump it up again!

Is what it is, ain't what it ain't, you know?

Colin

I would like to participate! What time and where!

Our oh-so-casual group is meeting near Penrose, south of 50 on 115. The pull-out where we're meeting is 1 mile south of the intersection, on the right (west) side of the road. We'll be there at 10:30 on Saturday morning. We do have to walk across about 200' of private property to get to the BLM land where we can dig, according to Kappele's Rockhounding Colorado. If there are any "no trespassing" signs on the private property (there weren't when the book was published, but I've never been there myself so I can't vouch either way), we will head to Curio Hill. I've checked LR200 and there are no unpatented claims in the area where we will be rockhounding off 115.

I'm interested in going but I know that I wouldn't be able to get down in that area until after 11AM. Can you provide a little better description of the locations where people will be meeting? For both locations in case you guys can't check out the first spot and head over to Curio Hill.

Also, you said "I've checked LR200 and there are no unpatented claims in the area where we will be rockhounding off 115." but that comment makes me think that all of the claims are patented and that this may be considered claim jumping. Maybe I have my terms confused.

Hi dbird113 and GemHuntinMama! Welcome to the CP forums!! We have a great group here and a wide variety of information to learn from so make yourselves at home.



Sounds like a fun time but lets make sure everyone understands that the prospecting books have a disclaimer in them about re verifying an area before heading out there to prospect. You also mentioned that everyone would have to pass through 200' of private property. Did anyone get permission for this gathering to pass through the private property? If not that would be trespassing and not good for anyone so I would check into that one!



Private property does not have to be marked or fenced in. One is responsible for where they are in the field. You should also check the county office today before heading out tomorrow as there could have been claims filed recently. I'm assuming this area is open to prospect void of location or patented claims after the time of research?

Best to have all this information taken care of before heading out everyone, I would hate to see anyone get in trouble for missing a few steps.

Denise

Hey NRH,

I spent two days this past fall looking for both the calcite veins reported in canyons south of 50, and the agates at the historic, famed "Curio Hill". Both areas appear to be heavily fenced, private property. This is what I found:

"Curio Hill", a historic source of agate for the local tourism industry: depending on which document you're looking at, the location is 5-8 miles south of Canon City along Hwy 143 (Oak Creek Grade Rd). According to some sources, such as Stephen Voynick's "Colorado Rockhounding", you look for a low hogback between a small ranch and a cattle crossing. Perhaps that used to be the case, but today there are numerous small ranches, and there is no cattle crossing. The best I could figure is that the ridge is on the west side of the road, just after you pass through Stultz Gulch. But, as I said, the entire area is private property and fenced off. When I got back from my last trip, I did yet another intensive internet search, just to see if I could find some tiny fragment of information I might have missed. What I found was this YouTube video which, coincidentally, someone had posted only days prior. Their conclusion was identical to mine - the old Curio Hill is currently off limits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfWlhaeQ9zY This video is exactly what you will see driving on 143.


Good Luck!

RhodoRose

Welcome dbird113 and GemHuntinMama!

I must give a BIG WARNING to those of you going to the proposed Calcite spot. The area that used to be BLM lands that is mentioned in the books is no longer publicly owned land. My Colorado Atlas shows this as BLM public lands but the Atlas is incorrect! My best guess is the land was sold or given to the rapidly expanding super max prison system. You may be literally walking into prison! DON'T DO IT!
There is however some small tracks of BLM land that may be open to mineral entry just a bit down the road by the river, and you don't have to cross private property to get there.

As far as I can tell the Curio Hill spot is on National Forest lands. You should be able to avoid private property depending on the parking spot.

My brother is picking up his daughter in Canon City tomorrow and may be able to meet you guys if you still plan to meet there.

Welcome to the forums folks and good luck on your prospecting for sure!

I don't want this post to sound mean or point at any person who's posted in this thread, but feel it needs a bit more explanation on both books for field use and private land ownership.
Denise and I had a discussion this morning about this thread for a while and I thought amongst several red flags what most importantly being overlooked is the reality of the books legal info provided (any in print today), as well as the misperceptions created by them. Not only does this lead to confusion, but good folks who think they've checked for somewhere to go recreationally "rockhound" (collect minerals=prospecting) can easily find themselves in a bad situation.
This thread is a prime example of this and how easy it is to be mislead to the wrong field decisions and get's compounded with invites to take others along. Then everyone's doing things wrong in the field thinking it's ok.

These "field guide books" are all absolutely terrible legal land status references to take for field work. They will however let you know what you may find in an area generally speaking. When you take the field directions and author's "legal opinion" as fact in the field you're setting yourself up for a huge disappointment. Everyone is responsible for the actions in the field, no matter what a book said or someone told you!
Crossing private lands without the owners permission is just wrong whether it's 2 feet or 2 miles....there are legal "access points" for FS or BLM lands and you need to use those properly even if it means walking 10 times the distance it would crossing private land.
Commonly done in many of the "field books" by authors but does not make it right! Only makes them look not too bright for publishing their trespassing so boldly in their books!

Another common misconception (especially in field books) is that a road easement is fair game to dig on.....This is absolutely wrong! No D.O.T. of any state manages minerals or owns land the roads are on. Roads are on easements which do not convey ownership! The land owner still holds/maintains ownership of the land beneath the road as well as what is behind the fence. When you've finished crossing the private lands (driving) then you should normally see a sign that reads "entering FS/BLM lands" (which ever applies), otherwise you could be parking and or digging on private lands by using the books directions as given.
That sure isn't what anyone wants if they are out prospecting recreationally and most especially if others had been invited to tag along!

Again, please don't anyone thing my post directed at anyone personally...it's just very important to us around this website and this shows a great example of how easy it can happen then compound to many others.
We like to keep prospectors in the diggin' duds' instead of their going to court clothes, just seems like it makes sense.

Remember those books are only good for the minerals to be found.....Never use them for field guide directions without fully checking for yourself.
Keep on diggin' let the court room suit gather some more dust in the closet!

I'm sure any one who cares enough to have made it here takes your advice in the spirit in which it was given... to make us all better prospectors!

I did manage to search the Fremont CO assessor records and there are no claims in that neck of the woods (but there were quite a few just north in Temple Canyon Park... anyone know what they're finding in that neck of the woods?)

Looks like my brother and I may join the Calcite hunt tomorrow. I suggest we meet further down the road (2.3 miles south from intersection of Hwy 50 and 115). There is a large pull out on the right just before the Arkansas River that is BLM public lands(township 19 south, Range 69 west, Section 13, SW quadrant). This spot is good for a meet up but is not the best for hunting minerals. Once we meet up we can cross the river and take a left onto hwy 120. Once we cross the railroad tracks the land to the north of the road(left) is BLM land between the tracks and the road. It has several hills with exposed material to poke at. (Section 24, NW,NE Quads)

Anyone up for this idea?

Sounds great Mike! Glad to get out in the field with you again! your meet up spot sounds great and I added you to the Facebook chat

My girlfriend and I will be attending. We haven't done much rock hounding more into gold prospecting but we do like to dig!

Awesome, see y'all at 1030!

here's where we'll be meeting at 1030: https://www.google.com/maps/place/38%C2%B02...1!1s0x0:0x0

At 10:30 I will be at the pull out by the Arkansas river. The map posted by Crusty above is the parking for the prospecting area. Either way we will end up there. See you tomorrow!

I'm going to head down there today. I'm not sure if I'll be there at 10:30 or not so I may just go to the spot on the map. As I've never met any of you, keep an eye out for a dirty white Dodge Ram 4x4.

Will do! I'll be in a big black Avalanche

Weather here today was fantastic! Hope you all had a great day in the field and found some neat goodies on this group adventure!
We'll all be looking forward to the updates coming.

What an awesome day!! And/or an amazing group of people!!

Though we lost a couple people moving spots -

And I didn't do a whole lot of digging, lol... Did find some nice pieces of jasper at the second spot. Tried to take some pics of people mining, only got a couple (was to busy looking at the ground for what... I have no idea) (calcite) - Failed to take a pic of Crusty, William, and Chris. But think I got everyone else - I forget who showed up late to the first spot. Oh, didn't get a pic of Mary Lou & Matthew either - I will when we go out on Sunday All in all tho, it was a spectacular group dig, not to give to much credit to myself for getting the group together.. Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

I was the late one at the first spot. I didn't dig too much, but I did find some cool pieces of quartz that add character to the gravel next to my front door.

We did head over to Curio Hill but the No Trespassing signs on the barbed wire fence weren't something that I wanted to ignore. Since that was the general consensus we headed South on 143 looking for a way back into the area until it was obvious that we weren't going to find anywhere to explore.

As we were headed to the next spot (North of Canon City, I forgot the name) I got a call and had to head home.

It was fun to get out and meet people. Let me know where and when the next outing will be.

I had a good day today for my first trip of the year. The weather was nice and it was great to meet new folks and see NRH and Crusty again! Thank you guys for the invite.
Sorry we didn't make it to the second spot with ya'll. We got the kids some lunch and went back to the first spot. I came away with some gypsum, garnet, calcite, epidote and coral fossil. It was great to get into some new material and minerals.

Here is some fibrous gypsum (satinspar). This stuff is very fragile and hard to collect a good piece without turning into dust.
Click to view attachment

Here is some of the gemmy gypsum (selenite).
Click to view attachment
Click to view attachment

I found a few small crystals of colorless calcite.
Click to view attachment

There is a couple tiny garnets in this rock.
Click to view attachment

This rock appears to have fossilized coral on it.
Click to view attachment

Awesome pics Mike! It'll prob be a day or two before I can post everything that I found (mostly from the second location) Aside from a couple hand fulls of gypsum. First three pics is same specimen - (need ID help)
Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Could use ID help on the next set as well - Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Calcite? Click to view attachment Click to view attachment

Gypsum - Click to view attachment

Wow i wish i didnt live so far away i would have made it out ! Very nice garnet

Ignore my quote there - edited my post with pictures

Great job getting us all together Colin!

Very nice finds Mike! Awesome Calcite and Garnets. I didn't find anything nearly that exciting. But I had fun hooking up with y'all!

I'm thinking that Temple Canyon Park is closed to mining since it is owned/operated by Canyon City. The claims are probably associated with the Celtic Minerals drilling program on the old Copper King discovery and nearby lands. There was a high-grade gold discovery on a 13 mile vein system that caused a rush in the area in the late 1800's. The townsite was called Dawson City. The area is still active and most refer to it as the Dawson Project.

I'm not sure on the blue stuff, but my best guess is a copper mineral like Azurite or Lapis.
The rest of the pics look like different forms or gypsum. Hope that helps.


I have a few spots in mind to look at up your way. It might have to wait until March or April depending on weather. Larimer CO has one of the best locals in Colorado for finding apple-green Chrysoberyl. I want to go find some!

Need id

Well let me know if you make it down where abouts would one look to find Chrysoberyl

There is a decent size granite system that was mined in the past for Beryllium. It streches from Buckhorn Creek/Road southward to The Big Thompson river. The main spot I have my eye on for a first scout trip is westward from the town of Drake (Sullivan Park area).

People have reported beryl crystals (green, blue or white) up to 6 ft. long from the area and 1" long twinned Chrysoberyl crystals which can be a gemmy apple green color. Some of the other minerals that may be found in that granite system include: Topaz (colorless up to 4 inches long), Fluorite, Spodumene, Garnets and more.

If I manage to find myself in Colorado and with time to spare, would I be welcome tpo accompany you guys?

No shortage of folks looking for an excuse to get out & about, so I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem!

That would be great to have you along Coalbunny! I will likely do a scout trip first to look for parking, camp spots, water sources and claim markers. Of course I will be looking for mineral clues on the surface. If I organize a field trip I will post at least a week ahead of time, with follow up land research info. so folks can double check land status themselves before they go. This spot is low elevation and should be good to go in spring. If the mild weather keeps up maybe sooner. I'll keep ya'll posted.

Seriously! I've been bitten by the bug so bad that I've begun playing archaeologist in my back yard! I have three random concrete slabs along my fence lines. I'm tearing the Sh*$ out of my yard. Lol! My landlord, (whose office overlooks my yard) is probably wondering WTF!?
Why didn't I ask to join up you possibly wonder? Because the Dodge may be on her last leg. Odd grinding while coasting. Methinks it's the driveshaft that goes from the front transfer case into the tranny.

Should have listened to you; we drove up there, navigated by someone who swore it wasn't private property and the video had the location wrong. You were right and it is fence and posted regularly.

We came up with a plan B to head up county road 9 to Felch Creek, but didn't find that location, so we mess around on the land by whatever the fossil area is there. Not sure what Colin or anyone else got; all I found was some small agate and jasper bits.

I decided to delete my post completely, sorry for the swearing.