Hello Everyone

     I will be leading a field trip to the Afton Canyon area on April 25th, 26th & 27th where we will be collecting on the Northeast side of the Cady Mountains. This area affords many spectacular peaks and canyons containing an almost endless variety of cutting materials, such as all types of Agates, Jasper, Jaspagate, Rhombohedral Calcite Crystals, Saginite, Petrified Wood, Stalactites, Fluorite, Opalite and much more. The desert is beautiful this time of year and we will be in for quite a treat viewing all the wild flowers along the way.

     To get there, take the I - 15 Freeway east past Barstow for 45 miles to Basin Road. Exit this off ramp to the right and go 1.3 miles to a fork in the road. Take the left road and go 3.8 more miles to the Rail Road tracks. The road from freeway to the camping site is OK for 2 - wheel drive cars, trailers & motorhomes. We will be camping just on other side of Rail Road tracks.

     From the camping site to collecting area the road is sandy in some areas. Cars are not recommended, four wheel drive and pickup should be OK; it's about 1/2 hour drive from the camp to the collecting area.

     Friday we will be setting up camp, this will be dry camping, no water, no picnic tables, no toilets, no firewood to be gathered and no fees. It can be warm during the day and cold at night. Bring food, water, warm clothes a camera and fire wood. If you need a motel or supplies they are available in Baker and Barstow. Saturday we will have a pot luck, so bring a dish to share and your own place setting. Each night after dark we will have a camp fire where we can all join together and have a good time roasting marshmallows, telling jokes or just talking about the good OLE times.

     I should be arriving at campsite around midday on Friday. Saturday and Sunday we will be leaving the camp at 9:00 a.m. and drive to the collecting area. Come for the day or camp out with us for the weekend and have a great time. You must observe the AFMS code of ethics and sign a consent and assumption of risk waiver of liability form. Hope to see you there.

    For additional information

Email me at RUROCKY2@aol.com
Bob Fitzpatrick
CFMS Field Trip Chair - South

Hello Everyone,

    Just returned from a great field trip to the Alton Canyon area (North Cady Mountains), Located about 50 miles east of Barstow, Calif. We had a great turnout for this field trip! A total of 52 rockhounds signed in.

Day 1, Friday, April 25th:

    The weather was nice when I arrived at the campsite at noon and we quickly got the campsite all set up. Around 2:00 we headed out to do some serious rockhounding. I led them to an area were we collected some great Sagenite and Plume agate (cutting material) and other nice gem material. On the way back to camp we stopped for a few minutes on the flats below were we were collecting during the day and found a lot of small gemmy items. Just as we were leaving I picked up a 6 inch Sagenite spray with druzy quartz on it.

When we returned back at camp, I took a count and we had a total of 31 at the campsite. Every one pitched in and got things ready so we could have fun around the camp fire that night, and we did. I want to thank everyone that picked up all the trash that was already there before we arrived and those that brought fire wood for our camp fire and food for Saturdays potluck. A lot of stories were told and we got to know each other. It was cool and slightly windy at night.

Day 2, Saturday, April 26th;

    The schedule was to leave at 9:00 a.m. sharp to go collecting. During the evening the night before and early Sat. morning more rockhounds had arrived and we had a total of 20 SUVs and Pick-up's lined up. (That is not including the cars, motorhomes and Trailers we left at the camp.) Our campsite looked like a small town.

    Off we went on our adventure where we used walkie-talkies to keep track of every one. We looked like a snake winding through the desert. Our first stop was the Fluorite mine (about a 30 minute drive). I had Ray Pearce give us a little history lesson on the area, We took some group pictures and we went off collecting for a few hours. A Mojave Rattle Snake was spotted, so we stayed clear of the area to protect everyone from injury. Nice specimens of Green Fluorite were collected and some good multicolored Jas-Agate (cutting material) and Opalite, Onyx, Calcite Rhombs (they looks like ice cubes), and other gemmy items.

    From the Fluorite Mine we drove to another collecting area where we stayed for the rest of the day. On some of the slopes of this canyon, there was Jas-Agate chips the size of two to three inches. of all colors as float. We also collected Calcite Rhombs, Chalcedony Roses, Colorful chunks of Agate and Jasper, Amygdules Nodules (they're shaped like potatoes with a dull iron stain that covers the exteriors), when cracked open they're filled with Calcite and Quartz crystals and some times with Sagenite sprays. There were two nice large Calcite clusters specimens covered with Druzy Quartz found.

     We had two people, (Cherie Brown and Pat Felix), who got the potluck ready for the evening meal. They left before us to get things set up - we headed back to camp around 4:00. On our way back to camp we also stopped at the flats below for about 15 minutes. We also found a lot of small gemmy items at this location too, I picked up a nice 4" colorful Sagenite spray. As we arrived back to camp, more rockhounds had shown up to join us for the potluck at 6:00 and to spend the night and go on the field trip for Sunday. The Potluck was great and there was plenty of food (there was 36 of us for the potluck dinner); Bob Bryne said grace before we ate. After dinner we sat around the fire and told jokes and stories. Peggy from El Cajon had us put dough on the end of wood sticks and put them over the fire until they were done. We took then off the sticks and filled them with canned fruit and whipped cream. They were really tasty. At 10:00pm. we called it quits for the night.

Day 3, Sunday, April 27th:

     At 9:00 a.m. we were all off again, traveling through the desert to a new area, the Blue Agate Canyon. On the way we stopped to collect Chalcedony Roses for about 30 minutes and then on to the Blue Agate area. After arriving there I showed everyone what to look for. We climbed all over the small hills and collecting some Blue Agate and Amygdules, Calcite Rhombs and other gemmy stones. From this location we headed to the Sagenite and Plume Agate area, about a 30 minutes trip. After arriving there I showed everyone what to look for and helped carry some of there finds to their SUVs. At 2:00 p.m. we headed back to camp, stopped at the flats below were good gem stones were found. From the camp everyone packed up and headed for home-some had a long way's to travel. Everyone had a great time and found a lot of nice gem specimens and cutting material. The weather was great all three days.

Until next time,

Bob Fitzpatrick
CFMS Field Trip Chair. South