FIELD TRIP LOCATION - Historic Gold Rock Ranch Area, Southern California Desert - located 12 miles west of Yuma Arizona.

WHEN - December 19 - 21, 2003.

SPONSOR - CFMS Field Trip South.

ORGANIZATION - California Federation of Mineralogical Society.

MATERIAL TO COLLECT - Kyanite, Dumortierite, Petrified Palm Wood, Agate, Jasper, Goethite Crystals and much more.

LEADER - Bob Fitzpatrick

PROPOSED SCHEDULE - Early Friday will be for setting up camp. Around 1 p.m. I will be leading a field trip. Saturday and Sunday we will meet at the chuckwagon on the ranch for breakfast. At 9 a.m. (California time) we will head out to the collecting areas.

DIRECTIONS TO CAMP SITE - 12 miles west of Yuma, AZ on Interstate 8, go north on S-34 (Ogilby Road) for 9 miles, then left on Gold Rock Ranch Road for one and half miles to the ranch. We will be dry camping just out side of the ranch.

VEHICLE - Two wheel drive to the ranch; four wheel drive to collecting areas.

CAMP & FACILITIES - Some of us will be dry camping just out side the ranch. No water, toilets, or firewood to be gathered and no fees. The ranch has full services hook-ups at reasonable rates and they also have some supplies. If you need a motel or supplies they are available in Yuma.

TOOLS - Collecting bags, rock hammer, eye gear, flashlights, spray water bottle, etc., and a camp chair (to sit in at night around the fire).

SAFETY CONCERNS - Do not lick the rocks, use sun screen, stay away from rattlesnakes, use bug spray, be aware of flash floods, be extra careful and don't get lost, drive safe while on all field trips.

CLIMATE & WEATHER - It can be hot during the day and cold at night, it could rain.

CLOTHING - Appropriate for this time of year.

OTHER REMARKS - All club members and there guests are welcome to join us. Come for the day or camp out with us. Bring food, lots of water, a camera and lots of firewood for the campfire at night. Don't forget we will have a potluck on Saturday night, so bring a dish to share and your own place setting. Each night after dark we will have a campfire 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 the ranch around mid-day on Friday.

For more information about the Gold Rock Ranch and area, they have a web site. http://goldrockranch.tripod.com.
Or call them at (928) 919-6220 or (928) 920-0603.

You must observe the AFMS code of ethics and sign a consent and assumption of risk waiver of liability form to participate in this field trip.

FOR ADDITIONAL INFORMATION -
Email me at RUROCKY2@aol.com
or call me at (909) 845-3051.
Bob Fitzpatrick
CFMS Field Trip Chair - South, 2003

Hello Everyone,

Just returned from another great fieldtrip to the Gold Rock Ranch Area (20 miles west of Yuma). We had a nice turnout for this field trip with rockhounds from Maine, Washington, Oklahoma, Texas, Arizona, and from all over California. The weather was in the mid 70's.

I arrived at the Ranch around noon on Friday. We set up camp just outside of the ranch. At 1:00 p.m. we were off to check out the areas we would be going to on Saturday and Sunday. One of the best parts of our field trips are the potluck dinners, siting around the campfires at night, telling stories and having a few laughs.

Day two, Saturday: We met at the chuck wagon on the ranch for breakfast. At 8:00 a.m., Arizona time, we were off to Indian Pass for a fun day looking for Dumortierite and Petrified Palm Wood, Jasper, Agate. Dumortierite color runs from near black-blue to real lite blue. The real gemmy looks almost like Lapis Lazuli without pyrite in it. The Palm Wood is easy to find but the good kind that has color or eyes is more difficult to find. The first thing I did when we arrived was to show everyone what to look for.

Everyone was able to collect a lot of gemmy materal. Around med-day, almost everyone went back to camp to get ready for the potluck dinner at 3:30. Henry Aguilar from the Yuma and Banning Club, led five of us to an area closer to Yuma to look for Petrified Wood. We returned to camp just in time for the potluck dinner. After dinner everyone sat around the fire and had a good time.

Day three, Sunday: We met again at the chuck wagon on the ranch for breakfast. At 8:00 a.m., we were off to the Kyanite area for some great collecting. Again I took time to show everyone what to look for and were to collect. The Kyanite crystals are quite plentiful, they occur with quartz and real small black tourmaline crystals. The Kyanite comes in a few colors like blue, green, yellow or red; there were also Pyritohedron Goethite Crystals which are Pseudomorphs (Goethite after Pyrite). We had a great time collecting them. Everyone took home some nice Kyanite specimens.

Till next time,
Bob Fitzpatrick