January
14th Meeting
Sunsites Gem and Mineral Club General Meeting
The
meeting was called to order at 7 p.m. by President Don Hammer.
New
members, Gail and Ron Smullins, Linda Gorton and Jody Dahlstrom, were
acknowledged and welcomed.
Don
asked for a motion to approve the minutes of the last meeting, as published.
It was moved, seconded, and approved.
Walter
gave the Treasurer's Report, a copy of which had gone to the Membership in the
last Newsletter. Walter went over this year's budget, noting the changes
the Board suggested from the 2007 budget. Current checking account
balance stands at $1,716.09; the CD value stands at $3,104.17. The
Treasurer's Report was approved.
The
Audit Committee, given by Henri, reported no irregularities.
Don
acknowledged the loss of Club Member, Sue Bishop. A sympathy card was
made available for the Members to sign. It was announced that Henri
purchased a rock and mineral related book, on behalf of the Club, to be donated
to the Benson Public Library in Sue's name.
Don
reminded Members of this month's field trip which will be on Sunday, the 27th.
A sign-up sheet was available for those wanting to
participate. The Club will go to Joy Valley to seek out fire agate
and chalcedony. Bob and Barbara Fenner will lead this trip and bought
samples of these rocks for the Members to see. Don
announced that Ernie Blanden has invited Members to his home after the field
trip to view his collection of rocks, and if interested, call Don.
Don
noted: The need for Members to sign up to cover refreshments; Club dues to be
paid to Walter no later than the end of March; if interested in going back to
the Commonwealth Mine for an extra field trip, see Don: Jack Breese suffered
some heart problems and was in the hospital; brochures for a Dinner Dance and
copies of Sue Bishop's Memorial were on the front table.
The
meeting was adjourned at 7:20 p.m., followed by refreshments, and the rock
raffle.
The
program was "Finding Coronado's Route" presented by Mr. and Mrs.
Hartmann.
Respectfully
submitted,
Diane
Brower
Secretary
January Field Trip
The
field trip on January 27 to Joy Valley for fire agate and chalcedony was
postponed until February due to upcoming rain forecasts.
Lapidary and
Silversmith
Classes
Come and
join the fun for lapidary, silversmith, and wire wrap lessons. Interested? Call Irvin Pontious for lapidary
at 824-0110. Silversmith - call Don
Hammer 384-3105. Wire Wrap - call Larry Strout 826-3991.
February Meeting:
We’ll be showing a Lapidary video.
It will be of interest to all our lapidary lovers, and those who would
like to learn.
Club Calendar
January February
27 Field Trip - Postponed 11 Monthly Mtg
31 Board Meeting 16 Field Trip
28
Board Meeting
March April
10
Regular Meeting 3 Board
Meeting
16
Field Trip 14
Monthly Mtg 19 Field Trip
May June
1 Board Meeting 7
Picnic
12
Monthly Meeting
18 Field Trip
29 Board Meeting
Upcoming Regional
Events
Tucson: Tucson Gem Show, February 2 –
17 http://www.visittucson.org/visitor/events/gemshow/
Deming
NM: March 6-9, 2008. Deming Gem & Mineral Society,
43rd annual Rockhound Roundup. Rocks, gems, minerals, geode cutting,
auctions, guided field trips. 505.544.8643 www.dgms.bravehost.com
Cottonwood: March 21-23; 32nd Annual Verde
Valley Gem, Mineral and Jewelry Show Held at Mingus Union High School, 1801 Fir
St, Cottonwood AZ. Display, Silent
auctions, Raffles, exhibits, jewelry & lapidary dealers and supplies,
fluorescent display, kid's activities. Hours: Fri & Sat 9 AM- 5 PM, Sun 10
AM - 4 PM Admission: Fri $1, Sat & Sun $3, 3-day pass $5. Parking: Free.
Contact: Doug Evenson 928-634-0459, dougevenson@verdecomm.net, Mike Ramsey
928-634-0666 ramsey6264@yahoo.com
Some Arizona Gem
& Mineral Clubs (from RMFMS.org)
New Mexico:
P.O. Box
13718, Albuquerque, NM 87192-3718 Pres: Susan Seymour, (505) 877-3621;
suzannerox5@aol.com
Carlsbad: Road Runner Gem &
Mineral Club:
1801 Solana Rd., Carlsbad, NM 88220; Meets 1st Monday, 7pm at Senior
Recreation Center, 1112 N. Mesa; Pres: Frank Pierce, (505) 885-7676; e-mail:
marynixon@valornet.com
Farmington: San Juan County Gem
& Mineral Society:
P. O. Box 1482; Farmington, NM 87499-1482; Meets 4th Tuesday, 7:30pm
in Sun's Dining Room at San Juan College, 4601 College Blvd.; Pres: Duane
Gustin, (505) 402-9742; dbgustin@msn.com
Las Cruces: Gem Crafters &
Explorers Club:
P. O.
Box 3091, Las Cruces, NM 88003; Meets 3rd Friday 6:30pm, (except
July & Dec) at Breland Hall, room 189, NMSU Campus; Pres: LeRoy Unglaub,
(505) 524-9497; pathfdr@zianet.com
P.O. Box
762, Los Alamos, NM 87544; Meets 3rd Tuesday, 7:30pm at Christian
Church, 92 East Rd.; Pres: Joyce Guzik, (505) 672-0249; joy@lanl.gov
Roswell: P.O. Box 815, Roswell, NM 88203
Santa Fe Geological Society, Inc.: P. O. Box 1245, Sandia Park, NM
87047; Pres: Lee Winn, (505) 820-1085; e-mail: rwinn@cybermesa.com
Silver City: Grant County Rolling
Stones Gem & Mineral Society:
P.O. Box 1555, Silver City, NM 88062-1555; Meets 2nd Thursday, 6pm
at Silver City Senior Center, 205 W. Victoria St.; Pres: B J Burch, (505)
388-4312; e-mail: mamafisch@aol.com
Truth or Consequences: Sierra Gem
and Mineral Society:
813 Gold; Truth or Consequences, NM 87901; Pres: Leon Gorrell (505) 894-0559
Non-Affiliated Clubs for New
Mexico
Clovis Gem & Mineral Society: 1587 BY 60-84, Clovis, NM 88101
Deming
Gem & Mineral Society:
P.O. Box 1459, Deming, NM 88031
Lordsburg: Rockamania Gem & Mineral
Society: 208 Motel Dr., Lordsburg, NM 88045
Happy Valentines Day
Apache Creek, NM
“AGATE RENDEZVOUS 2008”
The “Chaparral Rockhounds” of
Roswell, NM, would like to cordially invite all Rockhounds of all ages to “AGATE RENDEZVOUS 2008”, our annual
ten-day, nine-night fieldtrip campout through the Labor Day weekend held at
Apache Creek, New Mexico, from August 23RD to September 1ST,
2008. This is an “Inter-Federation
Campout & Fieldtrip Event” for the whole family with the Rocky
Mountain, California and the South Central Federations (and all other
Federation who wish to attend).
We have very adventurous and interesting fieldtrips every day from 50 to
200 miles roundtrip from our base camp.
Each day we leave at 8:30 AM with a picnic lunch to different areas in
the region to collect a very wide variety of rocks, minerals and/or crystals
that can include: Agate, Banded Agate, Blood Stone, Chalcedony, Crystalline,
Flat Band Agate, Geodes, Golden Luna Agate, Hematite, Jasper, Lava’s, Luna Blue
Agate, Obsidian, Plume Agate, Quartz Crystals, Red Luna Agate, Snowflake Agate
and Thunder Eggs just to name only a few.
A couple of our fieldtrips might be into the eastern portion Arizona
along the state line. Several of the
areas that we travel into, one will need a high-clearance or 4WD type
vehicle. If you do not have this type of
vehicle, don’t worry, someone would be happy to carpool with a little “$$$$” help for gas.
The very small town of Apache Creek is located in the central-western
part of the state about 117 miles west of Socorro, NM, on NM-12 southwest of
the small town of Datil, NM. Apache
Creek campground, used as our base camp, was once a CCC Camp back in the
1930’s. It is a beautiful and tranquil
camping area with tall majestic pine trees towering over the entire camp area
for plenty of cool shade during the warm days of August. The area is large and spacious enough for the
largest of RV’s to the smallest of pup tents and everything in between. Being a rustic camp area, there are no
facilities, water or electricity, just one coed chemical toilet, so you must
come prepared. There is no cost or
camping fees at Apache Creek campground.
The town of Apache Creek has one main structure in town, a small country
store where one can buy the “very basics” and is where we get our spring water
and take showers. The small town of
Reserve is eleven miles to the southwest and has a grocery store, bank/ATM,
garage/gas station and a small motel for anyone who does not want to campout. The majority of the time, Mother Nature
cooperates. The weather in August has
warm days in the upper 70’s to 80’s and cool nights in the 50’s with some
possible 40’s and even 30’s.
Occasionally, late summer thundershowers may wonder through the area to
put a damper on things, so come prepared for the unexpected. The elevation of our base camp is about 6400
feet with day outings that can be up to 8500 to 9000 feet.
Every afternoon about 4:30 or 5:00 PM after a day of collecting, most of
the rockhounds get together and have a happy hour to socialize and talk about
the day’s findings. Then everyone has
supper on their own around 6:00 PM.
Afterwards, we sit around the campfire and tell TALL stories of old
mining, prospecting and Rockhounding glory days. The nighttime skies at Apache Creek are
breathtaking. With no light pollution,
one can see millions of stars. So, if
you have a good pair of binoculars or a telescope, be sure to bring them too
for some spectacular stargazing. On both
Saturday afternoons after returning from our outing, we all get together for
our traditional “Apache Creek Group Photo” at 5:30 PM. Afterwards, we all get ready for our
traditional potluck supper at 6:00 PM.
Everyone makes their favorite camp dish and we share them while telling
more stories around the campfire. On
each Sunday morning at 8:00 AM, we will have a Rollin’ Rock Club meeting if we
have enough folks interested.
Rockhounds that show up can camp-out anywhere from a couple of nights to
the entire campout. Some just come for
the last weekend to visit and see old friends.
Some Rockhounds camp out for over two weeks. Everyone that comes always has a great time
with all the camaraderie and collecting, and everyone ALWAYS go home several pounds heavier. Each year, it only gets better. We really hope that your club members can
join us this year to make some new friends and really have some good old “Rockhounding Fun and Adventure.” For the last 10 years, we have averaged
about 40 Rockhounds that have attended the campout from at least half a dozen
states. Just the right size for a
Rockhound get together. And folks, if
you have any good unique swapping/trading material from your area, be sure to
bring it. And in addition, if you have a
CB Radio, be sure to bring it along. We
use CB Channel 7 on all our fieldtrips.
When you arrive at the campground, just look for the “White Framed
Canopy”, that’s our HQ.
Saturday and Sunday on the last weekend are open days. For those not interested in going out rock
collecting, there are several other things to see and do in the area:
New
Mexico Bureau of Mines Mineral Museum is located in Socorro, NM on the
campus of the New Mexico Bureau of Mines.
The museum is one of the “Top Five Mineral Museums” in all of North
America and well worth the trip.
Very
Large Array (VLA) Radio Astronomy Telescope is where the
movie “Contact” with Jodie Foster was filmed.
If you are interested in Astronomy, you defiantly want to check this
place out. They have a very interesting,
informative and education Visitors Center.
Apache
Creek South Mesa
has some unique 600-year-old Petroglyphs located on the south side of the
mesa. The site is only a two-mile
roundtrip hike from the campground.
Catron
County Fair
in Reserve, NM is the place to be on the first weekend of the campout. On 25 August, the town will be having their
County Fair with a Livestock Show, Arts & Crafts and a Rodeo.
Catron
County Rock Show
during the Labor Day weekend will be at the Reserve Fair Grounds. The local rock club will be having their Rock
Show with an Open-Tailgate Rock Swap on Saturday. Bring your Rocks to buy, sale or trade.
Mogollon,
NM
is an old historic and famous ghost town in the Mogollon Mountains, Gila
National Forest. There are Antique Shops,
a very interesting Mining Museum, the “Mogollon Rock Shop”, the Old Theater and
have lunch in the Old Town Café.
The
Catwalk
is a very beautiful, tranquil and scenic canyon for hiking. Therefore, if you love hiking, the Catwalk is
for you. In addition, there are numerous
places to go hiking throughout the Gila and Apache National Forests.
Silver
City Gem and Mineral Show in Silver City, NM. The local club will be having their 24th
annual 3-day show during the Labor Day weekend.
It is only a two-hour drive south and the very beautiful and scenic
landscape will make the trip a memorable one.
Lodging:
For those folks who do not wish to camp out,
or need electricity and water for their RV, there are the following
alternatives. Be sure to make any
reservations as early as possible due to Bow Hunting season for Elk, which
starts on Monday the 1st. The
rooms and RV spaces fill up fast.
The Bunk House Bed & Breakfast in Apache Creek
is 505-533-6949.
Apache Creek RV located in
nearby Cruzville is 505-533-6166. They
have a Dump Station, Laundry, Propane & Showers.
Rode Inn Motel on Main Street
in Reserve is 505-533-6661. They have
Cable TV, Direct Dial Phones, Queen Beds and a Laundromat.
Dining: For those folks who wish to have a change of
diet from camp food, there are the following alternatives.
BBQ Restaurant in Reserve
Ella's Café in Reserve
Little Adobe Café in Rancho
Grande
The host for AGATE RENDEZVOUS is the
Chaparral Rockhounds and is co-sponsored by the Rocky Mountain Rockhounds. If you are planning on coming to AGATE
RENDEZVOUS, please try to RSVP NLT the
20th of August. For any
additional information about the Rendezvous, please contact Yonis Lone Eagle,
RMFMS Vice President & New Mexico/Texas State Director at 505-860-2455 or
via e-mail at: rockymountainrockhounds
at yahoo dot com. All rockhounds that attend will abide by the
American Federation of Mineralogical Societies “Code of Conduct”.
Agate Rendezvous 2008-Schedule
of Fieldtrip Events
Depending on the number of rockhounds
that show up, I might have to spit up the fieldtrips to two different ones a
day. There would be two different
sign-up sheets each evening.
Fri. the 22nd: Arrive and set
up camp and sign-in.
Sat. the 23rd: Green and
purple Fluorite near Gila, NM. Rock shop
in Glenwood, NM. (New location) Potluck supper at 6pm back at camp.
Sun. the 24th: Agate, purple
Bloodstone, Jasper and Petrified Wood near Red Hill, NM. (Old location)
Mon. the 25th: Golden Luna
and White Banded Agate north of Luna, NM.
(Old & new locations) Group
supper at the Little Adobe Café in Rancho Grande at 5pm.
Tue. the 26th: Luna Blue
Agate near Luna, NM. (Old & new
locations)
Wed. the 27th: Multi-colored,
flat-banded & snowflake Agate and Crystals near Turkey Park. (Old & new locations)
Thr. the 28th: Red Agate,
Obsidian nuggets and Petrified Wood.
Group supper at the BBQ Café in Reserve.
Fri. the 29th: Mogollon
Ghost Town and Obsidian.
Sat. the 30th: Open day, Open
Tail-Gate Rock Swap at the Catron County Fair grounds in support of the local
Rock Show. Potluck supper at 6pm back at
camp.
Sun the 31st: Open
day, collect where you want or do what you want. Group supper at Ella’s Café in Reserve at
5pm.
Mon. the 1st: Pack up camp
and head for home.