Angela D. Brown Editor, Rockhound Rambling Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. P.O. Box 1573, Ventura, CA 93002

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Rockhound Rambling photo of the month (See inside for details)

www.amfed.org www.cfmsinc.org scribe.rbnet.net/ Visit us on the web! www.vgms.org

The Ventura Gem and Mineral Society presents: Rockhound Rambling The Official Bulletin of the VGMS Our 70th Year

In this months issue:

Fall Breakfast Potluck & Workshop Day, pg.5

A Nat’l. Treasure Lost to Over-Collecting, pgs. 7-8

The Elusive Michigan State Gemstone, pg. 15

Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (VGMS) P.O. Box 1573, Ventura, CA 93002 Purpose of the VGMS: Promote popular interest in, sponsor and provide means and activities, which will result in the dissemination of information and knowledge in geology, mineralogy, paleontology, lapidary and similar sciences. Conduct lectures, classes or study groups to further education and interest in the aforesaid sciences. Make and exhibit mineral collections.

Club Central 2014 Elected Officers Committee Chairs Club E-mail: [email protected] President Ways and Means Diane Cook 805.647.8517 Maria Flores Membership Dues $20 - Single 1st Vice President Hospitality $30 - Family/Couple (1 bulletin) includes Jim Brace-Thompson Deb Sankovich Children < 19 Years 805.659.3577 $17 - Students >17 Years + 12 Units Museum / Library Pebble Pups <13 years No Charge 2nd Vice Presidents Jim Brace-Thompson / (Co-Chairs) Terry Wilson Regular Meeting David Mautz 805.794.1809 7:30 - 9:30 PM at Raul Barraza 805.525.1919 Historians The Poinsettia Pavilion Terry Wilson 609.744.6364 Lowell Foster/Steve Mulqueen Santa Paula Room 3451 Foothill Rd, Ventura, CA 93003 3rd Vice President Website Krishna Juarez 805.320-1094 Jim Layton January through October: 4th Wednesday of the Month Treasurer Hostess Nancy Brace-Thompson Shirley Layton November and December: 805.659.3577 805.717.9226 2nd Wednesday of the Month

Anyone may attend and are welcome. Recording Secretary Refreshment Schedule The December meeting is normally a Greg Davis 805.647.9214 Holiday party. Location is announced October - Angela & Luther Brown elsewhere in the bulletin & may vary. Membership Secretary Nov. - Pumpkin Potluck Richard Slyker 805.644-2749 Field Trips Dec. - Holiday Potluck Dinner Announced monthly in the bulletin & at Federation Director the regular meeting. Kathryn Davis 805.647.3096 See also: www.cgamc.org This Month’s Cover Photo: Bulletin Editor Taken by Annual Show Angela Brown 805.649.9657 The Club’s Annual Gem Show is held Lowell Foster the first full weekend in March at the Parliamentarian Ventura County Fairgrounds. Maury Mountain Moss Agate Rob Sankovich 805.494.7734 Oregon VGMS Club Colors Blue and Gold All images are member photographed Board Meeting and submitted to Rockhound 1st Thursday of the Month, 7:30PM. Rambling. Images submitted to the Workshop/Museum Union Bank Community Center, 11969 N. Creek Road editor should be accompanied b y 801 S. Victoria Ste 200B, Ventura subject name and location. Selection Ojai, CA 93023 is at the discretion of the editor. Submit images to: Clip Art Credits [email protected] B&W animal/fossil clip art ©2009, Florida Center for Instructional Technology (marked @FCIT) Crystal & Mineral clip art ©Diamond Dan; Original clip art by the editor marked ©AB. Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 1

President’s Message Table of Contents

It is nominating American Agate/Jasper Index ... 11 time for VGMS. That means we An Ancient Threat ... 10 are looking for VGMS members BenchTips ... 16 to volunteer for Birthdays ... 3 committee and board positions. If you are interested, Chips & Boulders ... 19 there are all levels of help needed, so Club Merchandise ... 19 please call or email Deb Sankovich, [email protected] or any Editor’s Note ... 2 of the other committee members: Educational Corner ... 17, 18 Angela Brown, Susan & Richard Slyker, and Bob Driskell. Education & Community Outreach ... 9 Federation News ... 14 The VGMS Breakfast will be October 18th at 9:00am. Come visit the silent Field Trips Are Fun ... 13 auction, chat with fellow members, Gems From The Past ... 6-8 exchange information. The clubhouse will be open for use. Hospitality ... 2 Important Announcements ... 5 There are several field trips and events happening in October, including one Let’s Go To A Show! ... 20 the weekend of our breakfast up at Meeting Minutes ... 4 Jade Cove. Membership ... 2 Also, the Oxnard Gem & Mineral Club Officer Elections ... 5 will be having their Annual Show November 1 & 2, 2014. Please plan President’s Message ... 1 on attending and/or exhibiting at the show. Program Review & Schedule ... 12 Rockhound Ramblings ... 14-16 The holidays are right around the corner what a great place to get some Thank You! ... 3 shopping done! Happy Halloween!

Rock On Team Pink!

Diane Cook, VGMS President Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 2 Editor’s Note

Fall is in the air, and the holidays are almost upon us. Speaking of the holidays; the November and December regular membership meetings will be on the SECOND Wednesday of each month, so as not to interfere with them. Same time, same place (though December meeting/party with just be in another room at the Pavilion). The November meeting will be a Pumpkin Potluck and Silent Auction (members bring the yummies!). The December meeting will be our Holiday Party and ‘White Elephant’ gift exchange. Look for a sign-up sheet for the Holiday dinner; we need members to bring side dishes and desserts. The meats will be supplied by the club. More details will be announced soon. And for the bulletin; since the last issue for the year is a combined November/December issue, please send me submissions by November 10th. After that, your editor looks forward to taking a short break ‘til next year. Rock ‘n’ roll. Angela Brown VGMS Editor [email protected] Hospitality There were 33 adult club members and five guests at our September 24 meeting.

Deb Sankovich, Hospitality Membership

We have five new members voted in by your VGMS board in October.

Gina Curtis and Mark Kenyon joined our club after discussions with current members. Welcome Gina attended the work shop in September and is already collecting and polishing. New She is interested in all phases of the hobby and looks forward to the Gem and Mineral Show. Members! Mayela Segura joined with her friend, Gina Curtis. She is also looking forward to the Gem and Mineral Show in March. Frank and Sharon Adams were past members and have rejoined. They attended the September meeting and enjoyed the great presentation on meteorites. The new members directory information follows:

Gina Curtis and Mark Kenyon Mayela Segura Frank and Sharon Adams 162 - A Bell Road 1681 E. Thompson Blvd. 2185 Eastridge Trail Ventura, CA 93001 Ventura, CA 93002 Oxnard, CA 93036 520.243.3916 805.236.9408 805.402.4488 [email protected] [email protected]

Your VGMS now has 85 adult members, 11 pebble pups, and 1 junior member.

Richard Slyker, VGMS Membership Chair 334 Wesleyan Ave., Ventura CA 93003 [email protected] Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 3 THANK YOU!

Almost as soon as we moved into our digs at Camp Comfort toward the end of 2008, a violent storm knocked down a big tree that did a glancing blow to the back corner of our clubhouse. While we lucked out, the damage left a bruise that has grown these past 6 years. Thank you to Greg Davis for finally fixing that bruise, shoring up the eaves and roof line that took the hit from that falling tree. Thank you to Raul Barraza and Maria Flores for hauling a truck bed filled with 5-gallon buckets and boxes of rock, mineral, and fossil specimens for use as Show Kids Booth prizes and grab bag stuffers. They’ve crafted a storage spot at their home to keep this material secure for use at future shows. Thank you to Richard Slyker and Jim and Nancy Brace-Thompson who assisted with our Fall Cleaning effort at the clubhouse during our monthly workshop day on September 20, as advertised in our last newsletter. Greg Davis and Bob Driskell also did yard work to spruce things up in advance of our October club picnic. While we didn’t have a lot of helping hands,

we managed to get leaves raked, spider webs swept away, and our museum rooms cleaned and looking good for any Fall classroom visits. We need to plan another clean-up day that doesn’t coincide with a workshop day so that we can get full club attention to the essential task of keeping every room of our clubhouse cleaned and maintained so as to have a VGMS home we can all take pride in. If you utilize our workshop or any other aspect of our clubhouse, we need your help maintaining it. Please: don’t just be a “user”—be a “helper”!

Know of someone who has gone out of their way to help the club? Email a thank-you note to our newsletter so that a pat on the back can be passed along!

November & December VGMS Birthdays Wishing you all a very Happy Birthday, and Many More! Cole Coyner ...... November 2 Ron Wise ...... November 30 Michele Quistad ...... November 10 Krishna Juarez ...... December 2 Michael Rittenberg ...... November 27 Gerry Crisler ...... December 19 Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 4 Meeting Minutes

VGMS Regular Meeting - September 24 , 2014 VGMS Board Meeting - October 2 , 2014 The regular monthly meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society The Board meeting of the Ventura Gem & Mineral Society for October 2, was called to order by President Diane Cook at 7:30 pm on Wednesday, 2014, was called to order by President Diane Cook at 801 S. Victoria in September 24, 2014 at the Poinsettia Pavilion Center in Ventura. Ventura @ 7:35 pm. Present : Diane & John Cook, Dave Mautz, Angela Brown, Kathryn Diane introduced visitors and then asked for corrections, if any, to the Davis, Jim & Shirley Layton, Krishna & Shana Juarez, Steve Mulqueen, previously printed board and regular meeting minutes. There was a Rob Sankovich, Terry Wilson and Raul Barraza. Two Brett’s from Oxnard correction made to the date of the next Board meeting, October 2, which Gem were also attended briefly. will include a show meeting. It was then m/s/c to accept the minutes. It was m/s/c to accept last months minutes as written in the bulletin. Members were led in the pledge to the flag. Old Business : Jim Brace-Thompson next introduced Prof. Kevin McKeegan from UCLA who gave an extensive discussion and slide show on meteorites, Diane Cook : Tonights meeting is being held at the Union Bank Community their origin, history and potential future impact on us. A very well done Center in Ventura. The next board meeting will also be held here. program with a large turnout for it tonight. Need a volunteer for Education Chairperson; we are getting a lot of requests from schools to visit, but not enough people to help out. Jim has Old Business: a program book to help you. Part of our non-profit status is due to doing these educational programs. Need to have guidelines set up for machine Diane Cook :Our annual breakfast will be held on the October workshop use, esp. when we’re busy at clubhouse so everyone gets a chance to use day, the 18th. them. Need to make sure new people get instruction on equipment use. We desperately need someone to step up and oversee our Educational Oct. 18th is Breakfast Potluck and workshop day; also Jade Cove field Outreach program which provides tours at our museum and presentations trip day. Membership Handbook is being worked on. Mural in museum is at schools. Educating young people is one of the primary purposes of our complete, thanks to Martha Moran. club. New Business : New Business : Diane Cook : Oxnard has submitted a loan request for fossils for their Deb Sankovich : At tonight’s meeting we have 33 members and 5 guests upcoming show using Jim’s new form. Loan approved by board. Another in attendance. cleanup day will need to be scheduled to finish cleanup at workshop. Diane Cook : The Union Bank building will again be the location for the Budget of $175 approved for leaf blower purchase for clubhouse. Since next Board meeting. Jim B-T not here, Diane reminded Board that program for October is Mike Havstad. Design for CFMS Novice Trophy designed by Angela Brown was Additional members were requested for the nominating committee and passed around; will be forwarded to CFMS for approval, and a trophy shop Deb Sankovich, Bob Driskell and Sue Slyker offered. will be contacted for pricing. There is a Oct. 15th Fossil Day visit by an El Jim Brace-Thompson : Donations were requested for the UCLA Gallery. Rio school group; Raul, Steve and Sharon helping with this. The next meeting program will be presented by our own Mike Havstad Steve Mulqueen : Richard Slyker will be working with Lowell Foster to get and will feature all that is to be found at the Tucson show. Myrle Kirk’s remaining slides scanned so he can use for articles. Ron Wise : A better method of managing and securing rock requested to Krishna Juarez : The next show meeting will be scheduled for November be cut will be put in place. 6th prior to the Board meeting at 6:30pm. Contacts for our annual show Steve Mulqueen : Additional slides from our club archives are being are [email protected] and phone 805-323-6725. He has also digitized with help from Lowell and Richard Slyker but any and all volunteered to cook the turkey for the December Holiday Party. photos of club events are welcomed and will be submitted to the bulletin. Dave Mautz : Jade Festival and Trona are October 11-12, Jade Cove is Richard Slyker : Membership now stands at 82 members and 7 youths. October 17-19th, and the Wiley’s Well campout is the weekend before Terry Wilson : On line access to our library will be available soon. A new Thanksgiving, November 20-23. field-trip web site, whoscoming.com/VGMS, has been created to assist Richard Slyker: After discussion, it was m/s/c to accept the membership members and track attendance on upcoming trips. Check it out, this way applications for Mayela Segura, Gina Curtis, Mark Kenyon, and Frank and you can be kept up to date with all the latest info. Sharon Adams. Dave Mautz : Upcoming field-trips include : October 17-19 the Jade Rob Sankovich : has been in contact with Jeff Meyer at SBCC in regards Cove trip. Be sure to check with Dave or Terry for changes prior to a trip to a scholarship nominee. Will be hearing back soon. or the whoscoming web site. Terry Wilson : Has volunteered to set up a new website for the club. Rob Sankovich : Rob will contact Santa Barbara City College regarding Will need to meet with Web Committee soon to discuss. She will also be demonstrating the use of the Library Database at the next meeting. our scholarship program. Angela Brown : Editor Handbook rough draft is complete, and available Krishna Juarez : The next meeting for our 2015 show is scheduled for to Board to review duties. November deadline is 10th for combined Nov./ October 2nd, 6:30, prior to the scheduled Board meeting held at the Dec. issue, the last for the year. Union Bank building. All are welcomed to attend. Brett Johnson : presented samples of stickers he and partner could get done Angela Brown : Submissions to the bulletin are due by the 1st of for our club to sell. Pricing and design ideas to be discussed. October, but the next issue is the last for the year, a combined November/ December issue. The deadline for that issue is November 10th. The next club membership meeting will be held on June 25, 7:30 pm @ the Maria Flores awarded prizes to the lucky ticket holders of our Ways & Ventura Senior Center, 420 E. Santa Clara St., Ventura and the next Board Means raffle. meeting will be on July 3, 2014, 7:30 pm @ the Union Bank location, 801 Refreshments were provided by Krishna and Shana Juarez. S. Victoria Ave, Ventura.

The next board meeting will be held on October 2, 2014, 7:30 at the There being no further business, Diane adjourned the meeting at 8:47 pm. Union Bank Bldg., 801 S. Victoria Ave., Ventura and the next monthly Respectfully submitted, membership meeting will be October 22 at the Poinsettia Pavilion, 3451 Foothill Rd., Ventura. Angela Brown for

There being no further business, Diane adjourned the meeting at 9:25 pm. Greg Davis Respectfully submitted, Greg Davis Recording Secretary Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 5 Important Announcements

Fall Breakfast Potluck Picnic October 18th, 9am

We will be having our Fall Breakfast Potluck Picnic in October on the regular workshop day. We should start to see cooler Fall weather by then.

The club will provide eggs, pancakes, syrup, butter, coffee & orange juice. The membership can bring any other breakfast-type item they’d like. We will try to start a list, so we don’t end up with too many duplicate items. Please let us know what you are bringing via our club email, info@vgms. org, or look for a sign-up sheet at one of the meetings beforehand.

As always, please bring a chair, maybe a small table, a plate and utensils.

We will also be having a Silent Auction, so bring materials to donate to it, and/or bring cash to pick up a few treasures.

2015 Officer Elections Are Upon Us!

With each Fall comes election season for VGMS. Per our By-Laws, in September we solicit two members from the elected Board and three from among the General Membership to form a Nominating Committee. This year’s committee is composed of Deb Sankovich, Angela Brown, Bob Driskell, Richard Slyker and Susan Slyker. The primary requirement in naming candidates is that they be informed in advance of our election and have given their full agreement. Also, no one individual can hold more than one elected office—we need a full slate for all 10 elected positions. The Nominating Committee will present a slate of candidates at our October 22nd meeting. The election will then be held at our November 12th meeting. Folks can either vote for the slate of candidates as presented, or write-in candidates may be presented by any members prior to the vote (provided the write-in candidate has given his/her consent).

Currently the open positions for 2015 are:

• 1st Vice President - Programs • Co-Chair for 2nd Vice President - Field Trips. Raul Barraza has agreed to continue as the other Co-Chair.

Please contact one of the nominating committee members if you are interested in stepping up and becoming a board member for 2015. The board meetings are actually a lot of fun!

Remember: we’ll be electing a group who will shape our future as a society. Have you considered being a part of that important group? We welcome your service! -Nominating Committee Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 6 GEMS FROM THE PAST

Photo from the Kirk Collection

VGMS Field Trip for Silver Lace Onyx, Mule Canyon, Calico Hills, ,

February 1959

This classic photo from the original 35mm slide shows field trip participants at a meeting location near the mouth of Mule Canyon. From this point, the Silver Lace Onyx Mine is only a short distance away.

From the VGMS Bulletin, “Gems from the Past”, dated April 2014:

“Silver lace onyx gets its name from the silver-colored bands that are common within a rock that consists primarily of a white onyx matrix. The metallic layers are associated with manganese minerals, primarily psilomelane with minor amounts of pyrolusite.”

This site was one of a group of favorite locations for collecting during those early years of rockhounding. Its relative close proximity to the Los Angeles area, easy access from the Arrowhead Highway (pre-Interstate 15), short hike from the vehicles and the very good quality of lapidary material made field trips to this area a very popular event.

The Calico Hills are rich in many unique rocks, minerals and fossils. These specimens include onyx, jasper, agate, chalcedony, celestite, ulexite, colemanite, petrified wood, “bog” wood and insect fossils. The insect fossils occur in calcareous nodules and are liberated from the matrix with a weak solution of hydrochloric acid.

Mule Canyon of the Calico Hills was named in historic memory of the Twenty Mule Teams that hauled colemanite ore from the mines located in the upper reaches of the canyon. The old mining town of Borate once stood in the northeast corner of the hills in the late 1890s. Colemanite mines near the town, operated by Pacific Coast Borax Company, produced borate raw material needed for the manufacturing of refined borax. The Twenty Mule Teams and Wagons, a steam traction engine named “Old Dinah” and finally a railroad known as the Borate & Daggett RR hauled colemanite down the canyon to the Marion Mill near Yermo. “Old Dinah” was also used to haul colemanite in Death Valley. The traction engine is now on exhibit near the General Store at Furnace Creek in Death Valley, CA.

Photo by Myrle Kirk. From the Kirk Collection. Slide scanned & digitized by Lowell Foster. Text written by Steve Mulqueen, October 2014, Photo copyright ©2014 Ventura Gem & Mineral Society, Inc., All Rights Reserved. Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 7 GEMS FROM THE PAST A National Treasure Lost to Over-Collecting: A Further Comment on

Everyone knows about Arizona’s Petrified Forest National Park with fossil logs littering the desert. Did you know at one time you didn’t need to travel to Arizona to see a petrified forest? Until the 1960s, you could have taken your kids or grandkids to enjoy such a forest in our own backyard. Sadly, no more.

In our August newsletter, Steve Mulqueen contributed an article entitled “Photo from the Kirk Collection: Last Chance Canyon, Desert, CFMS Field Trip, April 1961.” He recounted the history behind the photo of a collecting trip in the El Paso Mountains that included many of our truly valued and esteemed members from a past generation. The article told of a petrified forest and how it was known for “tons” of petrified palm, locust trees, trunk sections, and more. While it was a fine article, I feel that it was incomplete and that it is important to tell “the rest of the story” as a teachable moment to underscore our responsibility as stewards of public lands for future generations and the need for responsible collecting. In short, Last Chance Canyon and the El Paso Mountains once had logs standing upright and vertical, and the ground was littered with petrified wood in abundance. Unfortunately, “was” is the operative word. Due to over-collecting, a national treasure has been lost.

As a society affiliated with the American Federation of Mineralogical Societies, we agree to abide by the AFMS Code of Ethics which, among other things, states “I will take home only what I can reasonably use” and “I will report to my club or federation officers, Bureau of Land Management or other authorities, any deposit of petrified wood or other materials on public lands which should be protected for the enjoyment of future generation for public educational and scientific purposes” and “I will appreciate and protect our heritage of natural resources.” I don’t know when this code was formally adopted, but unfortunately, few heeded these prescriptions when it came to the Last Chance Canyon petrified forest.

Based on guidebooks to the El Paso Mountains, here’s a picture of what happened in mere decades thanks to caravans like that pictured in our August newsletter. Per Mary Frances Strong’s Desert Gem Trails (1971) in the period between the 1940s and 1970, “the petrified forest in Last Chance Canyon has produced tons of fine material.” Around the area were “huge wood deposits.” At the Dry Falls area, “wood will be found throughout this steep slope” and “large chunks for spheres and bookends can be collected.” She talks about how, when groups visit the area, “the majority will rush up and load up on wood.” At the Canyon View wood deposit, “wood occurs throughout” with “quite a bit in float.” Just as Steve related, she tells how “tons” of material had been lifted, and she encourages further collecting in the vicinity, providing driving directions and noting “there is still ample material to be collected.”

Lowell Foster has pointed me to another published source, Darold Henry’s California Gem Trails. In his third edition (1957) he states locations are “still good even though a man used a truck to remove all the surface wood. Back before 1941, there was a caretaker, who charged 50 cents, and one could see standing trees, logs, beautiful scenery, and perhaps obtain a chip of wood. No collecting from the front door back then, although there was a little from the back door. One cannot help but admire those people who cared for the petrified forest up Last Chance Canyon for such a long time. The state should have made it a part of the park system and preserved it.” (It should be noted when this area did become part of the State Parks system, decades later, there was nothing but squawks of protest and Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 8 continued.... GEMS FROM THE PAST condemnation from the rockhounding community.) The entry continues for two more pages, noting that “a lot more went out in one month when a man hired some people to take a truck up Last Chance Canyon and collect all the surface wood.” By his fourth edition (1974) his coverage of this area had shrunk from three pages to barely one page, and he stated, “There is little use to remember the old days when all kinds of fossil and gem material lay around in great profusion and one could not walk without stepping on a gem stone. Still, there is much material for the ardent collector, even after 30 years of collecting in the area.”

By 1986, James Mitchell published Gem Trails of California. In describing collecting spots at Last Chance Canyon, he notes only “limited amounts” of wood and how you could “look for elusive chunks of petrified wood…At site K there is more petrified wood, but it is necessary to dig for it” and “Site L” offered only “scant amounts of petrified wood.” By the latest revision of Gem Trails of , Mitchell doesn’t even mention wood deposits except for twigs and rootlets. In other words, a world-class petrified wood locality millions of years old was denuded in a matter of mere decades.

Lowell and I have emailed one another about this issue. Lowell notes the worst enemies of rockhounds are rockhounds themselves: we collect, and collecting is by nature an obsessive activity. I know and appreciate what he means. I myself have left many an unfilled hole and raced to fill a bucket to overflowing, but as I get old and crotchety, I (hopefully) get a little wiser. The shame of it all is that most of the wood from Last Chance Canyon is in back yards across California unlabeled and unremarked, with no scientific value whatsoever. It’s either trashed when the owner passes away or it’s sold at a buck-a-bucket for bookends, cabs, and spheres with no appreciation for provenance and scientific value.

I hope future articles will provide the full story, along with commentary on the need for responsible collecting. The AFMS and CFMS and their political affiliate ALAA always tell people we have an ethics code and that irresponsible activity happens due to non-affiliated people and commercial dealers (like that truck driver Darold Henry noted). However, I’ve been on many a Federation-sponsored field trip where literally no one is abiding by the AFMS Code of Ethics. Holes are left unfilled, anything and everything is scooped from the ground, and folks take and do what they want. (Just take a look at the World War I style trenches in areas around Shark Tooth Hill or on Peterson Peak.) Truly, we are our own worst enemy. It’s because of otherwise earnest but uninformed (willfully or not) amateurs who, per Mary Frances Strong, “rush up and load up on wood” decade upon decade—not just because of one month with one greedy guy with a truck—that we have lost a national treasure in our own backyard.

Let’s all educate ourselves about responsible collecting and about preserving sites worthy of protection, just as stipulated in our AFMS Code of Ethics. Regardless of what some politically motivated groups may say, we don’t have a “right” to do what we want to our public lands. I would have valued the opportunity to have taken my kids on an educational journey to our very own petrified forest here in southern California, but sadly, no. That opportunity was lost to over-collecting in part due to just such caravans as pictured in our August newsletter. In his article, Steve noted “Last Chance Canyon is now part of Red Rock Canyon State Park. Rock, mineral and fossil collecting are not allowed within the park. Vehicle access to portions of Last Chance Canyon are now restricted.” Regrettably, as I’m sure Darold Henry would have agreed, too little, too late. When writing articles for our bulletin, let us consider our stewardship to future generations, and let us grasp hold of an educational opportunity—and duty.

-Jim Brace-Thompson, CFMS Past President Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 9 Education & Community Outreach Seeking Your Help as a Guest Teacher & Speaker

With the start of a new school year, the phone has been ringing off the hook with several groups seeking either a speaker for classrooms or a field trip to our museum. For instance, I’ve heard from Carole Gray of Oak Grove School. Carole has been bringing her elementary school kids to our museum room for several years and would like to do so again when she starts her Geology unit this fall. CaryLyn Peterkin represents Ventura Unified School District at Homestead, a school for families who homeschool, and she’s seeking either a classroom talk or a trip to the clubhouse. Brittany Bybee has asked about bringing 5th-grade Boys & Girls Club kids from Oxnard to see our museum room on “National Fossil Day” on October 15. Mrs. Paterno, a science teacher from Fillmore, has asked about a museum visit or a classroom talk. And Diane has received requests from a Girl Scout group and at least two other teachers. Because of my changed job situation, I now oversee a group of direct reports and am tied down with a full schedule of daily meetings, international conference calls, and requests that might come in at any moment for me to supply reports to upper management. Thus, on weekdays I’m no longer free to take off for a morning or afternoon to give presentations, either at schools or in our clubhouse. (I work in Thousand Oaks, so the drive alone to Ojai and back is quite a trek.) We need volunteers who can fill the void. As a 501c3 nonprofit organization, a big part of our charter is providing educational outreach to our local community. I’ve crafted a binder with scripts for 10 different presentations (this is also posted to our VGMS website and to the CFMS website), and all the specimens and materials you need for a great school presentation are stored at the clubhouse. If you can help, please contact me or Diane Cook. If you would like me to show you where our educational resources are stored and to walk you through any presentation, just call me (659-3577, evenings and weekends), and I’m happy to advise. -Jim Brace-Thompson, Museum Chair

Reorganizing Our Club Museum Rooms

As noted in last month’s newsletter, Martha Moran delivered an outstanding artistic performance in crafting an Ice Age California mural along one wall in our Ray Meisenheimer Memorial Museum Room. During our Clubhouse Clean-up Day on September 20, Nancy and I gave the museum room a thorough scrub-down and began repositioning our Ice Age fossil bone casts around the mural. It’s a work-in-progress and we’ll be making adjustments but thanks to Martha’s artistic skills, we have a terrific backdrop against which to play. Thank you, Martha! Going forward, I’ll be building new stands, reconfiguring the space to best highlight our skull and bone casts, and making other improvements. I’ve already taken small steps; for instance, we now have plastic models showing what the living animals looked like whose bones grace our Dino and Museum Rooms. I’ll also be reorganizing the back storage room to provide easier access to our materials for giving educational presentations either within the museum or for school visits. Currently, much of this material is stored sort of helter-skelter. Watch for changes over the course of the next year to make displays more cohesive and to make our collections more usable for anyone volunteering either as a museum docent or a guest teacher for a morning or afternoon visit to a local school classroom. -Jim Brace-Thompson, Museum Chair Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 10 AN ANCIENT THREAT AWAKENS IN CALIFORNIA From an article in the September 2014 CFMS Newsletter

What is the Threat? The threat is a plant by the common name of Poodle Dog Bush (Turricula parryi) that comes into being following a brush or forest fire.

Consequences of the Threat? Weeks of pain and irritation, suffering.

The Poodle Dog Bush has puffy lavender colored flowers (looking like the tail of a poodle). It grows on stalks as tall as eight feet. The leaves are slender and 1.5 to 4 inches long. The stalks and leaves are covered with fine hairs. At the tips of the hairs there is a sticky benzoic acid compound. Even breathing the air close to the plants can be dangerous to lung tissue. The danger is present all year, not just in one season. Skin contact can cause an intensely irritating rash, blisters, and pain that can last for a month. If the reaction is not severe, over the counter hydrocortisone creams can help. Should blisters develop, see a doctor who may administer an injection of cortisone and/or a packet of medication.

Yikes! From someone who has had severe allergic reactions to poison oak/ivy this is frightening to read. Wear gloves, long sleeves, and long pants. Wash your tools when you can. Wash gloves and clothes separately from other laundry. Most important, learn to recognize the plant. Be observant and avoid this plant.

Kathryn Davis, Federation Director

Poodle Dog Bush flower stalk closeup. Something to be wary of when out rockhounding! (www.desertusa.com) Poodle Dog Bush. (www.worldbotanicals.com) Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 11 The American Agate/Jasper Index

The American Agate/Jasper Index is designed to be a database of material found in North America. The main goal of this collection is to aid people with identification of specimens as well act as a visual guide to quartz gem materials. Each index focuses on a different region. These are designed to be downloaded for free and are created from photo submissions by rockhounds across North America. Updates will occur periodically as new material is submitted here and via email.

This project started in February 2010 and since then, with the help of many many people, we’ve been able to put together a first edition of 11 databases for ma- terial across the country that collectively have been downloaded over 2500 times. We are currently working on the 2nd edition. Currently there are three updated files.

Please note: These indexes can be shared with friends and clubs for free. There is no cost to pass along these download links to other people who may not know about them.

Process:

1) click on desired link below 2) new screen - click on button with Arrow Down and Line Above it in the upper right hand corner. It is next to the + symbol. 3) Verify if you are human if prompted. 4) new screen. Hit green download button. You don’t need to join or upgrade.

2012 Vol 1 - Southwest (56 MB) http://www.mediafire.com/view/?odzmygviwc8i4ry Volume 1: AZ-CO-NM-UT States 245 pages: 230 color pages of material + Location & Name Indexes

2012 Vol 2 - Northwest (80 MB) http://www.mediafire.com/view/?12m6sn69h2t08ik Alaska, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington 322 pages: over 280 pages of color photographs: Indexes for Locations, Names, and Contributors.

2012 Vol 3 - California (110 MB) http://www.mediafire.com/view/?9up5qxv0of3rl89 274 pages: over 235 pages of color photographs indexes for locations, names, and contributors

for updates check the following link: http://andy321.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=ccabs&action=dis- play&thread=39253&page=1 Submitted by Lowell Foster Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 12 Program Review & Schedule SEPTEMBER Program Kevin McKeegan, Chair of the UCLA Department of Earth, Planetary, & Space Sciences, gave our September program on Meteorites & the UCLA Meteor Gallery. Kevin provided an overview of types of meteorites and what they tell of our solar system’s formation. He also gave a general introduction to the UCLA Meteorite Gallery, where they welcome group visits on Sunday afternoons. With over 100 specimens on display, this exhibit is the largest on the West Coast. Kevin brought samples from the collection. Let’s follow up his talk with an indoor field trip to UCLA! Finally, we held a raffle to raise donations to the Gallery and its educational outreach efforts. I’m pleased to report VGMS members did us proud with nearly $170 in donations. Krishna Juarez went home the owner of a Nantan meteorite from China. Thank you to everyone who participated in the raffle and to Kevin for a superb presentation!

Future Programs OCTOBER Program The Tucson Gem & Mineral Show: The Biggest & the Best. Every February, the largest gem show in North America (probably the world) comes to bloom like a spectacular poppy field in Tucson, Arizona. VGMS member Mike Havstad, photographer and collector of rocks, minerals, fossils and meteorites, will present a 15-minute multimedia presentation exploring the incredible items offered for sale at the famed Tucson Show. This will be followed by tips and advice on how to organize your first visit to the show. How do you take in Tucson? Well, how do you eat an elephant? You start with one mouthful at a time. Up to 40 shows go on during two weeks. Some at the larger hotels and at the Tucson Convention Center have 250 dealers from all over the world. You can find items for a dollar or museum-grade fossils and minerals for $1,000 to $100,000+. One dealer even has a full skeleton of a triceratops for sale. “I don’t have the money nor the space,” says Mike, “but it’s fun and free to look and daydream.” Perhaps you’ve been to the Quartzsite shows but didn’t continue to Tucson. Next time, by all means, continue. Tucson is a must, not some bucket-list item to be pursued later in life. See why!

NOVEMBER Program In lieu of a presentation, we will hold our election of 2015 officers followed by our Annual Fall Silent Auction. Although we’ll bring plenty of nice rocks from the VGMS private reserve, we encourage all club members to donate items to the cause—along with the green stuff from your wallets.

DECEMBER Program No presentation this month; instead, fun for one and all with our Holiday potluck dinner, installation of 2015 officers, and our ever-popular gift exchange. Full details to come in next month’s newsletter.

Jim Brace-Thompson. VGMS Programs Chair Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 13 Field Trips Are Fun TRI-CLUB FIELD TRIPS (VGMS/OGMS/CGMC) ~ 2014 This is a tentative schedule. Please call your club field trip leaders to confirm that there is a field trip scheduled in the event of changes like unpredictable weather, etc. More trips may be added in the future. Please look for Field Trip fliers at the monthly meetings for directions, maps, etc., as well as the WhosComing site.

2014 Field Trip Leaders: David Mautz - Phone: 805-794-1809; Raul Barraza - Phone: 805-525-1919; Email: [email protected] Terry Wilson - Phone: 609-744-6364; Email: [email protected] Use the new sign-up page so we know you plan to come! http://whoscoming.com/vgms Pick a trip, get location information, maps, and sign up!

Jade Cove Weekend Trip (CFMS) Fri.-Sun., Oct 17-19, 2014

Camping/Hotels: Plaskett Creek and Kirk Creek campgrounds, half the sites are first come first serve if you are not able to reserve a site (Plaskett is Full). I will be at Plaskett Creek camp #026. Kirk Creek Campground is about 6 miles north of Plaskett Creek Campground Jade Cove. If you don’t want to camp you can stay at San Simeon; there are campgrounds, hotels and B&B’s. San Simeon is 30 miles south of Jade Cove/ Plaskett Creek Campground.

Field trip: Our October field trip will be to Jade Cove, south of Big Sur. We will be looking for Nephrite Jade. It can be found along the shoreline. You can come up for the day or join us camping over night. Deb and I will be there Thursday October 16th to Sunday 19th. Day use free by side of road, camping $25.00 each day. No electric hookups. 45 campsites half are assigned on a first come, first served basis. You now can reserve your campsite. See contact information above. 8 persons per site. Each site has a picnic table, grill and fire pit. Flush toilet restrooms and water nearby. Saturday night 6pm there will be a potluck dinner.

Mineral to collect: Nephrite Jade, Serpentine, Actinolite, Soap Stone, Abalone shells.

Tools: Collecting bags, buckets, day pack, digging tools, rock pick, pry bar, eye protection, trowels, hand rake, hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, sturdy shoes, rubber boots or old tennis shoes, layered clothing, towels, change of clothes/shoes in case you get wet. Drinking water, lunch or snacks, camping gear if you plan on spending the night. (The main tools to use are simple garden tools, a hand trowel & hand rake).

Email Rob Sankovich for maps & directions: [email protected] Please let him know if you are going to go on the field trip, weather changes. If we don’t know you’re going on the field trip, we won’t be able to contact you if the field trip is canceled. Even if you might not go, still contact me for the information and maps. Don’t wait until the day before, sometimes he leaves days before the field trip and won’t be able to reply to you.

Future Trips:

Wiley’s Well Thanksgiving Weekend Trip Camping in the Hauser Geode Bed area. No facilities; pack in/out. Thur.-Sun., Nov. 20- 23, 2014. See Rob Sankovich for details, or email: [email protected] Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 14

MINERALOGICAL Federation

News CALIF. FED. OF SOCIETIES

CFMS Federation Director’s Report

Camp Paradise has come and gone for this year. The applications for ZZYZYX open on 01 November 2014.

Our own Jim Brace-Thompson is organizing the 2015 CFMS Show Kids Booth. He has a lot of good ideas. He is also looking for donation – small tumbled stones, crystals, apache tears, petrified wood, shark teeth, fossils, colored minerals, and more. I’m sure he will let us know more about what he needs.

The CFMS Fall Business Meeting is 7-9 November 2014 at the Holiday Inn Plaza Park in Visalia, California. The Federation has made a request for the clubs to donate 5-10 slabs for a live auction. The proceeds will go to the CFMS Endowment Fund.

Kathryn Davis Rockhound Ramblings Judging Bakersfield

On September 16, in heat that topped 102°F, I joined Wes Lingerfelt of the Orcutt Mineral Society at the Kern County Fairgrounds in Bakersfield. We’ve been judging Mineral, Fossil, and Lapidary exhibits there since 2007 because the fairgrounds needed to counter complaints about favoritism in judging by bringing in us “outside agitators” from beyond the county line. The Kern County Fair has far fewer categories for entries and only focuses on cases, not individual entries as with our own Ventura County Fair. Still, it took the full morning and on into early afternoon for Wes and me to complete the judging, assisted by a local clerk. They had about 55 cases entered in competition. Per usual, Bakersfield proved sunny and hot, hot, hot. Still, it was fun seeing local Kern County material on display, including Shark Tooth Hill fossils, Horse Canyon agate, local petrified wood, and more. Our club president would be pleased to know they even featured a pink case with rhodonite and rhodochrosite—and that this particular case was for sale at a mere $400! Although smaller than our Gem & Mineral building during our Ventura County Fair, it’s still worth your while to check it out next September when the Kern County Fair comes around. I’m sure, at that time, you’ll once again find Wes and me judging Bakersfield.

-Jim Brace-Thompson, Museum Chair Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 15 Rockhound Ramblings Seeking the Apparently Elusive Michigan State Gemstone Who knew other states had official state gemstones as expensive as our own California state gemstone, benitoite? Over Labor Day weekend, we flew to Ann Arbor, Michigan, to visit our son and his girlfriend. Alex (a former VGMS Pebble Pup) moved there in January for a job as an engineer with Ford. Our only true native Californian in the family got to enjoy Michigan’s worst of the mineral pumpellyite in the form of winter since 1978 as 98% of the Great balls of fibrous crystals radiating out from a Lakes froze over. Welcome to the Rust center. When packed next to one another, Belt, Alex! these balls create a turtle-shell pattern, and light reflecting off the fibers produces a In addition to the family visit, we chatoyant (cat’s eye) effect. Chlorastrolite were on a mission: to collect the Michigan is found in the Upper Peninsula, often as state gem. We already have plenty of pea-sized beach pebbles. It’s mostly used the state rock Petoskey stone (the fossil as small cabochons for rings, earrings, or coral Hexagonaria percarinata), which cufflinks. is found as coral heads in outcrops or as beach cobbles along the northeastern Even though they display the state shore of Lake Michigan. It’s often carved stone and fossil in the museum, nary a and polished as tourist knickknacks. A specimen of the state gem was to be seen. visit to the University of Michigan Natural We tried the museum gift shop, three rock History Museum in Ann Arbor allowed us shops, and two jewelers before finally to see mounted skeletons of the state finding a tiny, expensive specimen. I’ve fossil, the American mastodon, Mammut since learned it’s actually a fairly common americanum. Except for photos on the mineral in the former copper mining districts of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, where it grew in vugs left by gas bubbles in ancient basalt. But common though it may be, apparently it’s not commonly collected and, certainly, it’s not common on the market. When we entered those rock shops and asked to see local Michigan stones, they pointed to a corner filled with natural and carved Petoskey stones and all sorts of non-Michigan Michigan copper but not the elusive chlorastrolite. Why they made it their state gemstone we’ll never know, but if you’re hankering for it and find a specimen at a reasonable price, grab it— Internet, we had never seen a specimen of because you won’t find much of it for sale the state gem: chlorastrolite (from Greek in the state of Michigan! words meaning green-star-stone). Also called Michigan greenstone, it’s a variety -Jim & Nancy Brace-Thompson Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 16 Rockhound Ramblings GEM and MINERAL SHOWS – A TRIP to DENVER in SEPTEMBER

This year I arranged my trip to Colorado at a tie I could attend the Denver shows. Once there I found out that there were eight different shows. My friend and I made it to three in the day and a half we had there. It was cold, wet, and even tried to snow while we were there. As a result we did not make it to the outdoor tents. The club show was effective. The theme was agates and the displays were wonderful. However, when you first entered the venue what caught your eye was a large display of incredibly large amazonite and smoky quartz. It was more than impressive and it was captivating. We were there on Friday, the opening day. There were hundreds of school children there. The noise level was almost deafening in the area devoted too kids. They could pan for gold and participate in activities and were given freebies. There were two dinosaur “skeletons” that wandered around large areas of the show. There were a large number of vendors, with items ranging from reasonable to the stratosphere. High end minerals awes and amazed us. Some of the specimens were truly remarkable. It was like going from room to room in a museum. The dealers were friendly and informative. Remember the book Agates by Johann Zenz? Because of popular demand it has been reprinted. Rainer bode was there to sign the book. He seemed to enjoy the excitement and was quite willing to talk to the excited buyers. I met some of the miners from the Weather Channel’s show Prospectors at the show at the Coliseum. It was fun talking with them. That show is a huge one. The variety of dealers was good and there were things to be found for reasonable prices. We also went to the show at the Ramada. I’m sure I would have enjoyed going to the tents but was unwilling to push my friend or myself to do that in the cold wet weather.

Would I go again? Oh yes! Submitted by Kathryn Davis

BenchTips ADJUSTABLE CHUCK FOR DREMELS Many of us have a Dremel motor tool to use at home or when out to a class or workshop. The one thing that makes this tool much more productive is the addition of one inexpensive option, an adjustable chuck.

The basic motor tool as sold typically comes with a collet chuck. This means you have to use a wrench to change every tool bit, you have to switch collets to use different shaft sizes (3/32 or 1/8 inch bits), and you can’t use ordinary drills at all - only the special ones that have a 3/32 shaft.

A simple and inexpensive ($12) adjustable chuck solves all of this. It’s available in most large local hardware stores or model making outlets. Tightening the chuck is done easily by hand to any size shaft. No key is required.

More Bench Tips by Brad Smith are at facebook.com/BenchTips/ or see the book “Bench Tips for Jewelry Making” on Amazon Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 17 Educational Corner Definition of the Month

California Geological Survey (CGS), a Division of the California Dept. of Conservation

Part 2, Earthquakes – Earthquakes pose a major threat to lives and property in California. Understanding how they occur is very important towards the effort to minimizing their potential damage.

“The California Geological Survey studies earthquakes to help plan and build earthquake resistant communities.” (Quoted from the CGS website.)

The CGS is dedicated to gathering data about subsurface geologic conditions that can contribute to the occurrence of quakes by first studying earthquake faults. This may include surface mapping of geologic features, analyzing geophysical representations of the subsurface geologic structures, collecting seismic earthquake motion digital data with electronic instruments, analyzing the information and disseminating the data from a large array of instrumentation. This data is essential for drawing scientific conclusions about earthquake probability, potential magnitudes, epicenters and damage scenarios. Through this effort, earthquakes can be better understood before they occur, to allow proper planning for the inevitable.

California Strong Motion Instrumentation Program (CSMIP) – An earthquake has only one calculated value on magnitude and only one determined epicenter. However, the shaking and damage caused by movement can vary widely due to unique geologic conditions that may include unusual rock units, geologic structures, rock densities, slopes/potential for landslides, deep sedimentary basins, shallow groundwater and distance from epicenter. (See their website for more information: http:// consrv.ca.gov/cgs/smip/Pages/Index.aspx ) Shake sensors at Turkey Flat, near Parkfield, California. Image from http://www.quake.ca.gov/turkeyflat.htm The CSMIP was established in 1972 to obtain and provide vital earthquake data to geologists and engineers. The program measures earthquakes by recording the strong shaking of the ground and movement of man-made structures such as buildings, bridges and dams through a statewide network of strong motion seismic instruments including seismometers. This is a cooperative project of the CGS, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), California Emergency Management Agency (CalEMA), Caltech and U.C. Berkeley. The data is applied to long-term planning efforts conducted by emergency response agencies with the goal to mitigate future earthquake impacts.

Source of information: Refer to the website of the Department of Conservation, California Geological Survey and other organizations named in this article.

Written by Steve Mulqueen for the VGMS, October 2014. The ‘Definition of the Month’ features words related to geology, paleontology, mining and desert history. Refer to other definitions featured in past VGMS bulletins under the heading of Educational Corner dating back to June 2001 available on the VGMS website at www.vgms.org . Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 18 Educational Corner Illustration of the Month

Stagecoach in the Sierra Nevada, an illustration representing a scene from the 1860s.

During the mid to late-1800s, the pioneers that migrated west to California faced many formidable obstacles in their journey. The greatest barriers were geographic in nature, consisting of the vast expanse of the Great Plains, the rugged Rocky Mountains, the extensive desert regions and finally the Sierra Nevada Range.

Most of the wagon trails that traversed the West crossed thousands of rivers. Some of those rivers could only be forded with use of wooden rafts to ferry the wagons. Throughout their migration, many faced starvation, lack of water, disease and injuries, with some of the more unfortunate losing their lives along the way.

This illustration features a pen & ink rendering depicting the rough terrain of the Sierra Nevada. For those seeking the goldfields of California, the Sierra was the final great obstacle in their path. Note the stagecoach and covered wagons along the trail. The telegraph lines in the illustration suggest that the time period is the mid- 1860s. The transcontinental telegraph was completed in 1861.

Illustration Source: From the book “Beyond the Mississippi” written by Albert D. Richardson, 1869. Reprinted in the book “The Mining Camps Speak, a New Way to Explore the Ghost Towns of the American West”, written by Beth & Bill Sagstetter, BenchMark Publishing of Colorado, LLC, 1998.

Text written by Steve Mulqueen for the VGMS, October 2014. The ‘Illustration of the Month’ features a drawing, sketch, pen & ink rendering, engraving print or any form of art rediscovered in books, maps, manuscripts and many other sources related to geology, paleontology, mining and desert history. This illustration was chosen for its educational content by the author. Refer to other featured illustrations from previous bulletins beginning in June of 2001 available on the VGMS website at www.vgms.org . Rockhound Rambling Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 19 Chips & Boulders Got something to sell, trade or barter for? Submissions do not have to be hobby-oriented, but you do have to be a member! Send your brief advertisement (and photo?) to the editor: [email protected]. Submission will be posted as soon as possible; the due date is the 1st of the month. TO ALL MEMBERS: Our club has a vibratory flat lap machine You might be a rockhound which was donated to us and is available to if... members for check out. The problem is, it was borrowed but not signed out and is probably you receive a letter from the county sitting in someone’s garage not being used. If informing you a landfill permit is you have the flat lap machine, could you return required to put anymore rocks on it to Camp Comfort or contact Greg Davis who your property. will arrange to come by and pick it up. We have other members eager to check it out and give it a try. Thanks for your help with this. Got lapidary equipment, display cases or other rock or mineral material for sale? NEW METEORITE EXHIBIT: Please email the Editor by the 1st of the The UCLA Earth and Planetary Space Sciences month for inclusion into that month’s Chips Dept. opened a new Meteorite Gallery at UCLA & Boulders. Please include description of in January. The Gallery is open & free to visitors items for sale, price, contact name and how Monday-Friday, 9am-4pm, and on Sundays you want to be reached (phone number, from 1pm-4pm with trained docents to help out. email). Once a month there is a special lecture by one of the faculty that is open to the public. For more information, please see their web page: www.meteorites.ucla.edu/gallery/

www.diamondpacific.com

Club Merchandise VGMS continues to have Club T-Shirts for sale. Priced to all VGMS members at $12.00 and any club member associated to CFMS $15.00. Sizes S-M-L-XL-2X-3X. All profits go directly to the VGMS. Contact Diane Cook at [email protected] to order.

VGMS logo merchandise is available at Cafe Press! Everything from shirts, mugs and aprons, to mousepads, pajamas and jewelry. New items added regularly, too! Please visit www.cafepress.com/VtaGemSociety, or contact Angela at [email protected] for more information. Let’s Go To A Show! Volume 60, No. 10, October 2014 Rockhound Rambling 20

Attending one of these shows? Please send photos and experiences to the editor at [email protected].

October 18: WEST HILLS, CA October 25 - 26: LOS ALTOS, CA Woodland Hills Rock Chippers Peninsula Gem & Geology Society First United Methodist Church Los Altos Youth Center 22700 Sherman Way One No. San Antonio Road Hours: 10 - 5 Hours: 10 - 5 daily Contact: Beth Pio Contact: Steve Jobe, (408) 834-5384 Email: [email protected] Email: [email protected] Website: www.rockchippers.org Website: www.pggs.org

October 18 - 19: PLACERVILLE, CA November 1 - 2: CONCORD, CA El Dorado County Mineral & Gem Society Contra Costa Mineral & Gem Society El Dorado County Fairgrounds Centre Concord 100 Placerville Drive 5298 Clayton Road Hours: 10 - 5 daily (near Ygnacio Valley Rd.) Contact: Bob Graton, (530) 676-2472 Hours: 10 - 5 daily Contact: Harry Nichandros, Email: [email protected] (925) 289-0454 Show Website: Email: [email protected] www.rockandgemshow.org Website: www.ccmgs.org/gem_show Club Website: www.eldoradorocks.org November 1 - 2: OXNARD, CA October 18 -19: WHITTIER, CA Oxnard Gem & Mineral Society Whittier Gem & Mineral Society Oxnard Performing Arts Center Whittier Community Center 800 Hobson Way 7630 Washington Avenue Hours: Sat. 9 - 5; Sun. 10 - 4 Hours: 10 - 5 daily Contact: Miriam Tetreault, (805) 642-5779 Contact: Marcia Goetz (626) 914-5030 Email: [email protected] Website: www.oxnardgem.com October 25 - 26: CAYUCOS, CA San Luis Obispo Gem & Mineral Club November 1 - 2: RIDGECREST, CA Cayucos Vets Hall Indian Wells Gem & Mineral Society 10 Cayucos Drive Desert Empire Fairgrounds Hours: 9 - 5 daily 520 S. Richmond Road Contact: Kim Patrick Noyes, ( Hours: 9 - 5 daily 805) 610-0603 Contact: John DeRosa, (760) 375-7905 Email: [email protected] Website: www.indianwells.weebly.com Website: www.slogem.org