Directions and maps for all field trips will be available at Club Meetings prior to the Field Trip.

28 Oct. Globe Onyx.     The site is located north of Globe and is a fairly easy drive for any vehicle. The seam is located on the side of a hill and requires about ¼ mile hike up an old mine road. The onyx available comes in a variety of colors ranging from pink, tan, gray bands to the occasional find of a brilliant red. This material works up great in cabs or bears. It is an easy stone to work with, takes a high polish. Material is available to pick up or pry out of the ground. We will take the club rock saw and try to cut out bigger pieces of stone from the main seam. The scenery is great.

10-11 Nov. Petrified Wood.      This is a 2 day trip, leaving SL very early, like 5am. We will be going to two sites in the Holbrook area. First site is along a ridge and the wood is found on the sides of the ridge. The soil on the sides of the ridge is loose in places, and care must be used going down the ridge. The wood is fairly dull looking on the out side, inside it is dark brown to black, some yellow and red. It polishes nicely though. A car can drive to this site although the road leading into the site is rough, a 4x4 must be used to drive in to pick up any material that you have gathered and carried to the bottom of the ridge. Abundant stones of agate and Jasper is scattered loosely about the top of the ridge. The second site is Dobell Ranch. Getting to and collecting at this site is easy. The collecting site is at a “tailings pile” and in an open field on the ranch. The wood found here is rainbow petrified wood and it’s very colorful. Pieces range from chips to logs. Works up great! Other pieces are available to buy on site and the prices are good. Very hospitable people here and they will probably give you a tour of their shop if you want. It is very interesting. We really enjoyed the entire trip up here.

11 Dec. Queen Valley Marble.    This a short trip from SL going East on Hwy 60 to the Queen Valley cutoff. Good road until turning off on FR172 then it gets rough. I would recommend Hi clearance or 4x4. The marble is located in a seam on the side of a hill above a large wash. It comes in green, pink, yellow and cream colors and some is a deep red with brown. The stone works up nicely and takes a good polish. It is a short but steep climb up to the main vein and the standing area is small with a lot of loose material on the ground making walking around an adventure in its self. There is enough material in the wash below for the less adventurous, self included, to get all the marble you might want. There is also some really great yard type rock in the wash for anyone interested. There is some really interesting orange and black volcanic rock in various sizes. The scenery is great here, with saguaro growing up the hillside and red canyons along the wash.

13 Jan. Alamo Lake Palm Wood & Agate    No information on this site yet. Exploration trip to take place after the rattlesnakes hibernate. Look for information in December.

12 Feb. Maricopa Green Quartz.    This is another short trip from SL on paved road suitable for any vehicle. We will park on the side of the highway and hike ¼ mile through scrub brush to the small hills where the Quartz deposit is located. The colors range from light green to a darker jade-like color of green. This material can be used for sculpture as well as cabs. You can pick up material from the ground or pry bigger pieces from the outcrop. This is a fairly easy trip to the site but can be a little more difficult climbing the hills.

5-7 March. Kingman/Oatman Honey Onyx & Fire Agate    This will be another over night trip. In December I will be asking those interested in going on this trip if they want to overnight in Laughlin or Kingman. The Majority vote rules. Those of you in the club for any time have probably seen or gone on other field trips for this Onyx. The colors range from a creamy white to a warm honey gold color. It is easy to work and makes great Cabs, Bears & Bookends. The Fire Agate at Oatman is harder to find and can take picks, shovels and determination to locate. A trip to Oatman to feed the burros may be more to some peoples liking if you aren’t into sore muscles and an aching back from digging.

7 April, Mayer Black Banded Onyx    There are two sites for onyx at Mayer. The most striking is the black banded at the site North of Mayer. I made a small black onyx bear and was surprised at what a high polish it took. The second site contains a variety of Red, White,& Honey onyx similar to the Kingman type. “Rock hounding Arizona” claims this is marginal material for the “cabber”.I thought it looked good. The trip up is on I-17 then West to Mayer. The last mile for the black onyx will require a 4x4 to get to the site so we may have to ferry people in & out the last stretch of the trip.

I’ve set up some possible alternate sites incase we aren’t able to go to a primary site because of weather or road conditions.

I would like to suggest a club trip to Quartzite on January 6, 09 and set up a carpool for those interested in going to the Tyson Wells Show for the day. I’ve talked to some club members that have expressed an interest in going but for various reasons can’t make that drive but would be willing pay their fair share to hitch a ride. What do you think?

Remember to take all necessary rock hunting equipment.

Wear good hiking boots.

Bring canvas bags or pails to carry your rocks in.

Make your ensemble appropriate for the weather of the day.

Bring water to stay hydrated

Bring a lunch and snacks as appropriate.

Have a good time.

Always Be Good Stewards Of The Land.