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Many of us met the night before for pizza in Lone Pine and then on to Darwin the next morning. We had 18 rockhounders including 4 teenagers. We visited two spots on the same mountain with over 20 mines. The area was mined for minerals and ores. Many of the items found had to be taken home to be identified. The finds of the day were amethyst crystal, pyrite, and lead cubes. We also drove around the town of Darwin and saw the holes that miners dug in the hillsides and made into homes.

Beautiful fall weather with no rain. After getting lost and having one pickup get stuck in the sand, we got to the beds.

The goal was to find a complete oyster shell with matching halves. Jacob, our youngest hounder, found a shell that was not open and complete. It was a fun day until we hit the rain on I10 coming home, which reminded me of the monsoon rainstorms in Asia.

A beautiful day to be out in the desert. We had 34 rockhounders with 6 kids. Hundreds of Limonite cubes were found, and along with the treasures from the Terrace, everyone went home happy and with a sun tan.

YVGMS field trip to collect quartz points. A beautiful day with no smoke from the valley fire. Two ladies from the Downey Rock Club joined us. The hike along the Pacific Crest Trail was easy. We worked the area that the club had been last year. At first not much was found. Around 10:30 it became dark as the clouds moved in and soon we were experiencing a strong wind, thunder, rain and hail sized at about 1/8 inch. We went down a hill to get off the point and got behind some thick trees. Of course we got soaked to the skin, but it felt good after the heat of the last few days. The rain was also a blessing as it washed the points to the surface. We spend the next hour collecting and several large ones were found. When we first came into the area, we saw that Baldwin Lake was dry and we felt sorry for the homeowners who had bought lake front property. When we left four hours later, the homeowners now had a lake!

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Went to a gold and gem field, searched for Tonopah jasper and turquoise at the Ottoman Mines. At the end of the dig, we were given a piece of white bullifo from their mines. We had beautiful weather for our three day trip. Plenty of material was found and buckets were full. It was also nice to spend the evenings with the group and get to know each other better.

A super day to be out in the beautiful Mohave Desert with clear, cool weather. We had 21 rock hounders and visited three sites. There was so much material that begged to be collected that you had to keep looking up.

43 rock hounders, including 6 kids (12 members and 31 guests!). With 24 cars, we had to car pool on the narrow road. Beautiful, clear day in the Warner Valley in San Diego County. The key search turned out to be quartz crystals with perfect points. There were at least 28 minerals to find, so everyone went home with full buckets.

We had nine residents of the Warner Valley join us. One couple even invited us to rock hound in their backyard as they live in the area of the mine. Several guests also showed interest in joining YVGMS and visiting our shop.

We had 23 excited hounders, 15 of which were new to our club! A warm and beautiful day in the hills that were showing off spring wildflowers. A lot of new material was exposed because of the recent rains, including a garnet bed!

Trip sponsored by the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Socety. 30 rock hounders from several clubs met up at the Mt. Whitney Cafe on Saturday night, then Sunday headed to Cerro Gordo. Very hot in Owen's Valley, but at 8,500 feet it cooled off. Spent the day combing the massive tailing piles of the main mine. The mines were first found in 1865 and there have been 45 different minerals mined. The production of Galina and zinc surpassed any other mines in the United States, and rivaled the Comstock mines in Nevada for silver. After several hours, our group found gold, silver, galina, and smithsonite. The green smithsonite measures 2 1/2 x 4 inches, a rare find. A very rewarding day.

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Twenty-five members of our club, plus friends, came along. We were not disappointed and everyone went home with filled buckets. What also added to the fun was the other rocks and minerals found and the history of the cavern.

Our group of 19 people, including two kids, was led by Tim, a master at making cabs. We made three stops to pick up agate, opalite, quartz, black limestone, and beautiful red and yellow jasper. The prize find of the day was jasper with the yellow and red blended together. A beautiful day to be out in the Mojave Desert!

We had 21 rock hounders on our Owens Valley field trip! Thirteen were from other clubs in Southern California.

On the first day, everyone found a piece of amazonite and blue beryl at the Haystack. Day two was spent at the Reward mine and Crystal Hill, where quartz crystals and points, agates, and iron were found. The big finds were limonite cubes (bigger than dice) and silver galena. Day three we visited several gold mines and the Green Monster Mine. Plenty of copper minerals were found with rich blue and green color. Most of the group scaled the cliff to reach the tunnels and were richly rewarded with samples.

In the evenings we met at different restaurants, ate together, and got to know each other better, and best of all, to brag about our finds!

23 cars and 51 people, one family even came from Tucson to join us! We also had five members from other rock clubs. It was a beautiful clear day in the desert.