Miles from Pasadena, about a third of the way between Barstow and Needles, is the sleepy town of Ludlow, CA. Most of the time, people never even notice it’s there, unaware that a well known jasper collecting area beckons in the blistering desert heat. Such is Ludlow most of the year.
Ludlow in the dead of winter is totally different. The ground is stripped of vegetation, blown away as tumbleweeds, or consumed by moisture-loving denizens of shifting desert sands. The barren landscape causes the jasper to magically appear on the desert floor waiting for us to pick it up. February’s trip will be on Saturday the 13th, to the renowned Lavic Railroad Siding jasper location near Ludlow, CA. Our meetup spot is 148 miles from Pasadena. We’ll meet there at 9 AM. Late arrivals will miss the fieldtrip. Read on for further information.
All colors, shapes, sizes of jaspers and agates cover the ground at Lavic Siding.
Since this is a semi-local trip, it will be for one day only. We’ll explore the traditional Lavic Jasper collecting areas and the brindle jasper location in the foothills north of Ludlow.
Red, ochre, brown, black… jaspers, agates… one in back has some drusy.. all found in the vicinity of Lavic Siding.
A high clearance vehicle is required for this trip, but 4wd is always better. Attendees will need to sign a waiver of liability. RSVP is required. Please email rexch8[at]yahoo.com for directions, inserting LAVIC FIELDTRIP in the subject field of your email.
A peek inside one of the display cases at the QIA PowWow 2021, held last month.
Pasadena Lapidary Society member Sue Pang shared some pics she’d taken during her visit in January to the annual QIA PowWow in Quartzsite, AZ. Members who didn’t make it out there this year were certainly there in spirit, as we’re not just lapidarists; we’re ROCKHOUNDS. For those who don’t know, the QIA PowWow is a rockhound’s mega candy store.
A Noreen Jasper slab from Australia fills the bottom of this lovely pine needle basket, created by Pamela Caskey. Pamela has taught other basket weavers.
Vendors George and Sharon hold spiderweb stromatolite at last month’s QIA PowWow in Quartzsite.
Artist Pamela Caskey developed a way to set pictures in resin to use them as basket bases.
Polished slab base in basket and lovely pendants below were on display at the QIA PowWow in Quartzsite last month.
One of the many unusual stones offered by vendors at the annual QIA PowWow in Quartzsite, AZ… leopard agate
Some sizable chunks of beautiful Lapis Lazuli, at vendor booth of a past year’s QIA PowWow in Quartzsite.
Pasadena Lapidary Society (PLS) is proud to announce that member Paolo Sanchez of Burbank has been awarded the California Federation of Mineralogical Societies’ (CFMS) Robert O. Deidrich Memorial Fund Scholarship for school year 2020-21. This award was established some fifty years ago by the late Melba Deidrich in memory of her husband Robert. The recipient of the $2,000 award must be an Earth Sciences major entering his/her junior or senior year at either UC Berkeley or Stanford University. Pasadena Lapidary Society is one of many member clubs in the CFMS.
Photo taken on Taal Volcano overlook in early January 2020, days before the Jan. 12 phreatomagnatic eruption that boiled off the crater lake in the immediate background and buried the entire surrounding area in ash.
As Filipino-Americans, Paolo’s parents Debbie and Ferdie trained and worked hard to establish themselves in the U.S.’s medical industry, and through their dedication and experience—as well as wonderful support from his older brother Joshua and younger sister Danielle—Paolo has been able to obtain a first-generation, U.S.-college education at UC Berkeley. With this he plans to continue his passion in the geosciences, working his way up to a PhD and possibly obtaining a career as a professional researcher. He is in his third year of double majoring in geology and geophysics and is developing a research project involving the chemistry of molten glasses (tektites) formed during the meteor impact that killed the dinosaurs (a.k.a. the K-Pg Impact) 66 million years ago.
Paolo became interested in Earth Sciences as a kindergartener, developing an affinity for rockhounding through the years by reading geology field books and old textbooks, then applying that knowledge in the domain. He joined PLS as a Junior member at the age of 12 and since then he has given lectures about geology at PLS’ monthly program meetings, led educational rock and mineral identification seminars, and authored/coauthored numerous geological and mineralogical articles in the monthly PLS newsletter Rockhound Ramblings, among numerous invaluable contributions he has made to the Club. As part of Pasadena Lapidary Society’s community outreach, Paolo has taught basic geoscience to local elementary school students, along with providing hands-on teaching techniques with self-collected rock and mineral specimens.
Paolo in the San Gabriel Mountains
Prior to UC Berkeley, Paolo interned at Cal State Northridge for a year, doing research for the Geological Sciences Department. At present he is a Research Assistant at both the Berkeley Geochronology Center and at the UC Berkeley Earth and Planetary Sciences Dept. Paolo is also an editor and contributor to the popular non-commercial online mineralogical database mindat.org.
Along with his family, Pasadena Lapidary Society shares great pride in Paolo’s accomplishments, congratulates him at winning this prestigious award, and wishes him much success in his future endeavors.
The California Federation of Mineralogical Societies represents over 100 gem and rockhound clubs statewide, as well as a few clubs in Nevada and Arizona. Visit cfmsinc.org for further information.
We couldn’t resist sharing pics of Christmas Tree Agate, found by a member of Pasadena Lapidary Society while out visiting the Southern Cady Mountains/Lavic Siding area.
PLS Members visited one of our favorite spots for gemstones in the North Cady Mountains, about three hours northeast of Pasadena, over Thanksgiving weekend.
The Cady Mountains have produced more gemstones than almost any other Southern California location and we explored the northern part of the range, looking for jasper, agate, fluorite, calcite, and amethyst in places where few rock hounds go. You can join us in the Cadys sometime in the future, by becoming a member of Pasadena Lapidary Society. Check out the photos below to see some of our finds.
Our March Program Meeting, originally scheduled for Tuesday, March 17, 2020, in the Donald Wright Auditorium of the Pasadena Central Library, has been canceled based on guidance from the Pasadena Library administration in consideration of the Coronavirus. Information will be posted here in the weeks to come regarding the April Program meeting. Stay safe out there.
Rhodochrosite is so popular with members of Pasadena Lapidary Society that we’re bringing back a two-part video featuring the mining and geology of this lovely mineral. Part One will be presented at the Tuesday, February 18th program meeting. Rhodochrosite is a manganese carbonate mineral that ranges in color from light pink to bright red.
The February Rock of the Month Talk speaker is PLS member Karl Stull. Karl will share some tips and ideas for organizing a co-op display case for Pasadena Lapidary Society’s Annual Gem Show, coming in April.
Pasadena Lapidary Society members are continually picking up rocks, wondering what might be inside if cut. More often than not, as one might guess, the inside of a rock can be very similar to the outside. Every now and then, however, we’re happily surprised to find a sparkling cluster of crystals, bursts of unexpected colors or even images inside a rock. These images can be eerily realistic, or perhaps resemble an impressionist painting of beach scenes, faces, landscapes, etc. Ken Rogers of the Culver City Rock & Mineral Club, will be the featured speaker at our Tuesday, January 21st meeting when he discusses “Pictures in Rocks”. Attendees of the meeting are encouraged to bring their own favorite picture rocks to share on the Display Table.
Our January Rock of the Month talk will be presented by PLS member David Lacy with a focus on Feldspar. Did you know that Moonstone and Labradorite are feldspars? Come to the meeting to find out more about this luminescent mineral.
The Tuesday, January 21st meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. in the Donald R. Wright Auditorium of the Pasadena Main Library at 285 E. Walnut Street, Pasadena, CA 91101. Open to the public. FREE. Come join us for some rock fun!
We will be holding our annual Christmas Party instead of the December program meeting. The members of Pasadena Lapidary Society wish you a lovely and memorable Holiday Season.
