Pasadena, California, AFMS and CFMS Federation Members
Beat the heat and join us for adventure in the San Luis Obispo area on July 17th. We’ll be searching for agates and brecciated jaspers in local creekbeds. Sorry, this trip is full and we are not taking any more signups at this time. Please join us for the next trip in August!
This August 6-8, 2021 field trip will include rock hunting in Jerome, AZ and visiting the Prescott Gem and Mineral Show in Prescott Valley, AZ.
We’ll be searching for agate (pictured below) in Jerome, AZ on August 7th. Our guide will be a local Prescott Gem and Mineral rock club member. Note that rock hunting is on Saturday, August 7th ONLY!
When it gets too hot, we’ll check out the Prescott Gem and Mineral rock show in the Findlay Toyota Center at 3201 North Main Street in Prescott Valley, AZ. The show runs from Friday to Sunday and there is a $5 entry fee. There is free dry camping for self contained RV’s at the show, or you can camp for free in Prescott National Forest. For more information, please email me at rexch8@yahoo.com with the subject “Prescott AZ field trip.”
Join us Tuesday, June 15 for a journey through the deep Earth, with Dr. Krista Sawchuk. The deep Earth, which encompasses the mantle and core, makes up 99% of our planet. Because we can’t physically go to the deep Earth, scientists employ a variety of techniques to learn more about it. Dr. Sawchuk will share what we do know about the deep Earth and how her research on the behavior of minerals at high pressures and temperatures is helping us learn more about the chemistry of the mantle.
Dr. Sawchuk recently graduated from UCLA with a PhD in geochemistry. Her dissertation research focused on the high-pressure behavior and chemical reactions of volatile-bearing minerals in Earth’s mantle. Since graduating, she started a postdoctoral research
position at Los Alamos National Lab in New Mexico where she continues her high-pressure research. In her spare time she enjoys mineral collecting and curating her personal mineral collection.
The Tuesday, June 15 program meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. To join us, send an email to joenmar1[at]verizon.net in advance, using ‘PROGRAM MEETING’ in subject line, and request the Zoom meeting link. We hope to “see” you there!
Get ready for another collecting adventure for actinolite and rhodonite in the Wrightwood area. This is a local trip suitable for passenger cars. We’ll be searching the washes and canyons in this area. Light hiking is required for this trip. For more details, please email me at rexch8@yahoo.com with the subject “Wrightwood Field Trip.”
Join us for our May 18 Program Meeting as we explore Australia’s most iconic natural wonders and visit several geologic sites that are unfamiliar to most people. Our guests, Dick & Mary Pat Weber, are retired exploration geologists and will take us on the armchair trip. In 2007 and 2008 they spent a year on what they refer to as their “Rocks ‘n Crocs” tour of Australia looking at and photographing the natural features and geology of the largest country in Oceania.
For our May Rock of the Month talk, Mary Pat Weber will present an introduction to a lesser known member of the garnet family, the rare and highly prized green garnet, which gives emerald a run for its money.
The Tuesday, May 18 program meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. via Zoom. To join us, send an email to joenmar1[at]verizon.net in advance, using ‘PROGRAM MEETING’ in subject line, and request the Zoom meeting link. We hope to “see” you there!
Forsaking the desert, we’ll head deep into the forests of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The PLS May field trip will be to the Obsidian Dome area where we will study the products of volcanic activity near Mammoth Lakes, CA. Geologically speaking, this volcanic activity is thought to have occurred fairly recently in the summer of 1350AD. This is a one day trip.
We will start at Obsidian Dome–a plateau with some small hills on top, littered with various sized pieces of obsidian. Most of the obsidian pieces at the Dome have tiny gas bubbles and aren’t gem quality but the shiny glass pieces almost glow in the morning sun.
We’ll head to Crowley Lake after touring the Dome to look for fist size chunks of obsidian and arrowheads in the hills overlooking the reservoir.
After that, we’ll stop at Hot Creek visitor center, visit the free hot tubs in the area and hopefully explore some mine tailings looking for minerals related to gold mining.
High clearance is recommended for this trip.
For more information, please contact Rex at rexch8@yahoo.com. Please put “Obsidian Dome field trip” in your subject line.
We’ll be rock hunting near Sperry Wash in Tecopa, CA on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17. We’ll camp out on Thursday and Friday nights. Saturday night camping is optional . A high clearance (SUV or pickup truck) is required for this trip.
There will be plenty of variety on this trip, as we’re searching for amethyst, precious opal, fossils, and palm root agate. Please RSVP to Rex at rexch8@yahoo.com for updates and additional information.
Obsidian is a popular lapidary material to collect and cut. Join Pasadena Lapidary Society at the April general meeting, as lapidary artist Terry Wilson takes us on a virtual trip to Davis Creek and other obsidian collecting locations, updating us on collecting site regulations. Terry will share tips on how to inspect the obsidian in the field and back at home. She will also demonstrate how to line up, slab and cab the material to bring out the best of their unique optical properties, including how to cut a cab exhibiting the cat-eye effect.
The April Rock of the Month will be presented by geologist, Dick Weber. Dick will take us on a tour of a hidden treasure: the Petrified Wood museum of Nebraska.
Join us virtually for the April 20 Tuesday night meeting by RSVPing to joenmar1[at]verizon.net for a Zoom meeting link, using ‘PROGRAM MEETING’ in subject line.
Attendees of Pasadena Lapidary Society’s fieldtrip of Saturday, March 13 collected tricolor marble from the Sidewinder Mtn area and copper minerals from Ord Mountain.
Parked and ready to rock(hound). Vicinity of Ord Mountain.
Old mine shaft; Ord Mountain.
Careful collecting on hillside; Ord Mtn area.