Future Rockhounding in the vicinity of the Mojave Trails National Monument (MTNM) is being threatened. For those who’ve enjoyed collecting at Lavic Siding, the Cady Mountains, Afton Canyon and surrounding areas, upcoming legislation could impact our beloved hobby. If you want your voice heard and your opinion counted, please register for and participate in these upcoming Bureau of Land Management (BLM) meetings. The first one will be virtual and the other three will be held in person.
Virtual Meeting is one week from today.
Sign up now at the link below. Rockhounds please share this to get the info out. It is important we get involved!!!
What do the Cady Mountains and the Marble Mountain Fossil Beds have in common? These are sample sites Pasadena Lapidary Society (PLS) members and other rockhounds visit to collect rocks including but not limited to chalcedony and agates. The aforementioned sites are also an example of places within the boundaries of the Mojave Trails National Monument (MTNM) in San Bernardino County, California. PLS members have visited public lands and collected rocks since our Society’s establishment in 1946, while the MTNM was created in February 2016 under the Obama Administration. Some national monuments have banned rockhounding or removed access to rockhounding areas. Currently, rockhounding at the MTNM is still allowed while the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) develops the monument’s management plan. As rockhounds, we need to continue to have road access to collection sites and be able to collect rocks within the MTNM. Gregor Losson, our gem and mineral collecting representative on the MTNM Subgroup of the Desert Advisory Committee (DAC), will be the guest speaker for our April program meeting. Having recently attended the BLM California Desert District Advisory Council meeting, he will illustrate what’s happening and what we need to do to continue enjoying future access to the MTNM.
The April Rock of the Month presentation will be about a junior member’s rock hunting experience. Daniel Nishimura is a PLS junior member. He is eight years old and has been rock hounding since he learned how to walk.
This important and informative program meeting takes place at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall of The Santa Anita Church, 226 W. Colorado Blvd., Arcadia, CA 91007.
Join us to learn more about the future of rockhounding in one of our favorite locales. Admission is free; open to the public. Enjoy refreshments while checking out the display table; bring a rock specimen you’d like identified. Hope to see you there!
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.
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.
