Field Trip Committee
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Field Trip Committee |
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A FIELD
TRIP TO Saturday, January 28, 2006
Pennsylvanian Age Plant Fossils Rockcastle Formation On January
28, 2006, the
Nantahala Talc & Limestone Quarry A Dixie Mineral Council Field Trip Swain County, North Carolina November 5, 2005 By Mike Streeter November 2005 was the Southern Appalachian Mineral Society's (SAMS) month to play host to the Dixie Mineral Council (DMC). The DMC, a program of the field trip committee of the Southeast Federation of Mineralogical Societies (SFMS), is an association of field trip leaders within the SFMS who have agreed to join together and share mineral or fossil field trips. At present, the DMC is comprised of 31 clubs that represent 8 southeastern States. Our good buddy, Jim Flora, past field trip leader and current webmaster of the Georgia Mineral Society (GMS), was responsible for establishing the DMC and the first trip took place in March 1999. As the North Carolina Director for the SFMS and acting field trip leader for SAMS, I took it upon myself to contact Jack Herbert, president of the Nantahala Talc and Limestone Company, to schedule a field trip to the quarry. Anyone who has ever dealt with Jack knows him to be a very friendly and gracious person. His continued willingness to allow rockhounds to enter the quarry is commendable considering that access to most other mines and quarries is becoming increasingly problematic in this new age of liability litigation. When I called Jack to request permission to collect, he simply asked me what day and time so that he could have his man be there to unlock the gate. Since it had been some time since I had last been to the constantly-changing active quarry, Chrissy and I performed a site reconnaissance trip there the previous Sunday. We wanted to ensure that we would be best able to direct the DMC group. The quarry is probably best known for its colorful banded and mottled marble. Although pink, white and gray predominate, other marble colors include varying shades of purple, yellow, buff, and tan. Other minerals and rocks that have been found in the quarry include, dolomite, calcite, quartz, aragonite, travertine, talc, and pyrite. We found plenty of areas containing the aforementioned rocks and minerals that could be later exploited by the group. Just like clockwork, the security guard/night watchman, Jimbo Richeson showed up to let us in. Jimbo, who had never rockhounded before, was excited to be able to join us to collect that day. We caravanned about 1/2-mile to the quarry. The last part of the wide quarry road was somewhat loose and dusty due very dry conditions; a few of the vehicles had their tires spin out in the loose material and had to struggle to make it up the last incline. I would later find out that no crushing had taken place for a couple days prior to our visit so that the big rock hauling trucks that usually keep the road beat down had not been running. A couple of the pickup trucks had to make two runs at the hill, but, in the end, everyone was able to make it up to the parking area on the first quarry bench. After I gave a brief safety meeting, I turned everyone loose to have fun. The group began collecting on the first level where there was an abundance of brightly colored marble. There was also a very large boulder that was covered with travertine, otherwise known as cave onyx. Chrissy and I had located this boulder on the previous Sunday and were glad to see that it hadn't been hauled off to the rock crusher. I had discovered nice pockets lined with beautiful white aragonite inside the travertine by barely scratching the surface last Sunday. This boulder would prove to be ripe for the pickins and would supply everyone who attended with some cave onyx and aragonite. Jim Flora pulled out his handy chisel holder constructed of PVC piping to help break down the travertine boulder. While Jim held the contraption, I was able to wail away on the rock using both hands on my 6-pound crack hammer. We managed to break loose most of the travertine from the boulder and uncovered lots of neat mineral-laden pockets. Anita Westlake found an interesting mineral on the first bench that I had not before seen at the quarry. She came over and opened her gloved hand to show off a perfect cube of what appeared to be a pseudomorph of goethite after pyrite. While we knew that pyrite could be found in the quarry, the goethite pseudomorph discovery clearly demonstrated Anita's good eye! You'll see all sorts of carts and buggies employed by rockhounds, but the home-made ones are my favorite. One cart in particular sitting full and alone on the first bench caught my eye. If only this old cart could talk, I bet that it would have quite a few rockhounding tales to share. Chrissy was nice enough to show those who were interested the large vein of talc that we had located the previous Sunday. Before long, much of the group assembled near this spot to obtain some talc that was freely shared by all. After the talc was distributed, those who were interested either walked, drove or were driven up the rough steep 4-wheel drive-only road to the top of the quarry. The view of the upper Nantahala gorge was breathtaking.A group of diggers had assembled to dig out pockets in the meta-sedimentary rock that contain fantastic white and water clear aragonite crystals. Ron Burke and his handy assistant and budding rockhound, Jimbo Richeson, discovered the "mother lode" of goethite after pyrite psuedomorphs. While digging in the bank for aragonite-filled pockets, Ron happened upon a layer of meta-siltstone and phyllite that contains perfect psuedomorphic cubes in matrix. It was then that we knew where the crystal that Anita had found in the lower bench originated. I joined Ron for a while scratching in the bank and, with some effort, we both recovered a few keepers for ourselves . . . and Chrissy . . .and Mary . . . and Greg . . . there was plenty to go around! It seemed that Jimbo was the good luck charm that Ron had been looking for. Ron was in hog heaven and bordering on cocky having discovered the source of the goethite after pyrite cubes. Ron may be checking with Jimbo's schedule to see if his luck would be available at other rockhounding locations. I spent some quality time removing a few more keepers with my buddy, Jeffadillo, before calling it a day at around 4:30 PM. By then, just about everyone else had left. I took the my final picture from the top of the quarry before heading down.
On our way out, Chrissy, Opal and I met up
with our new friend, Jimbo. He led us
on a short walk to show us some of the old quarry operations. We hiked
up and then down an overgrown gravel road to a deep pit with a large
colluvial fan that drapes down over a steep cliff that rises to near
the top of active quarry. This abandoned pit is a perfect place to
collect runoff from the active portion of the quarry. The bottom was
covered with mud and there was no telling how thick it
was. I threw a large rock out into the middle and it was quickly
swallowed up as if there was
no bottom. Due to this old pit, no sediment from this area could ever
reach the Nantahala River. After our walk, we bid farewell to Jimbo and,
after cleaning up in the nearby
river, we headed for home.
The above report with all the pictures at the
following link: December 16, 2003 Report on the DMC Diamond Hill Mine, SC quartz dig
Field Trip Chairman: Jim Maudsley Athens Rock and Gem Club, Athens, GA. Report on the October 18, 2003 DMC trip to LeFarge Quarry hosted by the Columbia Gem, Mineral and Fossil Society of Aiken South Carolina. A good turn-out was greeted at the quarry with lots of mud
(the kind
you can't get off your shoes!) due to heavy rains that occurred
the
night before. Undaunted, fossil collecters hit the pit for what
turned
out to be a beautiful day with an abundance of fossils. The mine
was actively removing alot of overburden from a new pit area and
spreading
the material across the pit flloor. This exposed many fossils
with
good specimens of giant white shark and archecheate whale teeth found.
My finds included one whale tooth in matrix, several whale vertebra, a
bill fish rostrum in matrix Respectfully Submitted, October 11, 2003 Rock lovers flock to Fort Drum this weekend A new word may soon find its way into the vocabulary of Okeechobee County residents. The word "rockhound" is a term used to describe rock and mineral enthusiasts who enjoy searching for new additions to their collections amidst rocks and mud. "Rockhounds" from several states have traveled to Okeechobee this weekend for a rock and gem show at the Fort Drum Crystal Mine, just 20 miles north of Okeechobee. The geologic jamboree will continue Sunday, beginning at 11 a.m. The Easy People Band will provide entertainment from 4 until 8 p.m. this evening. Visitors can dig for rare crystals and shells and keep their finds. "They've got some stuff here that you won't find anywhere else in the world," said Mike Streeter, a geologist for the state of North Carolina and author of a book about "rockhounds", at the event Saturday. In addition to North Carolina, "rockhounds" from as far away as Maryland and Connecticut traveled to rural Okeechobee County to find rare shells and crystals. Dr. Ed Petuch, geology professor at Florida Atlantic University, has found 38 previously unnamed shell species in the Fort Drum pit. About nine months ago, rare calcite-filled clamshells were discovered there. Rare crystals were part of what attracted Dwight Blankenship, a retired jeweler from Sebring, to the event. "I think it's a good thing for Florida. As far as crystals and minerals, this is the first I know of. It's very interesting," Mr. Blankenship said. For Roy and Linda Fox of Fernandina Beach, the field trip to Fort Drum offered a chance to find a variety of geologic finds and socialize with fellow "rockhounds". "It's just fun because there are so many different things. There are fossil shells, crystals and even some vertebrate fossils," Mrs. Fox said. "Gem clubs are really nice because you can meet a lot of people," she continued. For families, digging for fossils can be a great alternative to sedentary activities and get children interested in learning, said Brenda Banzet-Hansen of Vero Beach, who brought her sons Brandon, 10, and Christian, 4, to the event Saturday. "It's a little more education than you can get watching cartoons on a Saturday," Ms. Banzet-Hansen said. "We're really interested in rocks. We have a big rock collection from all over the world," she continued. Sept. 22, 2003 Report on the DMC trip to Graves Mountain Thirty six people attended with Freddie Bolden and his crew from New Market, Tennessee being the most distant travelers. No surprise, Glen Williams found the largest rutile. But as he has always stated, go where others don't and keep your eyes on the ground. A guarantee for success at Graves. He found a large floater just resting in a ditch.By state we had one person from North Carolina, five from Tennessee, eight from South Carolina and twenty two from Georgia. The weather was great for Graves digging. A bit warm but beautiful otherwise. I personally thank all participants and as most of you conveyed as you departed, you enjoyed the day and found something to carry home. Don Reems 06/25/2003 Report on the DMC trip to the Vulcan Materials
Company’s Morganton
Quarry hosted by the Forsyth County Gem & Mineral Club of
Winston-Salem,
NC Sixty-six people attended from as far away as Florida. Clubs were there from FL., GA., TN., VA., S.C., and N.C. The quarry wasn't running, so we had the pit to ourselves. It was a beautiful day in the low 80's and the key there was no rain. It was the first Saturday in a long time with such weather. Some people didn't have much luck finding nice mineral samples, but enjoyed the exercise and walking around the quarry on a pretty day. Others found exceptional samples of tourmaline, garnet, apatite, and siderite. One supposed small aquamarine beryl crystal was found early in the day. Of course the best material was found just before we had to leave. It was in a pegmatite zone that contained beautiful garnets, a couple were dime to nickel size and appeared to be faceting quality, In addition, black tourmaline was found in this zone, some up to five or six inches long and 1/2" in diameter. All in all, every had a great time. This person enjoyed meeting numerous people from other cubs and looks forward to the next Dixie trip. Jim Stroud Jan. 22. 2003 Eighty-six members from 12 different clubs gathered at the Fort Drum General Store on January 18, 2003. The instructions of "not Fort Drum Diner" seem to have been good enough especially since there is only one road running through town and these are the only two businesses. It was a cold morning for south Florida-37 degrees and fairly windy; however, it turned out to be a beautiful sunny day with high temperatures in the 60's. After we arrived and were escorted into the pit, everyone wandered around looking for the "good stuff". It seemed to take about an hour before people settled into their digging surroundings. One area of the pit was producing mostly gastropods with fossilized whelks while other areas seem to produce mostly large clams. Generally, the large clams produced specimens with larger calcite crystals. After a couple of hours, some people were interested in going to the wash area to collect specimens while many people desired to stay where they were. The wash area contains many easily accessible specimens, but the processing that they go through damages many of the fossils and bruises the unprotected crystals. I saw many beautiful gemmy, honey-colored, calcite crystal-lined shell geodes ranging from 4-7 inches that will be prominently displayed in people's collections. Extremely well preserved cowry, olive, tulip and cone shells, shark teeth and some fossil bone were also found along with the whelks and clams. Whether you are a fossil or a mineral collector, this location has a great supply of beautiful specimens. I hope everyone had a great day. Mickey Cecil, President Dec 02, 2002 We had 61 people come to the Cobb County Gem and Mineral Society trip to the Diamond Hill Mine in Antreville, SC. 13 clubs were represented with the Georgia Mineral Society having the most field trippers at 17 members. Also represented were the Aiken Gem and Mineral Society, Carroll County Gem & Mineral Society, Inc., Charlotte Gem and Mineral Society, Columbia Gem & Mineral Society, Henderson County Gem & Mineral Society, Northeast Georgia Mineral Society, Southern Appalachian Mineral Society, Western Piedmont Mineral and Gem Society, and the Western South Carolina G&MS. The cold weather kept most of the campers home, but we had a good crowd Saturday and despite the strong winds, the temperatures were moderate and an excellent Bar-B-Q dinner was enjoyed by all. A big thank you to Pat Vas Dias and Julie Stanley for helping with the cooking. A big thank you as well to Bill Kohout who brought an incredible display of specimens he has found at Diamond Hill over the years. He had a beautiful flat of amethyst, some nice, large smoky quartz clusters and some really incredible quartz after calcite pseudomorphs. Charles Carter of the Cobb County Gem and Mineral Society discovered the find of the weekend when he decided to pop a boulder that had been laying in one of the trenches for many years. He started finding golden needles of cacoxenite in small vugs in the boulder and finally popped open a large vug with 1/4" diameter balls of the stuff on pink and golden quartz crystals. Absolutely stunning! Several other new minerals were discovered as well, including rutile, strengite, and one piece of fuchsite. I found a nice calcite pseudomorph specimen as well. Everybody said they had a great time and found plenty of quartz crystals. Many people inquired about a return trip and I told them the mine was open for business everyday of the year. For information on visiting Diamond Hill, you can call me (Jim Haege, 706-253-5920) or e-mail me at jimhaege@mindspring.com. A complete information package is on the Georgia Mineral Society web page (www.gamineral.org) under commercial field trips. The Cobb Club and myself would like to thank everyone who attended. Jim Haege, Field Trip Chair 03/23/2002 "HAPPY ENDING" After reading about someone's unburied treasures (and
tools?) getting It was 12 noon and we were walking out of the pit of the
Statesville
Quarry. Richard explained that someone had left a bucket of
collected material I suggested that if he could not find the owner - to take
the bucket
of Richard said that he was from Va and felt that he was at
the northern I told him I lived 30 mins west of the quarry and would be
glad to
take Richard drove me down to where the bucket was still sitting
by the We exchanged names, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses.
got our At the top, I was meeting others from my group for a lunch
discussion As we passed we waved our "good-byes" and then my
contingent had
the 10 minutes passed, my contingent had arrived at the decided
lunch
stop a The cell phone rang, and it was Richard, someone had
returned to
claim I notified the others in my party that I was heading back
to the
quarry I drove up at the quarry office and saw the happy face of
Richard
"my After reading a past report / horror story from a previous
DMC event The Lynchburg group is fortunate to have Richard T. Doty as
a member. This was my first DMC event and the first for my group, the
Western The WPM&GS joined at the end of last year and we truly
look forward
to A big salute and thanks to our friends in the Charlotte
group for Lynn Preston 02/28/2002 Montgomery Gem & Mineral Society (Montgomery, AL) We had close to 100 people from as far away as Memphis, TN show up at the convenience store in Ashland. About 34 cars. The trip out to the collecting site was funny, many people pulled over thinking that our group was a funeral procession. Quite a shock when you are expecting about 30-40 people and that many show up. There was plenty of material to be gathered, I personally examined quite a few different pieces, including black tourmaline crystals, kyanite crystals, flat squares of quartzite, as well as the garnets. A group of us tried to get down to Gold Mines Creek to see if we could find any of the old mines, however after many scratches from the wild blackberry brambles we didn't find anything except a small trickle. There were some very nice garnet crystals found as well as a lot of weathered cutting material. I brought some examples of how the material cuts, including a bolo tie and a "marble" I had made the week before. Excellent trip. One thing I would like to include that I believe would have made the trip a little better would have been a mineral identification table with some of the specimens and maybe a "best find of the day" award. I was bouncing around so much going from group to group getting everything organized that I didn't even think about it until afterward. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to host a field trip for the DMC. We look forward to being able to host another one. James Mallonee 16 of us from Memphis attended the Ashland Field Trip this past weekend and we had a fantastic time. I think the official sign-in count was 78, but I counted 35 vehicles and it looked to me like there were over 100 people there. DMC Rules! Mike Baldwin Tons (literally) of garnets at the field trip yesterday. Very weathered (rounded edges. I presume it was weathering), but lots of them. Many on the surface. Digging was very productive for sizes up to 2-3 inches in diameter. Very close to the surface, which made digging easy, but probably responsible for the condition. Very nice turn out. Didn't count, but maybe 50 or more. When I saw how many people there were, I figured there would probably not be enough garnets to go around. I was wrong. After a couple of hours we all had as many as we could carry or want. I brought back a bunch. Now I have to figure out what to do with them. The leader (don't recall his name) had a couple of garnets he had polished. They looked pretty good. If those were representative of the specimens, it looks like they will do much better than the Epworth garnets. I tried tumbling those, but never made any progress. They got more rounded, but no closer to being polished. Made lots of nice mud, though. Carl Ziglin Date: November 2, 2001 To: Members of the Dixie Mineral Council Subject: Regarding property theft on July 21, 2001 DMC field trip. Thank you for the help in recovery of my property which was taken on 7-21-01 during a DMC field trip. I received it back about the first of October along with something else that was taken from the car as well which I wasn't aware had been removed. Sincerely and with appreciation Date: August 24, 2001 To: Members of the Dixie Mineral Council Subject: Property theft on July 21, 2001 DMC field trip. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Dixie Mineral Council;
This is
in regard to the field trip This trip was held on my property as a 'free'
trip.
I spent some time and money to make the collecting as easy as
possible.
The collecting would have been better had there been a good rain prior
to the dig, but I hope that all of you collected some material you came
for, and I know some of you did well. Ladies and gentlemen, it grieves me greatly to
say this,
but, there is a thief among us. After the crowd left, I was driving back to my house
and noticed
the hood ornament gone. A few days went by and I stopped at the
car
to see if it had been removed and left in the car, NO ORNAMENT!!
Now I am in a quandary, my hood ornament gone, no
$15.00,
and from all the evidence someone I invited to my property has stolen
it.
It wasn't worth $15.00 to him, but it was worth stooping low enough to
be a thief. I can't really put a hard value on it, one thing being, I
no
longer possess it. However, I am restoring my farm tractor and a
new hood ornament for it is $163.00. A used one if I can find one
in a tractor junkyard would be $65.00 to $75.00. Using this and
considering
this Desoto was the first deluxe four door, luxury auto built for
public
sale after WWII, I am thinking this ornament could be worth a
considerable
amount. I do not remember this man's name or town he said he was from, only that he said he was from Alabama. This being the case I would ask that when he reads this he will send me money in the amount of $200.00, that you never visit my property again-but if you did, I couldn't I.D. you except you are a rockhound and I prefer not to be associated with you, because people like you 'soil' us all. Taylor Cantrell 08/06/2001 Columbia Gem and Mineral Society On Saturday, August 4, 2001, fifteen people showed at the Diamond Hill mine in Abbeville Co., S.C. A few clubs from Georgia and North Carolina were represented in addition to the host club, Columbia Gem and Mineral Society. Most of the group had never visited the mine and all seemed to have had a good time. One gentleman from Georgia found a partial Smoky Quartz Crystal as big as a softball! Diamond Hill continues to provide collectors with a lot of Quartz and mine owner Jack Browning is always glad to have us visit! Joe Davis 07/02/2001 Official Field Trip of The Hendersonville Gem and Mineral
Society
(Host) Saturday morning came early as it usual, but this day was special because it was a field trip day. Now, I don't know about you, but any old field trip is better than cutting grass, or a day at the office! This Saturday was a very special one, because it was our turn to host the Dixie Mineral Council. To top it off, the weather was picture perfect. Being Field Trip Director and responsible for the whole
thing, I
thought it best to arrive early. If you are inept at
organization,
you had better have some good helpers. I had five of the best.
Thanks
guys! All the gold here is placer from Vein Mountain. The
Nanney's own
a half-mile stretch of the Second Broad River, crossing some of the 28
placer veins in the valley. The Betchler's, jewelers by trade
during
the 19 century, hand minted more gold coin here than the Philadelphia
Mint,
well over two million dollars, in $1, $2.5, and $5 gold coin.
They
also fluxed (made into bullion bars) as much, from this area.
Well,
the mine is still producing! I personally didn't get to pan much,
being busy with the crowd, but I did see flower and nugget gold
taken.
I found some too, (slightly less than a million!) The whole thing
was successful because of willing hands and smiling faces. One
war
story and I'll hush. Mr. Nanney will often help by demonstrating
panning to the audience. Digging from the pile and washing the
ore,
he unvaryingly finds something. Then, he will invite someone to
fill
their pan and begin. (Most folk will be very careful, scared they
will lose something.) Spotting a new comer, he drifts over and
deposits
the nuggets into the "green horn's" pan, declaring, "Now the pressure
is
on you!" Jimmie Brown, Field Trip Director (Edited for content-DMC) 05/09/2001 It was a beautiful spring day on April 21st as people from
far and
wide gathered at the meeting place to go to Woodlawn. This was
the
first DMC field trip sponsored by S.A.M.S. and it was gratifying to
meet
rockhounds from clubs in Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina,
Georgia,
Alabama, and Florida. Thirty-three people arrived in seventeen
vehicles
and after looking at some samples from previous visits (Thank It wasn't long before almost everyone was uncovering the quartz crystals, some small and some large. It was interesting talking to the various attendees, including the lady who was particularly interested in the small crystals for her craft work. Two of the pits yielded pockets of large clear crystals at 3' to 4' below the surface. In general, there seemed to be a high level of enjoyment with the site and the finds. I wish to thank all those who attended for their cooperation in staying away from the quarry and for leaving the site clean. I hope everyone enjoyed their visit. Joe Enderle 12/05/2000 Charles Towne Mineral and Lapidary Club The DMC field trip to Graves Mt. held on Saturday the 11th
of November
was a big success. Once again the Charles Towne Mineral and
Lapidary
Club hosted this trip. Fifty cars were parked in the
designated
area near the mine area and about 100 rockhounds combed the cliffs and
pits for mineral treasure. Although there were license plates
from
TN, GA, SC, NC, and Fl. We have no data on how many different clubs
attended
this dig. The weather was perfect and everyone had a good
outing
even if they didn't find the retirement stone. Specimens of
iridescent
hematite (goethite), Hematite, Rutile, Lazurite, Ilminite, Kyanite,
Quartz,
Blue Quartz, Lazurite in quartzite, Pyrophyllite, Variscite and several
unidentified Micro’s were seen at the information booth.
For those
who saw it, the big blue rock has yet to be identified. 08/21/2000 DMC Field Trip to Marshall, North Carolina It was a nice, cool (!) Saturday morning as we started the August Dixie Mineral Council trip to Little Pine Garnet Mine in Marshall, North Carolina. Aside from a slight mishap with the renaming of a road (the original sign was laying nearby in the grass), the group of 49 members gathered and were headed to the mine on time. Some of the clubs attending were from Huntsville, Aiken, Winston-Salem, Knoxville, Georgia Mineral Society (and others). ALL of the people who came were pleased with their finds. Whether by digging, splitting rocks or simply picking them up from the roadside (who was that woman with the bagfull of large ones from the road???), the garnets were plentiful. By noon, people were seen towing heavy buckets of garnets to their vehicles. Some of these garnets were approaching 3 inches, and a few even had good red color. My thanks to the people who came out for this trip, and
made it a
success! Jeff Schlottman 03/01/2000 December 4, 1999 by Walt Kubilius Aiken Gem & Mineral Society The Dixie Mineral Coalition Trip to Summerville on December 4 was capably led by Fred Pennell of the Lowcountry GMS. Summerville, near Charleston, is well known for producing late Tertiary and Pleistocene vertebrate fossils, because fossil beds are only a few feet below the surface, and are often exposed by construction and excavation activities. There were about 26 attendees, including 3 from the Aiken GMS: Walt and Kathleen Kubilius, and John Adams. Several Columbia Club members were also there, including Ron Able and Dave Pietras. Fred took us to a creek which is locally known for fossils in its bed and banks. This creek is incised about 6 feet, and the banks expose sediments from two different epochs. The bed of the creek, and the lowermost two feet of bank, consists of late Oligocene marl of the Ashley Formation, which is about 30,000,000 years old. It contains some well preserved marine vertebrate bones. On top of that layer is a lag gravel with loose black phosphatized teeth and bones of either late Oligocene, Miocene, or Pliocene age. Above the gravel is 4 feet of loose sand, with middle Pleistocene terrestrial- vertebrate material (200,000 to 500,000 years old). Some people dug in the banks. John Adams did this, and was rewarded with a fine and very well preserved 2-inch Carcharadon auriculatus tooth; one other guy also found a similar tooth. Some people screened the stream gravels, several folks recovered scores of small shark and ray teeth in this way. Others surface collected the bed, bars, and banks of the stream. Most of the larger stuff was recovered by these collectors: stuff I saw included several whale bullas, one 3-inch whale vertebra, several porpoise vertebra, some shark vertebrae exceeding an inch across, some Pleistocene terrestrial mammal tooth fragments, and several Carcharodon megalodon teeth. In all, I saw 7 complete or nearly complete shark teeth bigger than 2 inches. Perhaps the largest megalodon found was a complete 5-inch tooth, although phosphatized and missing much enamel, which was found by a tall, bearded, distinguished looking member of the AGMS. By Walt Kubilius 02/29/2000 by Charlie Broome The trip hosted by JGMS was held on January 15, 2000. 44 people attended (22 from JGMS and 22 from various Georgia clubs). Saturday morning dawned bright, cloudless and with a brisk east wind. Mary and I reached the Recreation Area gate at 8:00. Richard and Noni Mertz drove in with us when the gate opened. There were no other vehicles at the north bath house parking lot when we arrived. I set up a display of examples of the shells and agatized coral that could be found here. I walked down to the beach and as I went down the slope, the wind was immediately blocked and I felt much better. The east wind was pushing the tide out creating ideal conditions for collecting. I went back to the truck just as participants began arriving. Mary signed them in and I showed the samples spread out on the tailgate and explained how to look for them. By 9 o’clock everyone had arrived and were busy on the beach. It was warming rapidly so coats were coming off and the dig became very pleasant. Everyone found good material. I heard that a large stalactite of black agatized coral was found but the lucky person carried it quickly back to his vehicle so I did not see it. By 1 P.M. most had found enough and went to the Tampa Club Show near I-275 in Tampa. Some of the displays were excellent and the items offered for sale were varied. During the dig Mickey Cecil passed out
directions to
a surprise dig at the Florida Rock Quarry north of Brooksville to be
held
on Sunday at 9 A.M. Principle items to be found there included calcite
(massive and flowers) and marine fossils. On Sunday, 6 vehicles (2 from
JGMS and 4 from Georgia) were at the plant entrance where we signed a
release
and were given a safety briefing by the plant escort. He told us they
had
found a lot of calcite in the area we were to go. This did not prepare
us for the magnificent amounts if calcite there. We fanned out and
everyone
began to pick up really nice specimens. Our escort left to do other
things,
saying he would return about 10:00 A.M. and, if we wished, he would
take
us to another area. When he returned, he brought a late arrival from
Georgia,
bringing our total to 16 people. Since this site was so productive no
one
wanted to move. We continued to find and wrap our specimens until about
noon. I remarked to Mickey Cecil that the abundance here had spoiled us
for all future digs in this area. About 12:30 we were escorted out of
the
quarry and each went our own way. 11/17/1999 Report on Coon Creek Science Center Field Trip: Friday, September 24 through Sunday, September 26, 1999
About 70 fossil hunters from FL, GA, NC, SC, and TN spent the weekend observing the stars and digging the mounds of Coon Creek. Coon Creek is one of the ten most important Cretaceous fossil deposits in North America, producing over 600 different species of marine fossils that are more than 70 million years old. Dixie Council diggers unearthed specimens of Turritella (corkscrew gastropods), Paranomia and Anomia (bivalve oysters), Exogyra, Cucullawa, Linotrigonia (the Tennessee State Fossil), shrimp claws and crabs. Roger Van Cleef gave an outstanding demonstration of the proper cleaning and displaying of these fossils. The rock swap which followed the Saturday dig was enjoyed by all. Mike Baldwin - Memphis Archaeological and Geological Society
11/01/1999 Report on Lexington Georgia Field Trip: 9:00 A.M. Saturday, October 16th, 1999 Hardees, the meeting place, was inundated
with hordes
of people ordering breakfast and sandwiches to take with them on the
DMC
field trip. The restaurant was overwhelmed; they probably did
more
business that morning than they did all week! All the "locals"
were
driving by and wondering what the heck was going on. They soon heard
about
the rockhounds in town. Frank Decaminada, a past field trip
leader
for the Georgia Mineral Society, arrived early and took charge.
He
got things under control by moving the multitude of cars to the
back
of the restaurant parking lot and getting everyone ready to head
out.
There were approximately 47 cars and over 100 rockhounds in attendance
from associated member clubs of the Dixie Mineral Council.
Jason, one of the property owners for this trip, arrived to lead the
gathering
to his first quartz collecting site. It was later decided to
eliminate
going to a third site because this location was very close to where the
deer hunters would be and the rockhounds might disturb their hunting
area.
(We have to learn to developed a mutual respect with the hunters
in order to retain collecting locations and develop new ones -
DMC)
After about one hour spent collecting at this first spot, Jason lead
the
group to his house in the woods and the second quartz site.
Jason's
father, John Koontz of the "Gem Channel" television fame, was
carving
some of the crystals he sells on television. Quite a few people
went
into the house and watched him work and then went to inspect many of
his
finished carvings and the raw material that he uses to produce his
finished
product. After meeting John Koontz and getting a general look at
the property around his house, most of the collectors headed back to
the
first site. A number of pieces of amethyst were found at both
collecting
locations. The majority of the specimens taken were quartz
crystals
and quartz crystals covered with hematite. There were some very
nice
quartz specimens found and everyone seemed happy with the field
trip.
Lowell Balley summed up the trip by saying, "It was a fine trip!
People came from Florida, Georgia, Alabama, South and North Carolina(
even
with all those floods), Tennessee, Kentucky and Virginia.
Needless
to say, I was flabbergasted at the attendance! Had I of known
that
there would be so many I would have had some door prizes from this area
for them." He said that the D.M.C. was promoted to those
that
were there to go back and visit other clubs in their area and encourage
them
to join. Lowell further stated, "I believe this is the best
way to handle and control our collecting sites throughout the
nation.
The American Federation should be advised and let it become a
tool
to keep our collecting sites open, by well controlled mobs that beat up
on their rocks, and leave the site clean as they found it, except for
the
hostage rocks they take with them." - By Jim Flora for Lowell Bailey
11/01/1999 Report on Sweetwater Field Trip: DIXIE MINERAL COUNCIL FIELD TRIP It was a cold and blustery day for a field trip! About 50 associated club members of the Dixie Mineral Council showed up at the Exxon station meeting place near the heart of Sweetwater for this DMC outing. Everyone stood around socializing and trying to stay warm until Dan Miller, field trip chair of the Knoxville host club, gathered everyone for instructions. During his talk someone in the crowd(I didn't get his name or club) announced that he had 50 "clean" dry wall buckets to give away to anyone who wanted some. I had hoped that this was a GOOD OMEN for a very successful collecting trip. After a six mile caravan we arrived at the Ballard barite mine. The trail into the mine had been cleared of briers and a rope was placed to help steady everyone down the rather short steep hill into the mine area. Right away it looked like gold rush days as everyone attacked the sides of the remaining dump mounds. It took a while for everyone to settle in to digging a prospect hole or picking up a pile of weathered barite to chisel open. As the day progressed, most everyone found all the specimen material they wanted to carry back up the hill to the parking area. Several groups of collectors did especially well in finding very good specimens. I saw many examples of large barite cavities, lined with varying sizes of barite balls and fluorite cubes up to 3/4 of an inch in colors of purple, green, and white. Some of the barite had a sprinkling of marcasite with some iron and smarginite staining. The best specimen finds were partially covered with a shiny coating of bubbly greenish/yellow smithsonite. Very showy in the sun light. There are pictures of this and other DMC field trips on the Dixie Mineral Council's Internet site - http://www.mindspring.com/~jimflora/Dixie.htm THE BAD OMEN: Letter to the DMC membership: I can cold flat guarantee you one thing, we better not catch anyone pulling any bull like that again. We will call the police and your good for nothing carcass will be taking a trip downtown! We are having a hard enough time maintaining good relations with property owners and the public as it is without having to watch our own backs. Jim Haege - jimhaege@mindspring.com
08/24/1999 Report on Chunky Gal Field Trip: 33 cars / 63 people and 1 dog from 11 of the DMC clubs showed up at the allotted meeting place. After meeting and greeting each other, we gave basic directions in case of separation due to traffic. However, this was not to be a problem because just as we went from 4 to 2 lanes we encountered a VERY slow-moving mobile parking lot with 2 cars that couldn't or wouldn't exceed 25 MPH! Finally arrived at the turn-off after 45 minutes! We next proceeded to park the low clearance vehicles and some of the trucks and vans at the bottom and ferried their equipment and occupants up to the "Corundum Knob" parking lot. All but 12 vehicles were able to park in the upper parking area. Next, we proceed out the trail to the top of the ridge with some rockhounds stopping along the way. After arriving at the site, I proceeded to show the group what we were looking for. One of our group had gone ahead of us and had found several nice pieces that he had pounded from the mother rock. It made for a nice example of what to look for! Thereafter, I immediately had to kill a 18" rattlesnake right in the midst of our dig! Luckily nobody was bitten! I usually don't kill them just throw them as far as I can but with 50 people and a little pom-a-poo dog I just couldn't chance it. Most everybody found some red or other color corundum and a lot of people liked the bright green smaragdite(?). One lucky person found a bright red ruby crystal sitting on the top of a rock. It was probably 3/8 x 7/16 x 3/8 of an inch! Didn't get his name but I think he was from the Cobb County club. Just barely got to see his stone before moving to Buck Creek. Parked along the road and in the campsite by the creek. We crossed the river and found the mine called "Big Shaft". Supposedly, the largest per cent of corundum, by weight, was mined here. I found one small piece with a few crystals but nothing to retire on. People panned and screened in the cold water. One guy found a few flakes of color in the gold pan. Some small garnets were also found! By this time everybody was tired and starting to head for their homes. Beautiful weather and great fellowship were enjoyed by all. I hope all the future trips are as good as this was and I'm looking forward to many more trips in the future. Steve Kiser and Jimmie Brown
Co-Field Trip Directors HCG&MS Added the following membership renewal rule to the DMC membership requirements. Membership Renewal: Membership in the Dixie Mineral Council is subject to a "first in - first out" rule. Those clubs which first joined will be the first ones required to set a second hosting date to remain members of the DMC. The field trip year will consist of a minimum of 12 months until the DMC has more than 12 member clubs. After that, the field trip year will be determined by the total number of months in which DMC field trips are scheduled. As of August 1999, the DMC field trip year is computed as 14 months; March 1, 1999 through April 30, 2000 (15 member societies hosting 15 trips within 14 months). This number will dynamically change as more societies join or drop out of the Council. Any member club may renew their membership at anytime. All available future hosting months are on a first pick basis. Those DMC member clubs which choose earliest will have the greatest flexibility in date selection! All clubs which were members on the first day of the first month (March 1, 1999) of the current field trip year must submit another hosting month/day before the end of the last day of the last month (April 30, 2000) of the current field trip year to remain a member of the DMC in the next field trip year. Clubs which joined after the first day of the first month (March 1, 1999) of the current field trip year are scheduled to renew their membership based on the number of months past and including the first month of the current field trip year. As an example, clubs which joined the DMC during March 1999 would be required to renew their membership before May 31, 2000 by scheduling a new field trip. Any member club which
has not
renewed by their final renewal date, will be dropped from membership
and
will not receive notification nor be allowed to attend future field
trips
sponsored by the Dixie Mineral Council. Clubs may not rejoin the
council for three(3) months after being dropped as a DMC member.
After three months, a SFMS club may rejoin the Dixie Mineral Council if
they meet all current DMC membership requirements. 05/23/1999 DIXIE MINERAL COALITION FIELD TRIP Martin Marietta Bessemer City Quarry in Gastonia May 22, 1999 The
Dixie Mineral Council trip for May was hosted by the
Numerous
folks had arrived early, and the mine supervisor was
I
believe that everyone had a bucket (or two?) full of spodumene
We
were fortunate enough to visit this quarry, and were told that
Jeff
Schlottman - Forsyth Gem & Mineral Club (Winston-Salem, NC)
DIXIE
MINERAL
COALITION FIELD TRIP The first DMC field trip was held at the Martin Marietta Limestone quarry in Cross, South Carolina, on March 27. Twenty-six people showed up from 6 clubs: Georgia, Aiken, Charlestown, Charlotte, Forsyth, and Jacksonville. We met at the gate at 10:30, and were allowed to drive in, with the understanding that all cars would be out by 1:30, although people could stay longer if they walked in. Most collectors went right, to the old spoil piles; a few went left, to the crushed limestone inventory near the machine shop. Some people stayed past 4:00! Everyone conducted themselves professionally and obeyed the rules. Since I didn't know the folks by name, I can't say "so-and-so found a whatchamacallit", but these are some of the things which various people showed me: many crab carapaces up to 2.5 inches across, several shark teeth, some in limestone matrix. The best shark tooth was a 1.5 inch long Carcharocles. Several sand dollars and sea urchins, many barnacles and oysters, and a few articulate and inarticulate brachiopods. Folks collected internal molds of Eocene molluscs, including a nice cone shell, and several examples of a clam which resembles a surf clam, which I believe to be Crassatella alta. Lots of Pliocene shells were found, including Eucrassatella, Lucina, Chione, Mulinia, Glycymeris, and Pectens. A kid found a nice tusk shell. A few Ecphoras were obtained, and a 5 inch long Panope. I found a fragment of a whale vertebra; not a good one, but it does hint at what's possible. Walter
Kubilius 04/03/99 The Dixie Mineral Council has just add TWO additional field trips and clubs to the schedule. These trips will be to locations in Northeast and Southwest Georgia. We will set the months for these new trips shortly. The new clubs are the Northeast Georgia Mineral Society ( Cornelia, GA) and the Cotton Indian Gem & Mineral Society, Inc. (Stockbridge, GA). 03/16/99
The Dixie Mineral Council has add an additional field trip and club to the schedule. This new trip is still under negotiation but it will be set for a fall date. We, therefore, will have two published trips during one month this coming fall. When we can publish a firm month and date, we will! We are now looking at eleven extra guided field trips that you can offer your members plus the trip you club is planning to host. This is going to be a really great field trip year for every DMC member club. All DMC member clubs need to be sure that their society keeps up their SFMS liability insurance premium as they come due for renewal! We will be receiving an updated list from the SFMS Insurance Liaison and your club needs to be on this list to retain your field trip eligibility. We still need your field trip hosting dates for planning purposes! E-mail them in... Proposed
field trips for 1999/2000: 03/01/99 To: All Dixie Mineral Council Associated Club Editors. Subject: Trip publishing dates. The
field trip publishing policy of the DMC is as follows:
March - Aiken Gem and Mineral Society (Aiken, SC) Published! April - Cobb County GMS (Marietta, GA) Published! May
- Forsyth Gem & Mineral Club (Winston-Salem, NC)
June
- Athens Rock and Gem Club (Athens, GA) July
- The Georgia Mineral Society (Atlanta, GA)
August
- Henderson County GMS (Henderson, NC) September
- Memphis Archaeological & Geological Society (Memphis, TN)
October
- The Knoxville GMS (Knoxville, TN) November
- Charles Town Mineral & Lapidary Club (Charleston, SC)
December
- Lowcountry Gem & Mineral Society (Charleston, SC)
January
- Jacksonville Gem & Mineral Society (Jacksonville, FL)
02/24/99 To: Member clubs of the Dixie Mineral Council The
Dixie Mineral Council has just announced the completed field trip
schedule
through January of 2000. The publishing of the details of the
first
planned field trip by the Aiken Gem and Mineral Society has prompted
additional
clubs to step forward and complete this year's schedule. We are
now
looking at ten extra guided field trips that you can offer your members
plus the trip you club is planning to host. Way to go!!
This
is going to be a really great field trip year for every DMC member club.
Proposed
field trips for 1999/2000: 01/30/99 The Dixie Mineral Council announces and publishes the first field trip hosted by the Aiken Gem and Mineral Society. 01/05/99 1999 is here and the Dixie Mineral Council has just announced it's slate of upcoming field trips. It's still not too late to join in on the fun! We have a few empty field trip months to fill so here is your chance to step forward and commit to hosting a trip for 1999. Proposed
field trips for 1999: After the above (open) dates are filled, we will consider either scheduling a second monthly trip in 1999 or extending into the year 2000. The SFMS insurance year runs from 4/98 through 3/99. I have been in contact with the SFMS Insurance Liaison, Duane McIntyre. He has sent me a list of all of the clubs in the SFMS who have paid up insurance through 3/99. If your club is thinking of switching to SFMS insurance or covering your members and want more information, he can be reached at E-mail Address(plain text only): aline@compuserve.com or 2233-M Interstate N. Dr., Charlotte, NC. 28206 (704)596-0991 NOTE: 12/17/98 CHANGE IN FIELD TRIP POLICY: Policy #3 For insurance purposes, all associated clubs must publish all D.M.C field trips as "officially recognized" field trips of their society. It is required that all persons who attend a council field trip be a member, in good standing, of an associated club. Since a family membership covers everyone in a family who can attend, your associated club will need all of their names on their membership roll. 12/12/98 Since the Georgia Mineral Society has agreed to chair the Dixie Mineral Council program for the SFMS, Georgia Mineral has announced the names of their members who will guide this new SFMS field trip program. The members of the Dixie Mineral Council committee are as follows:
CHANGE IN FIELD TRIP POLICY: Membership policy #4 "This collecting location is within a radius of 150 miles of your club's home location." has been amended to read as follows: This collecting location is within a radius of 150 miles of your club's home location or your society is the only club which can obtain exclusive access to a desirable collecting site outside the 150 mile range. 11/16/98 It's official! The Dixie Mineral Council/Southeast Coalition of Field Trip Leaders has been voted an officially "recognized committee" of the SFMS at the annual meeting in Charleston, SC last weekend. The SFMS will be reporting our acceptance in "Lodestar" and every president within the Southeast Federation will be receiving a more detailed account of our organization. The new 1999 SFMS officers will eventually appoint a new committee chair for the DMC to oversee its operation within the federation. For the present time, the Georgia Mineral Society will continue to chair this SFMS committee. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? The significance of this action by the SFMS is to legitimize our coalition and to support and enforce our operating policies and procedures! At the current time, there are 47 insurance paying societies out of a total of 86 within the Federation which can qualify to participate in this field trip program. We hope that the action just taken by the Federation will motivate more clubs to join those societies who have already taken the step to host a coalition field trip. If your Southeast Federation mineral
society has not
yet decided to join, please remember that the 1999 field trip year is
fast
approaching. All you have to do to get started is to decide on
what
type of field trip your club plans to host? -
mineral/fossil/micromineral/fluorescent/etc.
2) What time of year you will do the hosting?
Winter(Dec/Jan/Feb),
Spring(Mar/Apr/May), Summer(Jun/Jul/Aug), Fall(Sept/Oct/Nov) If
you
do have a preferred month or an exact date, please request it.
3)
The correct e-mail contact address your club will use for field trip
notifications
and correspondence. That's it... It's FREE... All
done
with e-mail... Doesn't cost your club any money... We will
contact you later for exact dates and completed field trip
forms.
QUESTIONS? Contact the SFMS Dixie Mineral Council at dixie-mineral-council@mindspring.com
Dixie Mineral Council 10/26/98 GREAT NEWS from the Dixie Mineral Council! We will be presenting the organizational plan of the DMC/Southeast Federation of Field Trip Leaders to the 1999 SFMS ANNUAL CONVENTION held on November 14 & 15, 1998 at Charleston, South Carolina. The Georgia Mineral Society will request that a motion be brought forth at the annual convention in Charleston to support this new association of field trip leaders. And further, that all clubs within the SFMS be provided with copies of the field trip association's organizational materials. We have very good indications that our Coalition will be made an official program of the Southeast Federation. Lewis Elrod, our new 1999 SFMS/AFMS president, suggested that he would like to take our new Coalition field trip concept nationwide! We may eventually be able to offer some type of NATIONAL or REGIONAL hosting events! For
now, we need to work on our next year's Coalition field trip plans. PLEASE
- every club who has met to discuss joining the Dixie Mineral Council
needs
to reply back by e-mail on the following: [ Field Trip Form: Explained ] [ Field Trip Policies! ] [ HOME ] Send mail to: DMC@gamineral.org with questions or comments. |