Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Society Newsletter

January 2008

Christmas party

Editor's note: This report comes to us from Barbara Leachman. Thanks, Barbara!

Happy Holidays Everyone! It was a fun beginning to the holiday season with the annual LPG&MS Christmas Party on December 9, 2007 at the home of members Ray and Pat Ramirez. The party included 16 members and 2 guests. Francis Pedneau (looking good in his red shirt) held a short meeting, which included introductions, bill payment business, and a description of the jobs and duties that are a vital part of our club activities. He asked members to consider taking on these tasks, thus relieving him after a lot of years of doing them himself. There was a great raffle with really nice prizes, including a citrine specimen, rose quartz bookends, and walkie talkies.

We really pot-lucked out with a ham provided by Jackie and Jim Grandgeorge and the perfect side dishes made by everyone else. (I was trying to use Linda's "poofy" term, but it didn't apply.)

After a little live mandolin music, we played the gift exchange game. Going around the room were great gifts including jewelry, carvings, field packs, books, petrified wood, mineral specimens, wind chimes, cactus man, and tea and fruits.

The party ended at dusk after desserts and good byes. Happy New Year everyone and thank you Pat and Ray for hosting us.

Coso Mountains December Field Trip

Editor's note: This trip report comes from Francis Pednau.

On Sunday December 9th, 16 members of the LPG&MS set off from Lee's for a day of rockhounding in Vermillion Canyon in the Coso Mountains. Shortly after arriving at our destination Claire found a good specimen of selenite. Then every one loaded up their packs, buckets, bags, tools and we started up the wash.

Our first stop was at an unique geologic formation that represented many volcanic events. Exposed by erosional forces are many layers of different colored volcanic ash. These ash layers range in thickness of a few inches to several feet. Overall height of this cliff face is probably 75 feet or more. One layer, about half way up, is very different. It is as if you are viewing a huge piece of ribbon candy. Makes for a great photo and speculation as to how it was formed.

"Ribbon candy"

Our second stop was at an old mercury mine with the head frame still standing. There is quartz on the dump where visible gold has been found. None was found on this trip, but we tried.

On to our destination: the apache tear and psilomelane collecting areas. On the way up the wash we found colorful opalite, jasper, aragonite and quartz. At the collecting area lots of apache tears were found, some as big as an inch in diameter. Barbara and Claire found pieces of perlite that had at least a few large tears in them. Paul found some good selenite specimens that looked like quartz crystals. Also a lot of high quality psilomelane specimens were found. Don had the psilomelane find of the day. He discovered a deposit of psilomelane adhering to a cliff face that covered a couple of square feet. He was able to remove most of this material and bring it home. It cleans up with swimming pool acid.

Members present for the field trip were Karl Zellner, Brad, Amy, Claire, and Hannah Henderson, Cliff and Jeanette Nutcher, Jeff Lines, Ray Ramirez, Don Warner, Jim and Jackie Grandgeorge, Paul Ermatinger, Barbara Leachman, and Francis and Francee Pedneau. All you others, so sorry you missed out. The weather was perfect.

More Coso Mountains Photos

Brad and Amy Henderson provided us with images from the Coso Mountains trip as did Cliff and Jeanette Nutcher. Thanks for sharing and letting those of us who didn't go on the trip see what we missed. In these photos we can see the colorful cliffs, the mercury mine that Francis mentioned, and the gang gathering at the start of the trip. Hannah shows us what can happen if you aren't wearing a sun hat while rockhounding.

January Meeting

We'll meet at 6:30 in the Lo-Inyo Elementary School library for our January 7th meeting. We'll be electing our new officers.

Ray Ramirez is providing the evening's entertainment. He has a PowerPoint presentation for us called Sedimentary and Vein Agates. It was the 2005 AFMS winner, so it should be pretty interesting.

Come dine and socialize with us before the meeting at the Bonanza Restaurant at 5:15.

January Field Trip to Saline Valley

We are going to try to visit the Saline Valley to collect quartz crystals on Sunday, January 19, providing the road is still open. Vehicles will have to be high-clearance and 4-wheel drive. If you don't have such a vehicle, come anyway and you can carpool with others. We meet at the campground at the junction of Highways 395 and 168 (Westgard Pass) at 9:00. If the road is closed, the backup location will be a crystal location near Big Pine.

From Our President

Beginning in January your club field trip chairman will be Ray Ramirez with help from Steve Mobley. I know that Ray and Steve will continue a tradition that his club is known for: Excellent field trips. If any members know or have information about possible field trip locations, please contact Ray.

Thanks to Jim Grandgeorge. He has accepted the position as your new membership chairman.

Thanks to Mary Roper. She has taken on the job of promoting our club and all of its activities.

These two members have reduced my work load considerably. If anyone has any suggestions that would help Jim and/or Mary in any way please call me at 760-876-4319. We still need these positions filled: Federation director, film festival sales chairman, insurance chairman, donations chairman and meeting location chairman. Your club needs help. VOLUNTEER.

Ray is going to take your club displays to the CFMS show in Ventura June 27th to 29th, 2008 and he is going to need some help. Setting up and taking down the fulgurite and Rockhounding Inyo County displays is a big job and too much for one person. It will a good opportunity for someone to experience and be part of a really good Gem and Mineral Show.

2008 Member Dues are Due

With the start of the new year, it's time to pay your LPG&MS dues. The amount is $20.00 per person or $10.00 for an individual under the age of 18. If you live out of town please send your dues to P.O.Box 977, Lone Pine, CA 93545. We'll remind you one more time in February, but we need your dues by March 1st or you'll be dropped from our membership roster.

My First Field Trip with Frances in 2001

Editor's note: This hand-written letter appeared in my mail box one day. It couldn't come at a better time as we remember all those jobs Francis does for us. The letter is from long-time LPG&MS member Gene Smith, who now lives in Arizona. We miss you Gene.

I first met Francee and Francis Pedneau on a field trip to the Sierra Clay Mine area of the Coso Mountains. That was my first trip with the club and my first trip with anyone who actually knew anything about rocks, gems, and minerals.

Francis advised everyone of the area: the minerals and what could be found in that area of hills, hillsides, and sand washes. Not having a clue of how the whole field trip program worked, I watched others poking and scratching the ground for specimens.

Frequently, members would express their finds with excitement and take them to Francis for his advice and identification. Francis would say, "That is opalite," or "jasper," or "agate," or "apache tear," or "rhyolite." I was quite impressed with his knowledge and ability to identify various minerals.

Soon I found some colorful material and approached Francis for his opinion. Francis said it was opalite and explained the difference between opalite, jasper, and agate and their make-up, hardness, and uses. After that, I felt like Francis was a professor and we, especially me, were his students.

Throughout that day Francis continued taking time from his rockhounding day to share his knowledge and advice to help club members and guests discover and learn about "mother's work." I did hear Francis use the word "leaverite" a few times that day. I discovered it's meaning and will never forget Frances getting a grin on his face every time he explains its meaning to someone for the first time.

Soon after that first field trip with Francis and the club, I joined and became a member. I purchased a good rock hammer, a few books, a back pack, and I started rockhounding all around the Inyo Mountains, the Coso Mountains, and the Alabama Hills. Most of the time I would stop by Francis's house to seek knowledge of what I had picked up. Francis and Francee (F & F) would always take time to examine and identify my new finds with enthusiasm. They would tell me whether it was OK material, good stuff, bring more, or leaverite.

After a few years of rockhounding with the club, I started visiting a location in the Inyo Mountains, northeast of Lone Pine. I fell in love with this whole new world of copper minerals. With careful work, I was able to retrieve some very nice and rare minerals, which F & F found collectable.

To date, I have logged 57 trips to that location. 37 of those were alone, without anyone all day. I have taken rockhounds, gemologists, mineralogists, geologists, and Francis there.

In 2001, when I first met Francis and Francee at the Sierra Clay Mine, I got hooked on rockhounding and on searching, locating, retrieving, and collecting mother's work.

I know our club has grown to its notoriety today because of Francis and Francee and because of their love, devotion, and caring. They have made our club special, our field trips exciting, our meetings interesting, and our guests welcome. Without Francis we would not have a work shop to learn about lapidary. This is something not all clubs have! Our club owes everything to Francis and Francee, two of the founders of the Lone Pine Gem and Mineral Society. Without their hard work, love, and devotion, our club would be just leaverite.

Thank you for opening my eyes to mother's work and for educating me to know the good stuff from leaverite.

Gene Smith - Club Scout!