Fieldtrips
Six Summer and Fall Field Trips are scheduled for 2020, with your safety in mind! Here are the Covid 19 health safety rules for everyone:
To purchase a field trip (the fee is $5 per person), click on the button next to each field trip description. If purchasing for more than one, you can adjust the quantities in the shopping cart.
Please note: if you are not a member of the Club yet, you can sign up for one trip to see if you like what the Club offers. However if you decide you would like to attend more than one Club function, our bylaws require you to become a Club member. Fortunately annual memberships are very affordable. You can Join here.
- Drive yourself (or your "bubble" of friends and relations) to the field trip destination
- Gas up in your hometown, or wear gloves if you gas up elsewhere
- Pack your own water, snacks, hat, sunscreen, rain gear, tools, backpack; do not borrow others' belongings
- Pack your own lunch or plan to purchase take-out or patio dining at a town near the field trip site
- Maintain a social distance of 6 feet
- When you can't maintain a distance of 6 feet or when indoors, wear a mask
To purchase a field trip (the fee is $5 per person), click on the button next to each field trip description. If purchasing for more than one, you can adjust the quantities in the shopping cart.
Please note: if you are not a member of the Club yet, you can sign up for one trip to see if you like what the Club offers. However if you decide you would like to attend more than one Club function, our bylaws require you to become a Club member. Fortunately annual memberships are very affordable. You can Join here.
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SOLD OUT
Rhodochrosite and Enargite Field Trip Saturday July 11, 10 am to Noon Leader - Dave Gonzales On this trip toward Ouray we will meet at Red Mountain Pass at 10 am. Dr. David Gonzales, Professor of Geosciences at Fort Lewis College, will then lead a hunt for two precious minerals, Rhodochrosite and Enargite. Rhodocrosite, a rose-hued Colorado State Gemstone, will be found mostly embedded in quartz (white) and manganese oxide (black) as pictured here. It will make a beautiful polished stone. Enargite is a rare steely black crystal often combined with galena and pyrite (picture here, courtesy of Smithsonian Institute). Dave will explain the local geology and conditions that gave rise to these beautiful minerals, as well as tips for a successful hunt in these locations. You may then hunt on your own for as long as you wish. |
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NOTE: the Creede Gem Show is now canceled. We will make an announcement about the fate of this field trip soon.
Creede Gem Show with Visits to Commodore and Bulldog Mines Saturday August 1, 11 am to 3 pm Leader - TBD This trip to Creede coincides with its annual Rock, Gem and Mineral show. Many displays at Creede are outdoors. If the Show is canceled we will add another collection site in the area. We recommend you depart Durango by 8:30 am. Our first stop will be at Wolf Creek Pass for a short agate hunt, then onto Creede. Between 11:30 and 1:45 visit the Gem Show and enjoy a picnic lunch, or buy a take out or patio dining meal. At 1:45 we will head uphill to the Bulldog Mine where manager Randy McClure will show us core samples and explain the active silver mining in the region. We will also search for barite and silver sulfides nearby. On the way downhill we will stop at the Commodore mine and hunt for sowbelly amethyst (pictured) and agate. You are on your own the rest of the day to return to the Gem Show or other collection sites. This trip involves 6 hours of driving. If this is too much driving for one day, consider camping. There is abundant free camping in the area. |
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La Plata River Placer Gold Hunt
Saturday Aug 29, 10 am to 1:30 pm Leader - Brooks Bartlett This trip will be led by Brooks Bartlett, the recipient of the Club's 2019 and 2020 Geology Scholarship at Fort Lewis College. Brooks' expertise is in identifying the geologic and landscape features of placer gold deposition sites in downstream locations of the metal rich La Plata Mountains. Participants will meet in Hesperus at the intersection of Hwy 160 and Hwy 140 at 10 am. From there we will drive to the collection site. The collection method will involve sampling point bars, setting up sluice boxes and possibly a high banker. If you have your own gold pan, please bring it. Bring some water shoes. (Pictured: Placer Gold, Wikipedia) Please note - this trip was incorrectly announced as Saturday August 28. The correct date is Saturday August 29. |
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Lime and Hermosa Creek Fossil Hunt
Sat September 12, 10 am to 1 pm Leader - Matt Torpy On this two-stop trip, our focus will be on invertebrate fossils of the ancient sea, such as crinoids and horn coral. We will throw in a bit of gold panning (bring a pan if you have one). This trip has some strenuous climbing without much shade, so plan on wearing light clothes and a big hat, and carry rain gear. We will meet at the intersection of Hwy 160 and County Road 201 (the Forest Service Road to Hermosa Creek Trail, just after the train crossing on Hwy 160). From there, trip leader Matt Torpy will lead the fossil hunt, focused on outcrops overlooking the Animas River Valley and its tributaries. (Pictured: Crinoid, Smithsonian Institute). |
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Piedra River Blue Agate and Opal Hunt
Saturday September 26, 11 am to 3 pm Leader - Nick Vogt This trip to the Piedra River will start by meeting at the south edge of the City Market parking lot (near McDonald's) in Pagosa Springs at 11 am. From there we will caravan to the collection site, where we will hunt for blue and blue-green agates, druzy quartz and common opal. This is not a strenuous hike and tools are not required. Instead we will mostly search for colorful minerals washed out from outcrops above. Bring wading shoes. |
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San Juan River Agates and Hummingbird Canyon Hike
Saturday October 17, 11 am to 2 pm Leaders - Matt Torpy and Jama Crawford On this trip we will hunt for red, cream and moss agates in outcrops near the San Juan River. Those who wish may then proceed to Hummingbird Canyon for a one mile hike through sage to find colorful Navajo painted rock art and carvings. See if you can find the hidden hummingbird! Plan on some climbing. We will meet at the town of Navajo Dam or in the nearby riverfront park at 10 am. Final details will be sent to participants. Pack your own picnic lunch. |
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The following trip is an on-your-own exploration. No fee is involved.
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area
There are several compelling but rarely visited destinations to explore in northwest New Mexico, including Bisti, De-Na-Zin, and the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Areas. The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area (WSA) discussed here is located in a sparsely inhabited high desert region, characterized by flat arid terrain and sandy washes. Prominent in this otherwise bleak landscape are highly eroded cliffs lining the valley walls, colorful badlands, hoodoos, balanced rocks, and other strange rock formations sculpted by the elements. As with the other Wilderness locations mentioned, petrified wood is abundant here, sometimes found in upright positions, sometimes with roots completely exposed. Bisti Wilderness to the north has many of the same geologic and fossil features.
Collecting is not permitted in this area.
Word of caution – Travel in this area can become treacherous during rain storms; travel is not advised if rain and high wind forecasts are posted. There is no cell phone coverage. Be sure someone knows where you were headed and when you are expected back.
Driving directions - From Bloomfield, NM, travel south on New Mexico State Highway 550 approximately 25-30 miles to the Blanco Trading Post (now closed, 2016). Turn right heading southwest on Road 57; the first 5 miles is paved but full of deep potholes and depressions, drive slow and take care in driving, deep potholes could rip your tires and demolish your suspension. The dirt road thereafter is in better condition, however be cautious after snow melt or rain storms and do not drive through washes if water crosses the road. Road 57 is the old north access route to Chaco Canyon which is now closed at the park boundary. The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area is approximately 13 miles from Highway 550 on the right side of the Road 57. Total driving time from Durango is 2.5 to 3 hours one way.
What to take - Camera, hat, wind breaker or rain jacket, lots of water and snacks, sun block.
Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area
There are several compelling but rarely visited destinations to explore in northwest New Mexico, including Bisti, De-Na-Zin, and the Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Areas. The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area (WSA) discussed here is located in a sparsely inhabited high desert region, characterized by flat arid terrain and sandy washes. Prominent in this otherwise bleak landscape are highly eroded cliffs lining the valley walls, colorful badlands, hoodoos, balanced rocks, and other strange rock formations sculpted by the elements. As with the other Wilderness locations mentioned, petrified wood is abundant here, sometimes found in upright positions, sometimes with roots completely exposed. Bisti Wilderness to the north has many of the same geologic and fossil features.
Collecting is not permitted in this area.
Word of caution – Travel in this area can become treacherous during rain storms; travel is not advised if rain and high wind forecasts are posted. There is no cell phone coverage. Be sure someone knows where you were headed and when you are expected back.
Driving directions - From Bloomfield, NM, travel south on New Mexico State Highway 550 approximately 25-30 miles to the Blanco Trading Post (now closed, 2016). Turn right heading southwest on Road 57; the first 5 miles is paved but full of deep potholes and depressions, drive slow and take care in driving, deep potholes could rip your tires and demolish your suspension. The dirt road thereafter is in better condition, however be cautious after snow melt or rain storms and do not drive through washes if water crosses the road. Road 57 is the old north access route to Chaco Canyon which is now closed at the park boundary. The Ah-Shi-Sle-Pah Wilderness Study Area is approximately 13 miles from Highway 550 on the right side of the Road 57. Total driving time from Durango is 2.5 to 3 hours one way.
What to take - Camera, hat, wind breaker or rain jacket, lots of water and snacks, sun block.
Fossils/Rocks to Be Seen
These sandstone, mudstone, and shale layers from the Fruitland Formation are very colorful, from the brown-ochre tones of the badlands to yellow-orange rock formations and hoodoos, as well as light gray mud hills, charcoal colored badlands and occasional coal seams. Fossils include petrified wood and many animal fossils, including dinosaur bones and early mammals. Again, no collecting is allowed. During the Cretaceous Period, the San Juan Basin is believed to have been a beach/marsh complex resembling coastlines such as modern Louisiana or the Carolinas today, with land to the west and inland sea to the east. Palm wood is common throughout the San Juan Basin as are dinosaur fossils of both herbivore and carnivore species.
References
BLM Website - http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/wilderness_and_wsas/wilderness_study_areas/wilderness_study_areas/Ah_shi_sle_pah_WSA.html (retrieved Sept 2016)
American Southwest Website - http://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/ah-shi-sle-pah/ (retrieved Sept 2016)
Chaco Canyon 1:100,000 scale topo map
Google Earth 36 deg 10 min 29.33 sec North 107 deg 52 min 42.12 sec
Submitted by Tom Strain, Sept 2016
These sandstone, mudstone, and shale layers from the Fruitland Formation are very colorful, from the brown-ochre tones of the badlands to yellow-orange rock formations and hoodoos, as well as light gray mud hills, charcoal colored badlands and occasional coal seams. Fossils include petrified wood and many animal fossils, including dinosaur bones and early mammals. Again, no collecting is allowed. During the Cretaceous Period, the San Juan Basin is believed to have been a beach/marsh complex resembling coastlines such as modern Louisiana or the Carolinas today, with land to the west and inland sea to the east. Palm wood is common throughout the San Juan Basin as are dinosaur fossils of both herbivore and carnivore species.
References
BLM Website - http://www.blm.gov/nm/st/en/prog/blm_special_areas/wilderness_and_wsas/wilderness_study_areas/wilderness_study_areas/Ah_shi_sle_pah_WSA.html (retrieved Sept 2016)
American Southwest Website - http://www.americansouthwest.net/new_mexico/ah-shi-sle-pah/ (retrieved Sept 2016)
Chaco Canyon 1:100,000 scale topo map
Google Earth 36 deg 10 min 29.33 sec North 107 deg 52 min 42.12 sec
Submitted by Tom Strain, Sept 2016