the lake george gem and mineral club - may, 2012lggmclub.org/club...

Lake George Gem and Mineral Club May, 2012

The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club - Club News, May, 2012

Regular Meeting of the Lake George Gem & Mineral Club

Saturday, May 12, at 9:00AM Lake George Community Center

After a short business meeting, Dick Lackmond will lead a trip to the famous Badger Flats beryllium area , a 45-minute drive northwest of Lake George. High clearance 4WD vehicles required on rutted Forest Service roads. Bring: rock hammer, shovel, pick, pry bar, collecting bucket, sunscreen, hat, hiking boots, gloves, safety goggles, lots of fluids, snacks. Difficulty: easy walk on sloping, open ground near parking; some shady areas for collecting.

Coming Events

Spring Mega-Sale , USGS store; go to [email protected] for info

Mineral-Specimen Sale , by Ray Berry, 9AM-4PM, 7513 Tudor Rd., Colorado Springs, ([email protected] for information).

Dinosaur Discovery Day (first free public tour day of 2012), Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison (go to the website for more information).

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Thru May 7

May 5-6

May 5

Colorado Mineral Society Annual Auction , Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 920 Kipling St., Lakewood. Contact Richard Nelson ([email protected]) for info.

Friends of Mineralogy, Colorado Chapter Silent Auct ion , Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow St., Lakewood (just northwest of Colfax & Wadsworth)

Dinosaur Discovery Day , Dinosaur Ridge, Morrison; see www.dinoridge.org for info.

GEOdessey Annual Mineral & Fossil Home Sale , 15339 W. Ellsworth Dr., Golden. Call 303-279-5504 for info.

Pikes Peak Gem & Mineral Show and Rock Fair , Western Museum of Mining and Industry (http://www.csms.us for info)

Field Trip to Cripple Creek/Victor Mining District , including a tour of the CC&V Cresson mine, led by Steven Veatch. Register (fee) at Cripple Creek Parks & Rec., phone 719-689-3514.

Contin-Tail Rock & Mineral Show , Rodeo Grounds, Buena Vista (go to www.coloradorocks.org for info)

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May 5

May 12

June 9

June 16

June 22-24 June 30 Aug. 9-12

Lake George Gem & Mineral Club Annual Show , FREE Admission & FREE Parking!

Friends of the Florissant Fossil Beds 25 th Anniversary Celebration , with talks, tours, and banquet. Go to their website for details.

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Aug. 17-19

Aug. 18


Please Welcome the Following New Member: Robert Berry (Castle Rock)

Club News

�� Richard Kawamoto and others have put together a great field-trip line-up for the start of the summer. Here's a partial list; please visit the website often for updates. May 5: North Table Mt. zeolite locality, with the Denver Gem & Mineral Guild. If you wish to attend, you must contact Dennis Gertenbach at [email protected] or 303- 709-8218 for directions and registration. May 6: Baculite Mesa (Dick Lackmond , leader). Meet at 9AM in the K-Mart parking lot at US50W, Pueblo. See the LGGMC website for details. May 19: Topaz Mountain Gem mine; limited attendance . Contact Richard Kawamoto ([email protected] ) June 2 : Hartsel barite locality June 9 : Smoky Hawk mine (after Club meeting) Sept. 15 : Picket Wire dinosaur trackways (requires registration). On the following day, there will be a trip to a septarian nodule locality. Contact Richard Kawamoto. If you wonder what a Septarian nodule looks like, here's a photo by Dick Lackmond . They are concretions that have fractured due to shrinkage, with the cracks filled by calcite.

�� Speaking of Dick Lackmond , he sent the following report on the April meeting: The lap shop program on April 14 was a true success! Fun was had by all. Over 30 people tried some form of cutting and polishing some rocks. (See photos at end of this section.) All took home specimens of sunstone from Oregon . Thanks to all who attended! We hope you will continue to use this wonderful amenity your club has provided. ALSO, A SPECIAL THANKS TO SHARON HOLTE, A DUAL MEMBER OF OUR CLUB AND THE COLORADO SPRINGS CLUB, FOR BEING OUR GUEST INSTRUCTOR. WE COVERED SAFETY AND USE OF THE EQUIPMENT AND PERFORMED LIVE HANDS-ON LAP WORK.. JUST REMEMBER THAT IT IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY TO ENHANCE YOUR COLLECTED ROCKS -- FOR FREE.!! OF COURSE, DONATIONS ARE GLADLY ACCEPTED! Reminder: SCHEDULED OPEN TIMES ARE the 2ND WED OF THE MONTH, 6PM TILL 8PM and THE THIRD SUNDAY OF EACH MONTH, 1PM TILL 4PM. FEEL FREE TO CALL RICHARD KAWAMOTO OR DICK LACKMOND TO ARRANGE A SPECIAL TIME FOR YOU TO USE THE SHOP IF YOU NEED IT!


April 14 LapShop meeti ng (Photos by Dick Lackmond) �� Here's a trip that may be of interest. North Table Mountain is famous for zeolites and isn't available to collectors except through special trips like this one. Please note that it's a 700-ft. uphill hike and is likely to be very hot and dry—not recommended for the faint of heart! May 5th—Saturday—North Table Mountain, Golden, CO Trip leader , Dennis Gertenbach; Contact info : [email protected]; 303-709-8218 You MUST call or email Dennis if you plan to attend Co-op trip with Flat Irons Mineral Club and Colorado Springs Mineral Society When : Saturday, May 5. Meet at 9 a.m. Where to Meet : Directions will be sent to everyone who signs up for the trip. If the weather is poor or there is snow on the ground, the trip will be postponed to Saturday, May 19. �� This news item came from Dick Lackmond , Richard Kawamoto, and Dave Harvey : High Trails fund raiser for District 20 Schools in the Springs April 27, 2012. The Club had a booth at this fund raiser for the schools to help pay for the kids going to various events and camps in the Lake George area this summer. Our tie was through a member, Ronnie Kinsman . Dave Harvey , Richard Kawamoto , Vera Miles , Nancy Skala , and Dick Lackmond set up a couple of tables of displays and hand made jewelry for their benefit. From the retail sales, we made a nice donation to the cause.

Nancy (red outfit), Vera (red hair), Dave Harvey, a nd Richard Kawamoto at the fund-raiser. (Dick Lackmond photos)


�� Here's an important announcement from Steve Veatch about a special tour in the Cripple Creek area: This will be the opportunity of a lifetime to visit the surface plant of the Anchoria Leland Mine. There will be a fabulous opportunity to take pictures of this historic mine that sits above the mining district. Reservations are a must. I hope to see you there. Details follow: There will be a tour, as part of Memorial Day Weekend in Victor, of the historic Anchoria Leland Mine surface buildings. High above Cripple Creek, the Anchoria Leland Mine is a landmark with a grand view of the mountains. The mine, owned by the Anchoria-Leland Mining and Milling Company in 1892, produced over $3 million worth of gold. The tour will showcase the 1890 mining operations on Gold Hill that made the Anchoria Leland one of the great producers. This tour is exclusive to May 26 as the mine is located on Cripple Creek & Victor Gold Mining (CC&V) property and is not accessible to the public at any other time. This tour is of the surface structures only and is sponsored by the Southern Teller County Focus Group (STCFG) and CC&V. This special tour of the 1890’s mine structures, including the giant wooden headframe and hoist house, will include presentations by Victor Miner Gary Horton and Mining Engineer Ed Hunter. Please arrive by 9 a.m. at the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum as you will be required to sign in and view a safety video. Please feel free to arrive any time between 8 and 9 a.m. and sign in early; if you get here early, you can enjoy breakfast in Victor before the tour. The tour cost (donated to the STCFG) is $10 per person . We will provide hard hats and safety glasses. Please note that all tours that are not pre-paid by credit card will require a cash-only payment at the museum the morning of the tour; no credit cards will be accepted the day of the tour . Online, prepaid reservations may be made online at VictorColorado.com There is limited seating on the tour vans, and some car pooling will be required. Reservations are requested and can be made by email to stcfg@victorc olorado.com. Dress warmly and bring sunscreen, hat and footwear suitable for walking over gravel and rocks. The Doyle Block in downtown Victor will be open from 1-4 for tours. The 1899 building at 307 Victor Avenue is owned by the Bielz family and has a newly restored lower storefront, thanks to a grant from the State Historic Fund of the Colorado Historical Society. The grant, sponsored for the Bielz family by the STCFG, funded the installation of new large store windows, and the refurbishment of the brass columns and wood panels on the exterior of the building. The structure was built in 1899 by James Doyle, one of the owners of the famous Portland Gold Mining Company. The interior of the building is much the same as it was in the 1940s when the Silver Dollar Saloon was housed in one half. The tours will be a featured part of the season opening of the Victor Lowell Thomas Museum. The museum opens May 26 for the summer season and will again host gold and gem panning, modern mine tours, exhibits and special events. Museum hours will be 9:30-5:30 daily Memorial Day weekend through Labor Day and weekends in September and October weather permitting. Admission is $6 per adult, $5 per senior, $4 per child; the admission includes one hour of gold panning. Modern mine tours start May 27 and will be offered every day but Thursdays through Labor Day at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m. Please make reservations online at VictorColorado.com or leave your information at 719-689-4211 and a tour staff person will return your call. For more information about the museum, please visit victorcolorado.com. This historic mine tour event is held during Colorado Historic Preservation Month and is the eighth annual mine tour the STCFG has sponsored as part of the month-long event held every year to focus on Colorado history. For information, call 719-689-2675 or visit victorcolorado.com. All proceeds benefit the non-profit STCFG’s historic preservation efforts. Old divided-back postcard shows Anchoria-Leland mine (Carnein collection)


�� This came in from a new Club member, Dave Alexander : I try to blog my rockhounding adventures because I find there is limited information online sometimes and I have had a hard time learning about these things (this is why club field trips are so great). I'm trying to share my learning process to lessen the learning curve for others. I'm still struggling with smokies and amazonite; I hope to be able to ask many questions to our club this year! I also teach enrichment courses at the Larkspur elementary school which is a hit with the kids each year too; and give away tons of crystals that I find to them; I hope to learn more from the experts in our club that I can share with the kids. Here is my general link for rockhounding adventures... http://davealex.com/?cat=31 ��Here are this month's "Bench Tips" and news items f rom Brad Smith : GARNET BULLETS A cool fact about garnets is that they were actually used in ancient Asia and the American Southwest as bullets in guns. The strong, deep red of the stone was said to cause wounds worse than bullets. Read more about it on the Omnigems Blog - http://omigems.com/blog/category/gemstones/ ========================================== BenchTips for the Month QUICK CLOSE-UPS There's a quick way to grab a close-up photo from your iPhone or Android shown on http://omigems.com/blog/2012/03/the-traditional-jewelers-loupe-goes-high-tech/ MOTOR SAFETY - THE LITTLE THINGS CAN BITE Most jewelers treat motorized equipment with caution. We've all heard stories about work pieces coming loose in the drill press or about getting long hair or clothing caught in the polishing machine. It stands to reason that a machine with a motor of half a horsepower or so is going to win out over its operator. We all know that, and I'm not going to harp on it. That's not the point of this story. But the point here is with the smaller powered machines we often use, the ones with little 3 inch diameter motors. For instance, these small motors are used in flexshafts and micro buffers. They're so small that many of us forget caution when using them. I'm guilty of it myself sometimes, and believe me it can get you into trouble. One friend had a polishing bur bend in the handpiece and then whack the thumb that was holding the work piece so badly that it seemed the bone might be broken. The swelling was substantial, and it took several weeks to regain normal use. A small underpowered motor? I don't think so. Another friend was using one of the small buffing machines, the kind you can stop when you apply too much pressure to the wheel. Not to worry about such an underpowered beast you say. Wrong, it literally jumped up and bit the hand that feeds it! The buffer was set on a low table to do a quick polish, so it was not mounted or clamped. A buff was installed on the right spindle, no buff on the left. Friend was wearing a tight-fitting, long-sleeved sweater. While buffing on the right wheel, the left tapered spindle caught a thread on the friend's left sleeve and started grabbing more and more threads and sleeve.


Rather than pulling the arm into the machine, the light buffer quickly lifted off the table and started climbing up the underside of the friends arm. There was no way to get a hand on the on/off switch because the unit was spinning wildly and battering my friend like a club wielded by a mad man. Only when my friend could grab the gyrating power cord and yank it from the wall did the mayhem stop. So when you're in the shop, please think safety. Don't take even those little motors for granted. More BenchTips by Brad Smith can be found at facebook.com/BenchTips or groups.yahoo.com/group/BenchTips/

Pebble Pups Corner

The May Pebble Pups program will feature Steven Veatch , demonstrating "Lapidary Arts". Pups will get a chance to try their hands at tumbling, polishing, and sawing, including sawing a geode! Make sure you don't miss out on this one. I'm still looking for someone to write a short column about Pebble Pups activities; please contact Bob Carnein ([email protected]) if you'd like to help out. Remember, parents and other guests are welcome to attend Pebble Pups meetings, which are held at 6PM on the third Tuesday of the month in the Lake George Community Center .

The April 17th program for The Pebble Pups featured Mapping, Navigating, & Researching mining claims! Dan Alfrey lead the discussion, providing a hand-out with several trade secrets and had an awesome variety of maps present to look over. Richard Kawamoto brought a display of prize local specimens. Dan also briefly covered safety concerns when hiking & exploring. All the PPups contributed added measures of safety items when enjoying the great outdoors. They all took home huge Amazonite rough specimens from the historical Digger Dog prospect, and even took some home for their friends too! (photos by Dan Alfrey)


Notes from the Notes from the Notes from the Notes from the

EditorEditorEditorEditor

Bob Carnein, Editor

[email protected]

719-687-2739

Ancient Sandstone Injected into Pikes Peak Granite Along Ute Pass By Steven Wade Veatch

long the Front Range of Colorado, there are more than 200 sandstone dikes emplaced in ancient igneous (crystalline) rocks. Dikes are rock bodies that cut across another

geologic body that formed first. These Front Range dikes are unique because most sandstone dikes are found in other sedimentary rocks. The Front Range dikes have been perplexing scientists since 1894, when they were first studied by the noted field geologist, Whitman Cross (1894). The sandstone dikes are unique in the world, and are only exposed in just a few sites along Ute Pass (Figure 1). The ancient dikes, composed of Cambrian Sawatch Sandstone (Figure 2.), formed long after the Pikes Peak Granite was present. When the Pikes Peak Granite was subjected to

intense compression during the Laramide orogeny, extreme force was concentrated on the sandstone, resulting in it being pressurized, heated, and fluidized. When fully fluidized, the sandstone was injected into enormous openings in Pikes Peak Granite; these openings were also formed by faulting pressures. Today, the Sawatch Sandstone dikes are preserved in certain areas of Teller County, Colorado. Winding into the mountains, U.S. highway 24 closely follows the Ute Pass fault, a major fault that separates the Rampart Range from the Pikes Peak massif and

A

Figure 2. Historical photo (1914) of Sawatch Sandstone resting on even erosion surface (nonconformity) of Pikes Peak granite: Ute Pass, near Manitou Springs, El Paso County, Colorado.

Figure 1 . Ute Pass Circa 1890s. Postcard from the Veatch collection.


the rest of the Front Range. Starting southeast of Cheyenne Mountain, the Ute Pass fault can be traced for about 60 miles, and heads north along Teller Co. Route 67 beyond Woodland Park. The fault zone is relatively wide and filled with broken and fractured rocks that create the course of Fountain Creek in Ute Pass. At least three resistant ridges made up of Sawatch Sandstone are exposed along Ute Pass: one sandstone dike (or “injectite” as they are sometimes called) is exposed in Crystola; and two injectites (Figure 3) are exposed in Woodland Park (Temple, et al., 2007). The injectites are easy to spot—instead of Pikes Peak Granite being present, the sandstone injectites are there—with Pikes Peak Granite on either side. Near Crystola there is a 100-meter-thick sandstone body, forming a resistant ridge of injectite sandstone. The dike—or injectite—dips at about a 75 degree angle to the west and strikes parallel to the Ute Pass fault. These remarkable sandstone injectites can be thought of as “fault slices” of Cambrian Sawatch Sandstone “jammed” in Pikes Peak Granite during past movements of the Ute Pass fault. The injectites are made of fine- to medium-grained, well-rounded, and poorly sorted sandstone. Generally, the color of the injectites is reddish or maroon, but some of the weathered injectites have a buff discoloration on weathered surfaces that is related to the iron oxide cement present in the sandstone. An examination of the dike rocks reveals an alignment of sand grains and granite fragments inside the injectites, which relates to the forceful injection of fluidized sand into openings into the granite caused by the pressures of faulting (Harms, 1965). Some angular fragments of Pikes Peak Granite found in the injectites result from granite being plucked off of the wall rock during movement. Today the injectites remain a source of much scientific debate, and this summer a new scientist will probe the mysteries of this ancient sandstone embedded in Pikes Peak Granite (J. Temple, personal communication). References: Cross, W., 1894, Intrusive sandstone dikes in granite: Geological Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 5, p.

225-230.

Harns, J., 1965, Sandstone dikes in relation to Laramide faults and stress distribution in the southern

Front Range, Colorado: Geological Society of America Bulletin, Vol. 76, pp. 981-1001.

Temple, J., R. Madole, J. Kelle, and D. Martin, 2007, Geologic map of the Mt. Deception quadrangle,

Teller and El Paso counties, Colorado: Colorado Geological Survey Open File Report OF-07-7.

Figure 3. Three injectite samples. The one in the foreground appears to have ripple marks formed by primordial wave action. Photo date December, 2011 © by Steven Veatch.


Lake George Gem and Mineral Club Box 171 Lake George, Colorado 80827

www.LGGMClub.org

2012 MEMBERSHIP APPLICATION Name(s) ______________________________________________________________

Address ________________________________City __________State __ Zip _______ Telephone ( ) ______ - _______________ E-mail _________________________________

Names and ages of dependent members: ___________________________________________

_____________________________________________________________________________

Annual membership - dues Jan. 1 through Dec. 31 are as follows:

� Individual (18 and over) ………………………………………….. $15.00 � Family (Parents plus dependents under age 18) ………………. $25.00

Annual dues are due on or before March 31. Members with unpaid dues will be dropped from the roster after this date. Any new member joining on/after August 17 (Opening Day for our Show!) shall pay one half the annual dues. I hereby agree to abide by the constitution and by-laws of this club.

Signed __________________________________ Date: ____/____/____ I have previously been a member of Lake George Gem & Mineral Club. Yes __ No ___ My interest areas include:

Minerals __ Fossils__ Lapidary __ Micromounts __ Other _____________________________________

I would be willing to demonstrate any of the above for a club program or educational activity? If yes, which: ____________________________ Please indicate which of the following activities you might be willing to help with: Writing ______ Editor ______ Mailing ______ Local shows ______ Club Officer ______ Programs ______ Field trips ______ Refreshments ______ Questions about the club or club activities? Conta ct John Rakowski (719) 748-3861 Rev. May 2012


Lake George Gem and Mineral Club P.O. Box 171

Lake George, CO 80827 The Lake George Gem and Mineral Club is a group of people interested in rocks and minerals, fossils, geography and history of the Pikes Peak/South Park area, Indian artifacts and the great outdoors. The club’s informational programs and field trips provide an opportunity to learn about earth sciences, rocks and minerals, lapidary work and jewelry making, and to share information and experiences with other members. Guests are welcome to attend, to see what we are about! The club is geared primarily to amateur collectors and artisans, with programs of interest both to beginners and serious amateurs. The club meets the second Saturday of each month at the Lake George Community Center, located on the north side of US Highway 24 on the east edge of town, sharing a building with the county highway shops. In the winter we meet at 10:00 AM. From April through September, we meet at 9:00 AM, t o allow more time for our field trips. Our organization is incorporated under Colorado law as a nonprofit educational organization, and is a member of the Colorado, Rocky Mountain and American Federations of Mineralogical Societies. We also sponsor an annual Gem and Mineral show at Lake George, where collectors and others may purchase or sell rocks, minerals, fossils, gems or jewelry. Annual membership dues (Jan. 1 through Dec. 31) are $15.00 for an individual (18 and over), and $25.00 for a family (Parents plus dependents under age 18).

Our Officers for 2012 are:

John Rakowski, President PO Box 608

Florissant, CO 80816 719-748-3861

[email protected]

Jo Beckwith , Vice President

PO Box 275 Guffey, CO 80820

719-689-0248 [email protected]

Wayne Johnston, Treasurer 207 Cooper Lake Drive

Divide, CO 80814 719-687-6067

[email protected]

Charlene DeVries , Secretary

280 Homestead Rd. Divide, CO 80814

719-686-1822 [email protected]

C.R. (Bob) Carnein , Editor, 507 Donzi Trail, Florissant, CO 80816

[email protected] ; 719-687-2739

the lake george gem and mineral club - may, 2012lggmclub.org/club...

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