End Of The Rainbow

Just like they have always said, it really was right at the end of the rainbow. At least it was for my last trip into Mojave until October. This was the best trip yet! I even found a meteorite at Cuddeback Dry Lake which was almost as good as the specimens of petrology that I brought home from the surrounding area. Places like Jawbone Canyon, Aerial Acres, and Gem Hill. All these ares have been heavily picked over throughout the past decades, and yet I was blessed to find some fantastic stuff.
My journey into the desert has always been more for the spiritual aspect than for petrology, although I did find some incredible pieces on this trip the most treasured item this time was my three days spent with my Heavenly Father. I have found it much easier to commune with Him in the solitude of the desert than anywhere else.   

Just Back From Heaven

 

The new moon looked as if the Lord was smiling, and why not, one of His sheep had just come home!

No phone, no noise, no one else but me sitting by the fire playing the harmonica, there was nothing moving but a slight wind. Then as on cue the coyotes began to join my evening serenade. The Big Dipper was acting as God's cup as it "runneth over" unto me with such beauty in the sky and on the earth that took my breathe away.

  

Many people will not understand the beauty and spirituality of the desert, but for those of us that do, we experience something that continues to call us back over and over again. There is a soothing healing that occurs in the desert solitude that makes me feel closer to God. 

Found this on the Web

COLLECTING ROCKS
I think that there shall never be
an ignoramus just like me,
who roams the hills throughout the day,
to pick up rocks for zero pay.
For there’s one thing that I’ve been told,
I take the rocks and leave the gold!
Over deserts wild and under sky so blue,
I search for rocks of varied hue.
A hundred pounds or more I pack,
With blistered feet and aching back,
And after this is said and done
I cannot name a single one.
I pick up rocks where ever I go
The reason why I do not know.
For rocks are found by fools like me
Where God intended them to be.
Though now I'm told the rocks aren't mine,
it's the State who owns these gems so fine!
Yet with all I spend on tax and fees,
I had thought the State was me!
Author unknown

Mojave!

We just got back from a fantastic trip to Mojave--our first time to actually step on the desert, instead of  just driving through it--and it was better than we had hoped! Our trip found treasure beyond our common thought.We cannot wait to return! What we discovered may not produce any monetary value, but it is priceless to us. We have found such amazing beauty in the geology of this earth--petrified wood of unknown age, tiny gemstones in sedimentary rocks, and some type of quartz (if it is quartz) that had to have come from deeep in the earth to have cooked it into its bubble like popcorn shape.
As we determine what it is we have on a geological basis we will get back to you.

Eureka!

On 12-29-09 my brother, his son and grand daughter, and me, did a little prospecting in an area that has proven in the past to have had gold. We were not disappointed. We panned for the first time in our lives and actually discovered two very tiny, almost microscopic, granules of gold. Which means of course that had we desired to dredge, dig and destroy this pristine, priceless area for the chance of finding a thousand dollars of gold, who knows what we could have come away with.
This area was once inhabited by a sizable Native American village, it had also been mined many decades ago--maybe even during the time when the village was occupied. Who knows, the miners may have been responsible for removing the village dwellers. The point here is one of perspective, our journey is about finding true treasure, and my brother and I found it in the beauty and grandeur of the area, not in the possiblity of finding gold at the expense of the environment.
For all you hard core prospectors we apologize, but for my brother and I there are more important things in life than gold. About one week ago we watched a National Geographic television program about gold prospecting and it showed a half a dozen young men in the Amazon completely destroying about a half acre of priceless rain forest habitat for less than a thousand dollars of gold; not to mention the excessive danger to their own health from the chemicals they used.Yes, these guys needed the money, however, that does not diminish that fact that they caused a great deal of harm to themselves and others for a pittance, even for them. All this because human beings have an insatiable appetite for life that always results in a shortened, regretful, unsatisfied life.
Those few individuals that learn to live in harmony with all that is around them are the true successes of our time.   
For obvious reasons there will be no pictures of this trip.
Desert, here we come! 

Our Latest Outing

We have been busy learning all about our new endeavor--prospecting--and what we have noticed is just how beautiful this world is when you are not working at keeping this pristine environment from burning down or searching for someone lost in this wilderness. We have just begun this journey and agree that we have already found the most precious treasure on earth--life with God.
Hope to get back to you soon when we return from our first desert trip.
Happy New Year to you and may God Bless

Busy, Busy, Busy!

We have yet to do any real shooting, but we have done a great deal of research and investigations of various locations so far. The more we learn about this prospecting stuff the more excited we get! At first we considered this to be just something to do in God's presence, but the closer we get to actual prospecting, the more we can see this as something that may become far more exciting than we had ever imagined; and we had imagine having a great deal of fun!
We cannot wait to show you our first discovery, even if it takes us the rest of our lives! We will have a great time looking, and even a greater time finding!
Can't wait to hit the first real hunt!
We will keep you posted!
May God Bless