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Rock collecting hot spots, of course!!! Actually, these collecting sites are best visited during the cooler months of the year, as this part of Arizona, near the Colorado River, gets way too hot to be picking up even hotter rocks! They are located within an hour's drive of each other and Laughlin, NV, which is a different sort of "hot spot"---home to at least nine casinos. Of course, this means you can combine several venues while in the area, from casino hopping to river running, from bass fishing to rock collecting. Cool Springs is located on Old Route 66 between Oatman and Kingman, within the Oatman-Goldroad Mining District, and is home to Ed's Camp as well as the Cuesta Fire Agate claim. Both of these fee digs are very reasonably priced, around $20.00 for the day. Be sure and bring your heavy duty tools for splitting rock, as no overburden is removed at either site. The Cuesta claim has produced some very large chunks of bubbly chalcedony with lots of fire agate layers, with potential for great color variations. If you are really lucky, you might even find some black fire agate! Check out the Gem Trails of Arizona book by James Mitchell or the Rockhounding Arizona book by Gerry Blair for directions and information to these claims.
Do remember that this whole area is
definitely not a good area for a summer trip, so make your plans
accordingly. If you go in March, you will be treated to a
wonderful display of Arizona wildflowers as an added bonus for
those of you who like to photograph these treasures of nature.
The weather at that time of year is just perfect to be outdoors,
to practice your favorite hobbies, including some great hiking
and exploring along with the rocks for your growing collection.
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Cool
Springs & Chloride
While
you are in the area, be sure and visit Oatman, a town with a
colorful past and many "wild" burros roaming right on Main
Street, just begging for someone to feed them carrots. The
Goldroad Mine, located between Oatman and Cool Springs on Route
66 also gives tours during certain times of the year. If you
are there at the right time, you may be able to take advantage
of this great chance to see a gold mine. For more information
on this tour, you can call them at (928)768-1600 or contact the
Oatman Chamber of Commerce at (928) 768-6222. The Chamber of
Commerce would also be able to help you with information on the
fire agate claims as well.
To
get to Chloride from Cool Springs, continue on about 15
miles to the onramp at Interstate 40, heading east toward
Kingman. From Kingman, proceed north on Hwy. 93 toward Las
Vegas, about 18 miles to the junction with Rte. 125. Turn
right and proceed 3.5 miles to the living ghost town of
Chloride. There is some historical signage located at the
turnoff from Hwy. 93---take time to stop and read them
before proceeding. There are a number of mine dumps located
in the hills adjacent to this nice little town, best known
of these being the Tennessee Mine dumps. On these dumps you
may find a wide variety of rocks and minerals, from rose
quartz to gold, with lots of copper minerals and even some
black tourmaline to be found. The town itself is a nice
place to spend some time, with a museum, post office,
cemetery, gift/rock shop, restaurants and a grocery store
for residents. There is a also a modern "rock art" site up
in the hills, painted some years back by a local artist. If
you ask around town, you can get directions to this
interesting side trip while looking for some of those great
tailings piles and the treasures that await you.