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Art Inspired by Nature Virtual Tour

The End of the Road by Marilee J. Strech

  Have you ever driven through the desert on the Interstate on your way to Laughlin or Las Vegas and wondered, “What are all those roads doing way out here going nowhere?”  Well, it seems that the vast majority of those roads lead to past or present mining operations, mostly for industrial minerals, but sometimes for gold, silver or platinum. Many of these roads, which are not much more than a dirt track, can lead to some great rockhounding experiences.  Each road beckons us to follow it in search of adventure!  For those of us who like to pick up rocks, the possibilities are endless and the rewards are many. 

One such road is Wiley’s Well, which exits Interstate 10 a few miles before Blythe, CA.  Here the road branches off into many trails after a few miles of washboard, most of which lead to digging sites where one can pick up potentially crystal-filled geodes and nodules of varying sizes and descriptions. Some of these sites are very well known such as the Hauser Beds.  This is probably the oldest and best known in this area, but there are many such areas nearby among which are several newly discovered ones.  

To me, this just makes the hobby of rock hounding even more exciting; to know that there is lots of fresh material and undiscovered treasures awaiting me.  Sometimes it seems that the best time to have been a rockbound was in the 1950’s and 1960’s when the hobby took off with a rush.  Lapidary equipment became readily available and affordable for the first time.  It seems, by some accounts, that so many people would descend on a newly discovered deposit of agate, jasper, petrified wood, etc. that the surface material would disappear in just one weekend, to be put into rock gardens or in piles awaiting the rock saw or tumbler. 

Today there is a resurgence of interest in the hobby and its many aspects, as a new generation of “rock-puppies” with 4WD vehicles and Global Positioning Systems are enjoying themselves in the public areas that are still available to the modern rock hound. 

Books such as the Gem Trail series by Jim Mitchell, or other similar books by Gail Butler are great ways to search out likely areas to spend a wonderful weekend in God’s great outdoors, just relaxing and taking in the scenery or, maybe, finding the next great geode bed!