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There is a recent addition to the
rockhound's library called "Rockhounding the Wiley's Well District
of California---The GPS User's Guide" This book consists of a
collection of articles previously published online by Delmer G.Ross,
Professor of history at La Sierra University in Riverside, CA. Mr.
Ross describes in detail 29 collecting sites complete with GPS
coordinates and excellent attention to detail. Some of these sites
are new, some are the older, well known sites, but all are now easy
to find, thanks to the miracle of GPS technology. One of the sites
mentioned in the book was new to me and my group of friends, so we
decided to check it out. There are not many places in our area
where we can collect nice quartz crystals and large plates of
crystals, so we were excited upon learning of this location.
 We
rendezvoused at the Wiley's Well exit on a cool March morning,
perfect for desert weather, and enough daylight to make the trip
worthwhile. Our three vehicles, all 4 WD, made the trek along the
freeway frontage, as described by Mr. Ross in his book. Turning
toward the Palen Mountains at the designated mileage, we then
slogged through four or five miles of sand, trying to stay in the
faint tracks of a "road". Emerging again onto solid ground, the
rest of the road to the old Iron Queen Mine was easy to follow, as
the countryside became more vegetated and covered with desert
pavement instead of sand. This location is still accessible, due to
the existence of the Iron King and Iron Queen claims established in
1949. All the surrounding area is now included in the Palen-McCoy
Mountains Wilderness Area, created by the passage of the California
Desert Protection Act in 1994. Mr. Ross gives an excellent
background history of these claims in his book, which makes the trip
into the mine more meaningful as you travel past the various areas
of interest going to the mine.  Upon
arriving at the iron mines, we did some scouting of the general
area, then proceeded to climb up to the ridges mentioned by Delmer
Ross. The lowland areas are cut by a number of ravines, which
contained some remnants of mining equipment from the Kaiser Steel
mine days, plus of course we were looking for float. This area
requires the ability to clamber up steep rocky slopes carrying your
digging equipment with you, along with your water and lunch. Once
you get up to the digging site, you want to be able to stay put for
several hours while digging out the quartz crystals. We had the
good fortune to have had two members of our group go out a couple of
weeks before to scout out the site. They really explored the area
quite thoroughly, so were able to direct us toward the better stuff
and save us a lot of hunting. Fred showed us how to dig down a foot
or so below the outcrops, where the rock structure dips under the
surface. Here, in the red soil, are the large crystals and plates
of crystals. As there is so much iron in the soil, many of the
crystals show a lot of decomposition and iron stain. However, there
were also some large, slightly smoky crystals with phantoms, three
or four inches long, which were the real prizes.
For those who stayed down on the
lowlands, there was some pretty yellow-tan jasp agate with quartz
stringers available, plus lots of magnetite and an occasional loose
quartz crystal. Along one of the trenches at the Iron King mine
itself, was some quartz stained with chrysacolla, very pretty but
specimen grade only. All in all, it was a great day to be out
there, with little wind or clouds and plenty of sunshine. If you
decide to make this trip, just remember that this location is in the
desert, so late fall through early spring is the right time to be
here in the Wiley's Well District. If you come in January, be sure
and visit the great rock shows at Quartzsite, AZ, just a few miles
down the Interstate--you will be glad you did!
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Quartz
Crystals in the Palen Mountains