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A Few Miles Up Wheeler Pass Road

My writing website is here: https://thomasfarleyblog.com/

A Few Miles Up Wheeler Pass Road

Wheeler Pass Road near Pahrump, Nevada. Not to be confused with Walker Pass Road in California.
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Pahrump has a really nice racetrack. #racing#motorsports#pahrump#wheelerpassroad#nyecounty#explore#roadtrip

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Heading up the hill. Not enough time to find the end today. ATV land. Road big enough for commerce but no pier lines of any coming in. #geologyrocks #geology #rockhound #hiking #pahrump#nyecounty#exploring

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Countryside. #springmountains#pahrump#explore#geology#wheelerpass #geologyrocks#nyecounty#

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The things I get into. Put on full gloves at this point, some sliding, some hand over hand, big knee lifting in the draw itself. Where am I going? Everything moving on this hill. #hiking#geology#outdoors #desert#mojave#pahrump#junipers#mojavedesert#

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My faded plant background always slows me down. #geology #geologistonboard #geologyrocks#rockhound#rovks#explore

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Now to get down. Most of the time I had to hold on to scrub as all rocks were moving. That’s one reason for gloves, you can’t get a tight grip on most desert plants without gloves. I had a hiking pole but it couldn’t grip the moving rock, some of this was crawling backwards downslope, hand over hand, one rock at a time. Met a sleeping rattlesnake. Left him be. #hiking#springmountainsnationalrecreationarea #pahrump#explore#rocks #geology

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On a personal note.

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Requiem for a dead lizard. Before pest control came out to spray the house I am now renting, I told the landlord that “there was a group of happy lizards around the house so the pest control people should be cognizant of this.” The landlord said he talked to them and nothing they used was poisonous to animals.” Two hours after the guy left I found this dead lizard a few feet from my back door. Maybe a coincidence but I haven’t seen the other two or three several hours later and they were always running around and present. When I worked in the green trade in California I had to get a qualified applicator’s certificate from the State so I am kind of sensitive about this. I know I shouldn’t be upset about the loss of a few lizards but I told everybody in advance. And I am upset. #lizard#wildlife#littlethings#pahrump

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Trying to Document a Nighttime Fluorescent Mineral Hunt

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Had to get out for a while. Night video while hunting proved really difficult and bothersome, I will work on salvaging what footage I took a bit later. I need in the future to get the photography in an active area. #geology #precambrian #limestone #geologyrocks#fluorescentminerals #inyocounty#minersls#nopa#pahrump#explore #getoutside

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Glow sticks can mark anything important or dangerous. I have the SW lamp on simply to show how it glows. Glow sticks won’t light the way but they are invaluable for marking an area. #geology#geologyrocks#fluorescentminerals #roadtrip#explore#pahrump#rockhound#minerals

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By prospecting blind I mean that you’ve gone out to some unrecognized collecting area and are simply wandering around. Research to put you on decent ground is always the recommendation but I was out to wander and perhaps record some steps in fluorescent mineral hunting with video. The next video will be instructive regarding the Convoy Dragonfly LW and photography but I’ll need to replace my field narration. #nopahwilderness #inyocounty#geology#rocks #fluorescentminerals #rockhounding#rockhound#mojave#mojavedesert

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Documenting fluorescent mineral hunting at night on video will be a real challenge for me. My dedicated camcorder can overcome some of the problems you see here because I can adjust the white balance, greatly reducing what is known as blue bleed. These adjustments, however, would all have to be done in the dark or very low level light. That is a tricky, practical problem. And then I'd need to fine tune the video in post, again, quite a challenge. My still camera can also better adjust for white balance. A compromise might be to do a number of stills, and then make a slideshow movie. All of this, of course, takes away from collecting which is what I want to do in the first place. I think it would be worth the effort to do a good video in a very good area, such as the Yellow Pine Mine in Goodsprings. There was an area when I last visited of about forty feet by twelve feet, and on the ground were small chips of hydrozincite. It may have been a dump made level, and none of the chips were of collectible size. Never-the-less, the ground glowed blue and white and it looked like I was walking on stars. southwestrockhounding.com#geology#fluorescentminerals #photography#rockhound#geogistonboard#rockhounding#nopawilderness#nightimephotography#pahrump#minerals#iv#flourescentlights #video#postprocessing

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To Shoshone, California in The Morning

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Dublin Gulch near Shoshone. Rooms carved out of hard clay. Some fireplaces and stoves. #shoshonecalifornia #desert#mojave#desertliving#inyocounty#deathvalley

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Going inside a two room affair. This one had a stove and a stove pipe. The still photo shows how textured material like an old door gets a new life in monochrome. #shoshoneca#roadtrip#desertliving#mojave#deathvalley#getoutdoors #explore#

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The old Shoshone cemetery. Nothing like being buried in a clay pit. #cemetery #cemeteryphotography #cemeterywandering #shoshone#roadtrip#inyocounty #deathvalley

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Famous road cut two miles west of Shoshone on HWY 178. Several layers of tuff, which is lithified ash and fragments called clasts which are thrown out of a vent. Notable here is the dark layer. This is vitrophyre, which is crystal or phenocryst laden obsidian. Tiny pieces look like glassy black sand, larger pieces can be solid or break apart easily. The safer collecting spot for these volcanics is on the other side of the road, since this road cut was cut and fill. Plenty of material on the downslope across the road.

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Vitrophyre from that road cut along with somewhat lithified tuff from the site. Also at the site is this orange, strongly welded tuff laced with vitrophyre. I did not self collect that piece, bought it from RC last year, but there is plenty at the road cut if you want to do the pick work and dress the stone. #rocks#geology#geologistonboard#volcanics#roadtrip#rockhound#geologyrocks#inyocounty

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Trying to orient people to Shoshone. Tecopa and the China Date Farm are only fifteen miles or so from Shoshone. #geology#roadtrip#rocks#deathvalley#explore#

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Okay, who’s the rockhound dumping in the desert? Pulled off the road a bit about eight miles from Shoshone. I promised myself no rockhounding today but look what I found! This isn’t construction debris, some of the sandstone pieces have been slabbed. Nice 1/4 inch thickness. Collected half a bag of miscellaneous. A few agate pieces light up soft lime green but nothing special. My metal detector doesn’t trip on anything but one of my Geiger counters won’t quiet down on a sandstone piece with a purple deposit. Hmm. Another mystery. I will return. Oh, the last photo shows the tricky entry point to the highway. Don’t get high centered. #roadtrip#rockhound#rockhounding#shoshone#restingspringswilderness#inyocounty#minerals#radioactivity

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Resting Springs Wilderness Area. I’m outside the boundary, no vehicle traffic allowed in the WA. #wilderness#roadtrip#shoshone#limestone#rocks #geology #minerals

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Found the Mines!

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Details to follow in a few hours. #geology#geologyrocks #geologistonboard #rocks#mines#history#explore#inyocounty#pahrump

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Old but well shouldered road leads on. This is on the other side of the hill that makes up the south wall of the canyon I visited last. BLM has this mine mapped, calling it the Shaw Mine. Mindat says that is one of many names used in the area. Topozone shows the location on an older USGS topo. Nothing showing on the map about any mine in the canyon. That will take going to the USGS store to see if a much older USGS map shows what was happening there. I am walking on this road past the several hundred yard section that has been completely destroyed by floods. There are a few two rock cairns to guide you. #geology #geologyrocks#limestone#nyecounty#mines#minerals#lead#zinc#silver#nopahwilderness#pahrump

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An old gaging station in this dry mountain stream (not indicated on the topo I am looking, and they usually are, and the first sign of digging. #nopah#nopahwilderness #geology#geologistonboard#minerals#mines#explore#wildernessareas#getoutside#usgs#maps#travel

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Best to look over the dumps. Although I did walk a few feet later into what was a short, level tunnel. #Inyocounty#mines#stayoutandstayalive#geology#rocks#adventure#nopahwilderness#pahrump#history#minerals#lead#zinc#silver#desert#mojave#mining#

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What I collected today isn’t showing much promise but I have some other ideas. #Inyocounty#mines#stayoutandstayalive#geology#rocks#adventure#nopahwilderness#pahrump#history#minerals#lead#zinc#silver#desert#mojave#mining#rockhounding#fluorescent #

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No comments please. I see I photographed mostly tunnel wall. Best to look over the dumps. Although I did walk a few feet later into what was a short, level tunnel. #Inyocounty#mines#stayoutandstayalive#geology#rocks#adventure#nopahwilderness#pahrump#history#minerals#lead#zinc#silver#desert#mojave#mining#

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Not sure if the matrix but I think this is anglesite, a lead sulfate. I’ve seen it at Goodsprings, same limestone hills. Cameras can’t capture sparkles in a static shot, you have to move the object or go out of focus. I’ve written way too much on this. Beautiful rock lined with crystal lined cavities. Macro photography work. #mines#rocks#minerals#lead#inyocounty#

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Leaving the area. #caves#limestonehills #canyons#mines#mining#exploring#minerals #geology #inyocounty

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I sound depressed, I’m just tired. And I should have said a deposit of calcite, not calcite by itself. These rocks were picked up at random in broad daylight. I mention the Convoy Dragonfly. Great portable lamp. Take it fully charged and have spare batteries. Long wave. The majority of fluorescent material shows up under SW, nevertheless, this will give you a good idea of an area’s potential if you have to hike in to a collecting spot. This is iPhone photography of course so colors and brightness are only partially true. I’ll show off some more interesting rocks (non-UV), later on. #geology#rocks#ultravioletlight #fluorescentminerals #nopahwilderness#inyocounty#pahrump#explore#outdoors#mojave#desert

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More in the North Nopah

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Back to the North Nopah, now an easy drive since I have moved to Pahrump. The video on finding that air shaft last week is in my Insta library. #pahrump#hiking#exploring#nopah#geology#mining#history#deathvalleyarea#rocks#

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Climbing the draw slowly, foolishly with iPhone in hand. I wanted some footage in motion. #rocks#geology#hiking#nopahwilderness #mines#history@pahrump

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Madness continues. #pahrump#nopahwilderness#geology #geologistonboard #hiking #explore#inyocounty#mojavedesert#cave #mining

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Above the stone outbuildings and before entrance to the canyon. #geology #roadtrip #hiking #rocks#limestone#nopahwilderness #pahrump#inyocounty#geologist#geologistonboard #mines#mininghistory

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The mystery of these mines. If in fact they did exist. #hiking #geology#mining#explore#desert#mojave#inyocounty#pahrump#nopahwildernessarea #california #

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Damned tough hiking. Ankle breaking country, every step of the way. Loose limestone everywhere. Fell only once. Reminds me of the scree and talus you have to deal with to climb Pyramid Peak from the north in Desolation. At least I don’t have to climb 4,000 feet today. 👍Found this modern glass bottle at the limit of my hike. Screw top, seal not broken. Empty. Only litter I found along the hike except at the mine buildings. I have no idea where an entrance would have been. Evidence of natural voids in the earth high on the cliff. #hiking#geology#madness #geology #rocks#inyocounty#roadtrip #inyocountytourism #pahrump#explore

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Some miscellaneous from today. Video is from the south side of the wash, with wonderful shade. One picture is of what looks like a built up trail below the stone outbuildings. Leads to nowhere. T-post stakes represent newer claim holders but all mining claims ceased when the area moved into Wilderness status years ago. No inholders here. Was looking originally for zinc related minerals since I am into fluorescent minerals, glowing rocks. Supposedly, some zinc was mined here. Zinc is an activator. Interesting country, however, and there are trails south of this canyon. Probably not burro trails since I have seen none of them or their scat. #geology #nopahwilderness #rocks#mining#history#explore#prospecting#minerals#geologistonboard #pahrump

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