A Little From Quartzsite

I originally posted these entries to Rock & Gem Magazine’s Facebook page. I’m now putting them here as well. I’ll have much more on Quartzsite and Tucson in my upcoming book.

January 16, 2023

Nearly 70 degrees today at the PowWow. Brilliant sun with no wind. Forgot the sunscreen. You may also want to bring your rockhounding tools. Each day during the PowWow, the Quartzsite Road Runner Gem and Mineral Club arranges two field trips each morning to collecting areas near and far. Only two dollars for non-members each trip.

This picture is of a not-for-sale cabochon of birdseye rhyolite. It was shown to me by a field trip leader. It represents material that his group is going to try to collect Thursday morning. Trips to to other locations will find rockhounds searching for things like agates, marble, porcelain jasper, and sagenite.

 

January 17, 2023

Moved over to the Desert Gardens venue today. Overcast, not terribly cold, but a wind was kicking up. Got there a little too early. Most vendors don’t get going until 10:00 A.M. but some are open before then. Giant show place, many acres. Features the smallest mineral specimens to big rough, I mean forklift size pieces in some cases. Desert Gardens carries far more rough than the Pow Wow.  And it’s less crowded when the Pow Wow is going on. Lots of time to talk to the dealers. I think Desert Garden goes to the end of February. By that time, many of the sellers are making plans for Tucson but for many dealers and miners, Quartzsite is it.

January 18, 2023

Back in Las Vegas, Nevada today, but here is a parting shot from the Pow Wow, still going on over the weekend. Here, author and miner and photographer Pat McMahan (left) patiently and with fondness for his slabs, identifies the agates a customer just bought.

Pat is the author of the monumental Agates: The Pat McMahan Collection, endorsed by Bob Jones, which was the product of a year and a half of full time work, the result of over 26 years of collecting. You can’t have a shopping experience like this on eBay!

January 19, 2023

The future of our hobby and our profession is with the young. These two are Chelsea and John Keady, owners of Rock Chuck in Schurz, Nevada. They are miners and jewelry makers, often creating pieces from the stones they have dug. Visit them at booth 277 at the Pow Wow. And say hello to the future.

January 20, 2023

Last day of the Pow Wow. Wish I was there. Here in The Big City, traffic is heavier, things move faster. People don’t smile as much, some are sullen. On Wednesday I accidentally left my expensive camera on a vendor’s table. When I discovered it missing, I hurriedly ran back to the seller’s booth. There, sitting quietly on the same table where I put it down, was my camera. I would like to think it would have been there anywhere else. But I wonder. I miss this rock and gem community already.

This image is from two years ago. Walbom is set up this year at Space 320.