Continuing On With all Matters Right and Relevant

View this post on Instagram

Do you know what this is? I saw one yesterday and broke off a stem simply by touching it. Saw another today and left this fragile assemblage alone. Termites! As Jim Boone of BirdandHike.com emailed me: Hi Tom, That is the work of termites. They have to stay underground, so they put mud on above ground stems so they feel like they are underground. The same could be said as: The workers think they need to stay underground, so the ruling class puts mud on above-ground stems so the workers feel like they are still underground. Stay well, Jim Jim Boone Las Vegas, NV birdandhike.com #termites#mojavedesert#desert#inyocounty#naturalworld#insects#mojave

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Limestone Chinese writing rock? Porphyritic something or other. Not igneous, fizzes when powdered. Marine rock country in the North Nopah. ID forthcoming. Rough cut for specimens, too soft for cabs since it can’t produce a high polish. I’m just experimenting, anyway. #geology #limestone#mojave#explore#desert#inyocounty#lapidary#rocks#rockhounding#geologistonboard

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

This screamed “Garden rock!” when I walked by. My bad leg screamed “No way!” The rock won. The rock always wins. #o#roadtrip #inyocounty #madness #rockhounding#hiking#exploring#geology #geologistonboard #minerals#musthaveit#deathvalleyregion

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Marine fossils in the rock. I’m not a fossil guy. The paper I reference was behind a paywall. Twenty bucks. I paid it an still going through it. It does mention oolites and I think that’s responsible for the lizard skin texture seen in many of these pieces. #rocks#geology#marinefossils#mojave#desert#inyocounty #fossils#dolostone#nopahwildernessarea #lapidary#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on

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.

View this post on Instagram

Pahrump has a really nice racetrack. #racing#motorsports#pahrump#wheelerpassroad#nyecounty#explore#roadtrip

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

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#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on



On a personal note.

View this post on Instagram

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

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on

Moving Out and Up!

View this post on Instagram

Your complimentary summer desert rain footage. #rain#mojave#desert#clarkcounty#roadtrip

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Old Spanish Trail Marker on Sandy Valley Road off of HWY 160. These are close or near to highways. The one at the top of Emigrant Pass in the south Nopah is fully one mile off of Tecopa Road by foot trail. #nopah#clarkcounty#roadtrip#oldspanishtrail #history#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Upcoming move. #moving#nyecounty#kingdomofnye#artbell#coastocoast#nevada#geology#movingishell#rocks#mojave#mojavedesert

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on

A Quick Two Hours in The North Nopah

Last week I discovered some outbuildings to an old mine on the east side of this particular hill in the North Nopah WA. Today, I was trying to find some clues to the west side claims that make up the old Nopah Group. No luck today, the heat too great to stay out too long.

View this post on Instagram

A little video and some stills of a quick hike into the North Nopah WA this morning. #geology #roadtrip #quartz #hiking #rocks#rockhounding#inyocounty#pahrump#mines#minerals#explore#getoutdoors#mojavedesertcalifornia

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

I always want to climb into canyons, even if they dead end, take hours to explore, or prove nearly impossible to come back down. #mojavedesert #quartz #rockhound #hiking #roadtrip#inyocounty#mining#prospecting #nopahwilderness

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Pretty country when it’s not trying to kill you. #mojavedesert #prospecting #geology #hiking #rocks#inyocounty#roadtrip#pahrump#geologyrocks#limestone #nopahwilderness

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


View this post on Instagram

Last notes for today from the field. Quartzite shown dry in the video, dry and wet in the still photos. #geology #quartz #rockhound #hiking #explore#lapidary#mojave#mojavedesert#pahrump#explore#inyocounty#nopahwilderness #

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


Back to China Ranch and On to Shoshone

The drive down China Ranch Road into and through the China Ranch Wash is dramatic. Limited turn-around for any RV pulling a car or trailer. Small RVs can probably find parking at the main parking lot.

No cell coverage! You must be self-reliant in the desert. Perhaps a quarter of the continental United States does not have cell phone service. You can read about my practicing with a satellite terminal that provides voice calls here: https://southwestrockhounding.com/sat-fi2-and-spot-x/

China Ranch Road from Thomas Farley on Vimeo.


Here’s the shorter video for those with shorter attention spans:

 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

China Ranch Road to the China Ranch Date Farm at Instagram speed. The real time, four minute video called China Ranch Road’ is now at Vimeo and YouTube. I have no part in any YouTube ads, I have no ads at my website and nothing to sell. #geologistonboard#tecopa#chinaranch#inyocounty#roadtrip#palms#mojavedesert #armogosavalley

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

More from the BLM trails starting at the China Ranch Date Farm parking lot. The Ranch and the Nature Conservancy have contributed mightily toward sustaining this area. #tecopa#natureconservancy #areaofcriticalenvironmentalconcern #mesquite#tonopahandtidewaterrailroad #chinaranchdatefarm #inyocounty#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Back at China Ranch. Armagosa Tiver, mesquite bosque, old railroad bed. #roadtrip#geology #rocks#river#armagosa#inyocounty#mesquite#tecopa#mojavedesert#oasis#palmtrees#datepalms

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Kit Carson approved! Bread is great as well as the date shakes which are more ice cream than date. Despite the lush appearance of the trees, mesquite will tear you apart with its thorns and it is impossible to cross. Still, good cover for birds and pretty to look at from a distance. The drive down the road is terrific fun and worth doing several times. Also, walk through the palm trees themselves. Bring cash in small bills. Free admission so please buy something to support the ranch. Thank you. #tecopa#chinaranchdatefarm #inyocounty#roadtrip#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Museum building closed, rock tour open. #geology #quartz #rockhound #rocks#roadtrip

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

The Shoshone Museum Rock Display outside the Museum in Shoshone, California. Other nice but unlabeled rocks nearby as well. #geolgy #geologyrocks #geologistonboard #rocks#minerals#roadtrip#shoshone#tecopa#inyocounty#deathvalleyregion#museums#rockgarden#

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on


 

 
 
 
 
 
View this post on Instagram
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

In Shoshone. Details to follow. Beautiful day on the desert. #shoshone#deathvalley#roadtrip#inyocounty #geolgy

A post shared by Tom Farley (@tgfarley) on