April 16th, 2023, Saddle Mountain Field Trip Report

Field trip reports

On Sun. April 16th we had our annual trip to Saddle Mtn. It’s estimated that the petrified wood there is at least 14-15 million years old. A very bumpy trip, the road up to the collecting sites just doesn’t get any better from one year to the next. We met at 9:45 in Mattawa and at 10:00 slowly made our way up into the hills. The weather started out great, but after a couple of hours the cold wind set in with a few raindrops. Still, with so many pits up there, it’s easy to collect a bucket worth of nice tumbling material and a few cutters in 2-3 hours time. If you want logs or log portions, then you have to do more work and dig for them. However, the tumbler material is nicely agatized and rivals some of the nicest agates in the state.
We had 9 people in 8 vehicles for this trip.
Joining me were Scott H., Colin O., Arlie W. & guest Tonya, Ananda C., Steve F. (new member – welcome Steve), Loren M., and Bill B.

Submitted by Roger Danneman Field Trip Guide (roger.danneman@gmail.com)
425-757-3506 cell and texts

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Updated: April 21, 2023 — 9:15 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who joined us in March for Maureen Carlisle’s fascinating look at the world of professional paleontology digs. Our next meeting on April 9 is a great club tradition: Rock Bingo! Whether you’ve been a member for decades or you just joined last month, Bingo is the ultimate fun night for everyone kids included. All you have to do is bring three rock-related gifts (rocks themselves are just fine!), wrapped so that they are hidden, and then show up at 7pm on the 9th. Everyone is a winner – win a new treasure for your shelf and …

Meeting Announcements

  • Come one, come all and play ROCK BINGO! With schools out for many local school districts, we invite members, guests, and especially families and kids to come and enjoy one of our most fun nights of the year. Everyone is guaranteed to win at this FREE event! All you have to do is bring three wrapped presents – presents can be rocks, gems, minerals, crystals, fossils, cabochons, slabs, jewelry, tumbled stones – anything you think might be a nice gift for a rock enthusiast. 

  • Our own Mike Blanton will bring his expertise to this club meeting program – he will share the tools, tips and tricks he has developed to drill holes in stones and minerals so you can do more with the rocks you find. Show and Tell: bring a rock you’d like to make into something else.

  • Club Wagonmaster and rock shop creator Roger Danneman will present an overview of the new club shop – including equipment, scheduling, stewards, and what you can expect from this exciting new resource.  Show and Tell: bring a rock you want to polish or make into a cabochon (or something you’ve already polished or made)

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