March and April 2018 Field Trips Report

Field trip reports

On March 17 there was a joint trip to Mayfield Dam Quarry led by Dennis Batchelor of Puyallup Valley Gem and Mineral Club. I heard that material is getting harder to find there. The seams of jasper/agate are in pockets of the rubble pile, so finding a pocket is helpful. Pictures from previous trip can be found on Facebook CMS Group Page.

On March 17 there was also a WSMC field trip to Baker Lake, Swift Creek, and Grandy Creek up by Mt. Baker attended by CMS club members Roger D. and John C. Nice river rocks with swirling patterns were found here. Clear agate material was found where Swift Creek enters Baker Lake, but they were mostly small samples laying on top. Dig tools would have been handy to see if larger ones were down under the 1st layer of rocks. Water levels were low at this time of year, so collecting was easy with waders and PVC gloves. Interesting colorful jasper found in Grandy Creek.  Looked for jade, but didn’t find any this trip. Check Facebook CMS Group Page for photos.

On April 21st there was a joint trip to Saddle Mtn for petrified wood led by Dennis Batchelor of Puyallup Valley Gem and Mineral Club. I heard that everyone found nice material, but it was very windy on those hills this trip.

Updated: May 24, 2018 — 3:37 pm

Presidents Message

  • Digging It!  Thanks to everyone who came out for our February club meeting – it was a fun one, with our own Roger Danneman presenting the highlights of our field trips to come for 2026. Several club members brought their impressive best finds from 2025 for show and tell. Speaking of field trips – our first field trip of the year is in the books, with a mildly snowy day at the Middle Fork of the Nooksack River up by Ol’ One Lane Bridge outside of Acme, Washington. The variety of rocks this year was excellent, thanks in part to …

Meeting Announcements

  • Maureen Carlisle, Former Docent at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture, will take us through A Day on a Dig: “Over the years I’ve been asked about what it is like to be on a dino dig, so I’d like to answer some of these questions. I’ll cover some of the practical aspects of both archaeology and paleontology, as I have had the pleasure of being involved in both.” Show and Tell: bring a fossil or artifact that you’ve found or collected.

  • 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.

Current News