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

  •   A Note from the President’s Desk . . . Our 2019 Cascade Gem & Mineral Show is almost sold out. This is very encouraging as last years show had 45 booths and this years show has 65 booths. Thank you Mark for taking on Show Chair again this year. It’s a huge job and you do an outstanding job! I have had a couple of members ask me why the 1 carat sapphire was given to a Young Tumblers and not an adult at our April Rock Bingo meeting. This stone was donated to the club with the specific …

Meeting Announcements

  • TOPIC: A speaker from “Better Than Diamond” regarding lab grown gems. Come and learn all about lab grown gems. Our speaker is from right here in the Seattle area. It should be a very interesting meeting! Show ‘n Tell: Bring your favorite faceted gems or finds from the recent CMS field trip to First Creek.

  • Our regular Board Meeting is at 7 pm. Wendy’s Restaurant located at 505 E Smith St, Kent, WA 98030 We are now holding regular Show Committee meetings before the Board meeting at 6:30 pm. You do not need to be a Board Member or on a Show Committee in order to attend. You are always welcome to join us if you are interested in what goes on behind the scenes with our club or show.

  • The Young Tumblers (youth members) have their own door prize drawing at each meeting. We encourage our Young Tumblers to participate in Show ‘n Tell each month. We also have a section of our monthly newsletter for them only to earn Rock Bucks. Rock Bucks can be spent on the monthly raffle or the club auctions we have throughout the year. The website and newsletter now has your own section. Be sure to look at to see what’s new this month and any announcements.

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