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PhxDT

Great geology in AZ

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I have picked up rocks for years as good luck rocks. I would carry them on hunts in hopes they brought me good luck and would continue to carry on hunts until the luck ran out. I would then throw them away and say thank you. I still pick up rocks to this day that catch my eye. I haven't a clue as to what they may be called. :)

 

TJ

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I have picked up rocks for years as good luck rocks. I would carry them on hunts in hopes they brought me good luck and would continue to carry on hunts until the luck ran out. I would then throw them away and say thank you. I still pick up rocks to this day that catch my eye. I haven't a clue as to what they may be called. :)

 

TJ

I seem to do the same thing. I see a cool looking rock and I pick it up and throw it in my pack. My daughter likes to collect rocks when were out too and she has a pretty good collection going on.

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I just took a whole bunch of weird rocks that have been collecting dust for yrs on my shelf - tossed 'm all back out for someone else to find

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I took my daughter who is 25 years old to look for geodes a few months ago and we looked for a few hours and found one. We were excited to at least find one!

post-4217-0-91139100-1457021058_thumb.jpg

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Its adventure time!

 

So first, apache tears. Hunting for javelin in 37 b... theres a road that goes to the south (here:33°17'02.9"N 111°08'26.8"W). Can take this road in a little ways, and find a place to park.

We camped down at the bottom by the creek. "Wagon track" is just before that where can see wagon tracks carved into the stone from traveling through the area before cars. If you walk up the main road (or drive if you have a 4X4) there's a gate off to the left (33°16'17.3"N 111°08'18.7"W). park here, follow the closed road to the right (here:33°16'12.5"N 111°08'13.8"W) and you can scrape tears out with a claw hammer or other implements of destruction pretty easily. My niece and nephew came out on our hunt, and the little guy loaded his pockets. (just before the creek , by wagon track... theres numerical markers of historic significance. And the original townsite of Pinal City used to be in this area. If you climb the hill to the right of the road, you can still find part of the mill)

 

Second

Up on the rim (here: 34.322204, -111.180082) the tonto forest has a sign about mining for geodes. Ive been told that it's sort of an arbitrary place for the sign, and if you go elsewhere in that general area (all the way over to Houston mesa rd) away from travelled spots, theres good finds to be found. There's also Sho fly ruins, which is a nice easy path to see indian ruins. And on the other end of the control road, (park here: 34°21'37.2"N 111°25'27.5"W)... you can climb the top of the hill and look for fossils in the rock

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Used to be a place between Boyce Thompson arboretum and superior that had a u dig Apache tear place. There is a place in the gila valley that we used to find a lot of what we thought were Apache tears. They were fairly round, maybe as big as an inch in diameter, usually smaller and very rough and if you held em up to the sun, light came through em. Found hundreds over the years. My dad had a bucket full. My dad found out later that they were extraterrestrial. Some kinda meteorite glass. Look a lot like obsidian if polished. Ever once in awhile I'll wander around there and still find a couple. There is a lot of obsidian along the state line going toward mule creek nm. Creek beds are loaded with it. Lark

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You can find Apache Tears in the abandoned pits east of Picket Post and SW of Superior. Check Google Earth...you can't miss it. They are easy to dig up and easy to find, once you get the hang of it.

 

On the Rim you can find large petrified shells, about golf ball size. Like mollusk or similar.

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A little lower you find red small clams, perfect specimens, took one to asu and they said they were 2 million years old. The rim under water WOW:: don't get me started on az diamonds

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I will try and get a photo up this weekend, but I have a piece of rock with only 3 known in existence. Seriously. My Grandad worked for Phelps Dodge in Douglas, and found it. It came out in 3 pieces. My Dad has the biggest, my aunt the second biggest, and I have the third. MI e is about as big as my palm. My Dad has shown his to several geologists, and they always freak out. He has been offered some big money for his.

I will explain the find when I post the photo this weekend. It is an amazing piece of mineral.

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I will try and get a photo up this weekend, but I have a piece of rock with only 3 known in existence. Seriously. My Grandad worked for Phelps Dodge in Douglas, and found it. It came out in 3 pieces. My Dad has the biggest, my aunt the second biggest, and I have the third. MI e is about as big as my palm. My Dad has shown his to several geologists, and they always freak out. He has been offered some big money for his.

I will explain the find when I post the photo this weekend. It is an amazing piece of mineral.

Sounds cool. Can't wait to see pics!

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I will try and get a photo up this weekend, but I have a piece of rock with only 3 known in existence. Seriously. My Grandad worked for Phelps Dodge in Douglas, and found it. It came out in 3 pieces. My Dad has the biggest, my aunt the second biggest, and I have the third. MI e is about as big as my palm. My Dad has shown his to several geologists, and they always freak out. He has been offered some big money for his.

I will explain the find when I post the photo this weekend. It is an amazing piece of mineral.

Unobtainium?
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This is not a rock but here is a picture of an old ore bucket I helped my dad (so he says I don't remember it) roll out of an old mine back in the 50's down around Lochiel.

 

 

 

 

ore%20bucket_zpseacshvpr.jpg

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So here it is. And the story behind it. Dubbed "Kenyonite" by my Granddad and Dad.

 

My Granddad worked in the smelter in Douglas for Phelps Dodge smelting the copper ore. Huge furnaces were utilized to melt the ore, separating rock from metals. Every so often, they would have to clean the furnaces. They would pump extra fuel and oxygen into the furnaces and burn off all of the slag that would accumulate on the walls. Then they would let the furnaces cool for a couple days, and go in with a 4ga. shotgun on a tripod and shoot the walls to get the remaining slag that did not melt off.

 

Only one time in my Granddad's 30+ years did they ever find anything like this. It was on the back wall of one of the furnaces next to a gas port when the furnace cooled. Never seen before, and never seen again.

 

It is very heavy, has to have a high metal content. My Dad never got it sampled, but you should see the gemologist and geologists eyes when they see it. Priceless. My Dad has had it down to the Tucson Rock & Mineral show a few times, and those guys go ape over it. I have had my piece for 10 years or so. My Dad has had his for 30+ that I can remember. Not a spot of rust or corrosion over all that time.

 

Here is my piece, the smallest of the "Kenyonite" pieces. Check out those crystals....

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20160306_144327_zpsk1bo95ku.jpg

 

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