March 2015 Del Air Rockhounds Calendar of Events

Mar 2015 

05: General Meeting: 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room. 

08: Daylight Savings Begins: Set your clocks ahead one hour.  

17: St Patrick’s Day: Wear your green or you’re gonna get pinched! 

19: Board Meeting: 7:30 pm at the Marin’s home 

20: 1^st Day of Spring: Spring showers brings May flowers! 

21: Grab Bag Filling Day: 10:00 am at the Dearborn’s home. Come help out!

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 Del Air General Meeting: Thursday Mar 05, 2015 

The meeting begins at 7:30 pm in our regular meeting room at:

Northridge United Methodist Church - 9650 Reseda Blvd, Northridge, CA 91324 Guests Are Always Welcome At Our Meetings & Events.

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Mar 2015 Program: "The Del Air Education Team" 

Each year, our dedicated education team visits thousands of 2^nd, 4^th and 5^th grade students in dozens of schools throughout the San Fernando Valley and beyond. Come to our March 2015 general meeting where you’ll see our fabulous education team put forth the same presentation they bring to all those schools. See our team recreate earth’s timeline from the initial formation of our planet all the way up to the appearance of modern man. You’ll see why many of the schools book this presentation as much as a year in advance.                              Emmy Silverman-Program Chairwoman

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 Upcoming Field Trip 

STODDARD WELLS TAILGATE 

VICTOR VALLEY ROCK & MINERAL CLUB 

MARCH 13-15  2015 9:00 am to 5:00 pm Daily 

In March the Victor Valley Rock and Mineral Club will be hosting a tailgate rock and mineral swap meet. It is close enough for a day trip, but you can also camp out and spend the weekend. 

DIRECTIONS: Take the I-15 north thru Victorville toward Barstow. Turn off to the right at Bell Mountain-Stoddard Wells Road off-ramp and go north on Stoddard Wells Rd. at the intersection. (NOTE: DO NOT 

TAKE STODDARD WELLS RD. EXIT BUT THE BELL MTN.-STODDARD WELLS RD. EXIT, 

THIS IS AFTER THE STODDARD WELLS RD. EXIT.) Go 4 miles to next STOP at Dale Evans Pkwy. Continue 7 miles on Stoddard Wells Rd. to "Tailgate." Road becomes a graded dirt road about 4/10 of a mile from the Dale Evans Pkwy Intersection. Cars & RVs can make it with ease and care. "Tailgate" signs along route. You can park at the swap meet and start browsing or if you are going to camp, drive on up past the sellers and amp at the top of the road, just next to the mountain, where the club members will be. This a dry camp, so bring your own water. There are plenty of portable toilets provided by the host club. If you come up for the day, just pack a sandwich and drinks, and enjoy sampling the many home baked goods for sale by the Victor Valley Club. What to look for: Verde Antique Marble, “black jade”, Hematite, and Epidote MAP AVAILABLE AT: www.vvgmc.org/tailgate.  

(Reprinted from the March 2015 South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society Agatizer)

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 Support our Hobby! Attend a Local Show 

March 6 - 8: NEWARK, CA Mineral & Gem Society of Castro Valley Newark Pavilion 6430 Thornton Avenue Hours: Fri & Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 5 Contact: Cathy Miller, (510) 887-9007 Website: www.mgscv.org	March 7 - 8: ARCADIA, CA Monrovia Rockhounds Los Angeles Arboretum 301 Baldwin Avenue Hours: 9:00 - 4:30 daily Contact: Jo Anna Ritchey, (626) 359-1624 Email: joannaritchey@gmail.com Website: www.Moroks.com
March 7 - 8: VENTURA, CA Ventura Gem & Mineral Society Ventura County Fairgrounds 10 West Harbor Blvd. Hours: Sat 10 - 5; Sun 10 - 4 Contact: Krishna Juarez, (805) 323-6725 Email: info@VGMS.org Website: www.vgms.org	March 13 - 15: VICTORVILLE, CA Victorville Valley Gem & Mineral Society Stoddard Wells Road & Hwy 15 Hours: 9 - 5 daily Tele: V.V.G.M.C. (760) 243-2330 Website: www.vvgmc.org/tailgate
March 14 - 15: SAN MARINO, CA Pasadena Lapidary Society San Marino Masonic Center 3130 Huntington Drive Hours: Sat 10 - 6, Sun 10 - 5 Contact: Marcia Goetz, (626) 260-7239 Email: joenmar1@verizon.net Website: www.pasadenalapidarysociety.org	March 14 - 15: SPRECKELS, CA Salinas Valley Rock & Gem Club Spreckel's Veterans Hall 5th & Llano Streets Hours: 10 - 5 daily Contact: Karin Salomon, (831) 375-5233 Email: k1.salomon72@yahoo.com Website: www.salinasrockandgem.com
March 14 - 15: TURLOCK, CA Mother Lode Mineral Society, Modesto Stanislaus County Fairgrounds 900 North Broadway Hours: 10 - 5 daily Contacts: Bud & Terry McMillin, (209) 524-3494, cell (209) 484-4416 Email: terry_mcmillin@yahoo.com Website: www.motherlodemineralsociety.com	March 21 - 22: LEMOORE, CA Lemoore Gem & Mineral Society Trinity Hall 470 Champion Street Hours: Sat 10 - 6; Sun 10 - 4 Contact: Keith Olivas (559) 622-9440 Email: georgersilva@sbcglobal.net

 

Go to www.cfmsinc.org for more show information.

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March 2015: State Rock of the Month

“Kentucky Agate” 

Agate became Kentucky's Official State Rock in the year 2000. This might be confusing, because scientifically agate is considered a variety of the mineral quartz. Minerals are the building blocks of rocks. Although rocks are generally thought of as sedimentary, metamorphic, and igneous types, collectors and hobbyists call varieties of some minerals rocks as well. Quartz has many varieties. Naturally occurring chemical impurities in the quartz can cause it to be colored. When different impurities occur in bands within quartz, the quartz will have a colorful, banded appearance, and it is then called agate.

Beautiful specimens of red, black, yellow, and gray banded agate have been discovered in Estill, Jackson, Powell, Madison, and Rockcastle Counties. These Kentucky agates are derived from the Renfro-Borden Formation of Early Mississippian age and can be collected along some river drainages where the Renfro-Borden formation is exposed to weathering.

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Chris Ward & Bob Knox’s Quartzsite Trip

We started out on our 3 day road trip to Quartzsite on Saturday morning January 24th at 9:00 am enjoying a leisurely 4 and a half hour drive. We arrived in Quartzsite around 2:00 pm and proceeded to go directly to the main show area. We visited many vendors and saw row after row of spectacular specimens. Since they pretty much roll up the sidewalks at dusk, we only had a couple of hours to look around before we had to leave and go check-in at our motel, The Budget Inn, in Parker, AZ, approximately 20 minutes from Quartzsite. We had a great room with a full kitchen, two queen size beds and a big flat screen TV…..all for $59.00 a night! We got up early the next morning and headed out to Quartzite where we spent the day exploring and shopping. I was able to find many different types of rocks and crystals for our new Gumball Vending Machine which will make its debut at our March general meeting. We met up with Bob & Maxine Dearborn and Bill & Gert Miner on Sunday and enjoyed a nice fish & chips lunch. All in all, it was a very enjoyable trip. If you’ve never gone yourself, try and make it next year. You’ll have a great time.

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Lapidary Jokes for the Discerning Rockhound by Suzanne Day

Did you know the rear end of a trilobite is called a trilobutt?

Q: Why did the prospector throw his ore samples away?

A: He took them for granite.

Q: Why did the prospector take a bath with his rock samples?

A: Because they were soapstone.

Q: Why did the prospector make his mother carry his ore samples?

A: He thought it was the mother lode.

(Reprinted from the March 2015 South Bay Lapidary & Mineral Society Agatizer) 

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