In addition to our monthly club and Jr. Geologist meetings, the club has lots of activities for the summer.

The Silent Auction will be on Thursday night, June 9.  Members can bring specimens, lapidary works, supplies, books, maps, and other rockhounding items to sell at the auction.  The club collects 25% of the proceeds to help with club expenses.  Auction sheets are attached to this newsletter.  Come to the auction to purchase additional specimens or supplies, you will probably find some great bargains.  Also, there is a special table just for kids.

Here is a list of Field Trips that have been set or are in the planning stages, including the trip leaders.  Upcoming newsletters and club meetings will have more information.

* Wyoming to collect turitella agate, stromatolites, Blue Forest wood, May 28-30 (Paul Boni) – see the article in this newsletter.

* RAMS claim in Crystal Peak area to collect amazonite, smoky quartz, and topaz, July 16 (Gerry Naugle)

* Florissant tour of CU paleontology dig, July 17 (Gerry Naugle)

* Florissant shale splitting day at CU to collect fossil leaves and insects, tentatively Oct. 8 (Gerry Naugle)

* Others in the planning stages:

o Phoenix Mine in Idaho Springs for a mine tour and gold panning

o Peridot Mesa to collect peridot

o Calumet to collect epidote

o Fossil collecting trip

Happy rockhounding,

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Club Meeting
Thursday, May 12, 7:00 PM
West Boulder Senior Center, 9th & Arapahoe

For our May meeting, we will have Jack Thompson, of the Colorado Springs Mineral Club, who  will speak on the varieties of Colorado Topaz. Jack has very large collection of topazes from Colorado and elsewhere and is a recognized expert on them.  He has won numerous display awards (in all of the major categories) in the Denver Show competitive display competitions.

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Jr. Geologists Studying Fossils

The next Jr. Geologists night will be on Thursday, May 19 at 7 p.m.  We will continue to work on the Fossil badge, this time learning about how fossils are made and making our own fossil.  We will also learn more about how to identify fossils, so bring your best fossils to work with.  Also, everyone has a homework assignment to find out Colorado’s state fossil.  Last month we set a record, with 12 youth at our meeting.

Several of our young members have finished their Lapidary Arts badge, the first in the country to do so.  Congratulations to Addison Starn, Natasha Goss, Andrew and Joel Hyde, Gabe Walter, and Cara Keyser on earning this award.

The Jr. Geologist program is open to all club families.  We meet monthly to learn more about rockhounding and the earth sciences.  For more information contact Dennis Gertenbach.

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April Field Trip in Search of Zeolites

On Saturday, April 16, 25 club members hiked up the side of North Table Mountain outside of Golden to collect zeolites.  Zeolites are a family of over 30 alumino-silicate minerals, with thomsonite, analcime, chabazite, and mesolite the most common.

The site is now a Jefferson County Open Space park and the club obtained a special-use permit to collect minerals for this trip.  After a steep hike up to the quarry (made even more difficult, because Dennis Gertenbach took everyone on the wrong trail and we ended up bushwhacking up part of the way), we reached the quarry at the base of the cliffs.  By digging through the rubble and breaking apart the rock, many fine specimens were found.  The weather was beautiful, which made for a great collecting day.  Everyone found plenty to take home; the biggest problem was deciding which ones to leave behind to lighten the load on the hike back to the cars. 

Those who went on the trip are asked to bring their best specimens to May’s meeting on the 12th to display their finds.

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Memorial Day Weekend Field Trip

Blue Forest Wood and Delaney Rim
May 28-30
Trip Leader; Paul Boni
4-wheel drive vehicles suggested

The plan is to leave bright and early Saturday morning and head to Wamsutter, Wyoming. There we will eat our lunch and collect Turritella (Goniobasis) agate and stromatolites (fossil algae). From there we will head to Farson, WY and the Blue Forest Wood site. We will be camping (primitive) at the site and should arrive around dusk. Sunday we will spend the entire day digging for fossilized wood and enjoying the scenery. On Monday we can continue digging for Blue Forest Wood or head back as time permits.

The trip is open to FMC members. Please call Paul if you would like to participate or if you have any questions.

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Mark Your Calendars
Gerry Naugle

The 2005 Denver Gem and Mineral Show (second largest in the USA) is coming up on Sept. 16th, 17th and 18th at the Denver Merchandise Mart located at 58th Ave. and I-25.  The theme of this year's show is "All Varieties of Quartz" and will have many displays. 

The show has been a success because of the dedicated work of volunteers from our local sponsoring rock, gem and mineral clubs.  The FMC representatives to the Denver Council:  Alex Cook, Gerry Naugle and Carl Bird would like to urge all FMC members to sign up to for some volunteer work at the 2005 show in exchange for free admission and other volunteer perks.  You can sign up at the FMC monthly meetings in May or June or by e-mailing Gerry Naugle.

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New Members!
Trick Runions, Membership Chair

The FMC club welcomes all of our new members and families since the beginning of this year, they are:

Chuck & Jan Buda
Whitney Wogan
Deborah Knox
Bret & Deborah Henning
Alan & Diane Keyser
Al & Barbara Reppy
Kent & Mercedes Goldsmith
Gabe Walter

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2005 Rockhound of the Year

Every year the club honors one of our members at the club’s Rockhound of the Year. This award is bestowed to an active member or husband-and-wife team, someone who is contributing substantial time to the success of our club.  Past recipients include Charlotte Morrison (2002), Paul and Martha Ralston (2003), and Ray and Dorothy Horton (2004).

Nominations have closed, and the 2005 Rockhound of the Year will be announced at the May meeting.

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2005 FMC Show Committee Meeting
Alex Cook, Show Chair

It's not too early to start thinking about the next Flatirons Mineral Show, to be held November 18-21 at Boulder Elks Lodge. Members of the committee met at the home of John Hurst April 12 to discuss plans for the next big show. The meeting was well attended, and ideas as to how to improve the show flowed thick and fast. One consideration was perhaps to have a silent auction and potluck on Saturday.

Emily Epstein, who did a terrific job on publicity and programming last year, stated that she was prepared to put notices in all appropriate publications and would start lining up speakers for this year. John Hurst announced that all the dealers from last year had signed up again and that anyone else would be put on a waiting list.

The prizes this year will consist of a beautiful large amethyst cathedral plus an outstanding trilobite fossil from Morocco.

Once again, we want to thank all those who gave of their time and energy to put over last year's show and look forward to everyone volunteering once again. The next show committee meeting will be held at Alex Cook's house, 636 Linden Park Drive, on Tuesday, May 17, 7:30 PM. Anyone who would like to attend is welcome.

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FMC Workshop Notes
Charlotte Morrison

Jim Armitage has returned back to Boulder from Arizona, and he came by and picked up grab bag specimens and plastic baggies to do bagging.  And Charlotte gave him saved up stamps for his school clubs.  Jim also uses marbles with his minerals game and feathers for his sculptures.

Wednesday evenings are still open for members to use the shop machinery. Please call to have an experienced person here for newcomers on the saw equipment.

The Junior Geologists came to the recent workshop at Charlotte's house to work toward their lapidary badges.  Paul Boni instructs in the shop skills and Charlotte shows how to carve and file many softer minerals. Dennis Gertenbach provides instruction on minerals and fossils to the kids.  The FMC Jr. Geologist program is currently getting recognition from other entities.

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Field Trip to the Grand Junction Book Cliffs to Collect Barite

The Mile Hi RAMS have invited us to join them on their field trip to the Book Cliffs to collect Barite, THIS COMING WEEKEND, May 7, 8.  Here are the Details:

* Clubs that may be represented: RAMS, North Jeffco Gem and Mineral Club, Colorado Springs Mineral Society, Flatirons Mineral Club
* Leaders: Ron and Judy Knoshaug. Please contact trip leaders if you wish to go on field trip.
* Date: May 7,8
* Time to meet: 10 AM Saturday May 7
* Location: Grand Junction, meet at Super 8 Motel, I-70 at Horizon Drive (exit south). Drive time from Denver to Grand Junction is 4 hours
* Minerals to collect: barite, calcite
* Equipment needed:  pick, shovel, bar, hammer (3 # crack hammer or larger), tools to carefully remove the barite from the shale nodules
* Note: Barite is very heat sensitive. Bring something to keep the temperature of the barite from changing rapidly. I bring a cooler and put the barite in a cooler to keep it from cracking due to rapid heat expansion
* Road: In the past, two wheel drive cars have been able to drive in to the trailhead. However, each year, the road changes. If road is damp and is rutted during the past winter, 2 wheel may have some difficulty. We shall try to find this year a different route that should be good for 2 wheel drive vehicles. Most people take in 4 wheel drive vehicles.
* Trail to digging area is fairly easy and less than 1/3 mile in length.
* Camping: Primitive camp at trailhead. About 7 miles from the Super 8 motel.
* Hazards; heat (no shade, have adequate protection from sun), lack of water (carry plenty), scorpions (every trip I see numerous), I have never seen nor heard about poisonous snakes in the area.
* Note: If it is raining in the area, the road, which is clay, becomes impassable even for a 4-wheel drive. May have to go to alternative site.

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Mile Hi RAMS Picnic Invitation

The Mile Hi Rock and Mineral Society have also invited the Flatirons Mineral Club to join them on their annual picnic in July 2005 at the club's claims in the Crystal Peak area.  The picnic is scheduled for July 16th.  The club supplies the meat and beverages.  Attendees are requested to bring a side dish of their choice.  The picnic meal is about noon.  This is also a field trip which includes both Saturday and  Sunday, the 16th & 17th.  FMC club members are welcome to come and dig for both days as they wish.  Dry camping is permitted on the club's claims.  The claims have in the past been a good place to dig for smoky quartz, amazonite, fluorite and other minerals.  Please contact Ron and Judy Knoshaug at 303-423-2923 for details.

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Franklin, New Jersey—Revisited, April 23 & 24, 2005

The “Trotter Diggg”

by John Hurst

Say, what is wrong with those rock collectors out there in New Jersey, are they really that “spelling challenged”?  Not really!  The three “Gs” used on the end of dig was intended to signify a triple dig on one weekend.  Who could resist digging fluorescent minerals in the self proclaimed “Fluorescent Capitol of the World”? They were offering newly turned material at both the Trotter Dump and the Buckwheat Dump on Saturday.  On Sunday the digging was slated for the Sterling Hill Mine in Ogdensburg, NJ.  Did I fail to mention two hours of night collecting at the Trotter Dump? Would you believe that they light up a 30 X 30 foot wall of the ore body (read as vein) for a spectacular night show? They had us drooling and seeing green and red!

Let’s see, now—motels and meals would be about $100.00 a day.  Say we plan on five days out and five days back, so that we can check out the mega Quilt Show in Paducah, KY and a couple of the Amish areas, and see a couple of relatives. Sounds like a thousand big ones right there.  Whoops, three nights in the Franklin area—the Internet motels were nearly all booked, and the ones you could find were in the $125 to $250 per night range.  It took several phone calls to find an available room, about 12 miles away, at the low, low rate of $79 per night, but tax would make it $90 per night.  Even “slumming” it, we were looking at a $1500.00 trip before paying for the rocks we’d dig at $1.00/ lb. for daytime digging and $2.00/ lb. for night digging at the Trotter Dump.  Don’t forget, they want liability insurance or you buy it at the site.  All the negatives sure seemed to outweigh the positives.  Tarnation! You’d have to be a little crazy to sucker for a deal like that. 

Enough boring details, suffice it to say—the “Tortoise Philosophy” was applied to help justify our decision: “You have to stick your neck out in order to get anywhere in life.” We simply had to stick our necks out a little more than we would like.

Highlights:   Above all, it was the warm reception and meeting U-V collectors from all over the world.  The Sterling Mine Tour is well worth the $9.50 admission, especially the Rainbow Room and the Thomas Warren Museum Also, we’d always heard that all the material at the Trotter Dump was just material hauled in from a variety of mines.  This myth, while partially true, was quickly dispelled as we dug in the main vein of the ore body of the Trotter Mine.  How do you like the sound of “Daylight Willemite”?  If most willemite is in the 100-watt range, this stuff must be about in the 300-watt range. The downside is that it is extremely dense and heavy and runs up your poundage fees.  They apparently mined out about 99% of the ore in the Trotter Mine before they started using it as a dump for tailings from other mines, hence the name by which we have known it, the “Trotter Dump”.  Mineral Highlights include the shortwave specimens of calcite fluorescing red, willemite fluorescing green, hydrozincite fluorescing blue, wollastonite fluorescing orange, “crazy calcite” a SW red and concrete fluorescing….Say, wait a minute, concrete isn’t a mineral! Well, for a human enhanced product it sure lights up!

Lowlights: Our new portable, 12 v. battery operated shortwave lamp mysteriously quit after about 2 hours of use.  It’s a good thing that we took our plug-in U-V lamps as back-ups. Second to that, it was the highest fuel cost that came in at $2.24 a gallon in Wisconsin. Worst of all, there was a 300 to 400 pound boulder packed solid with green and red fluorescent minerals that we had to leave behind.  Will they offer the dig next year? There are rumblings that the shakers and movers in the local clubs might throw in the towel on the annual dig. Such a move would make all these lowlights seem trivial.  To lose this opportunity would indeed be a tragedy. 

Jeff Winkler and all his tireless crew deserve credit for an extremely successful dig, where a 122 collectors all found great material and there were no injuries reported on site. Also the owner of the Trotter Dump, Steve Phillips, was happy with the whole weekend.

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CU Museum On-going Exhibitions

Stone Lace: The Fragile World of Florissant Fossils continues in the McKenna Room until Fall 2005.

Cliff Dwellings of the Southwest: Images by Claus Mroczynski continues in the 2nd Floor Hall Gallery until May 15, 2005.

All events and exhibitions are free and open to the public. Please visit http://cumuseum.colorado.edu or call the Museum at 303/492-6892 for more information. The CU Museum is located in the Henderson Bldg. on the University of Colorado, Boulder, Main Campus, 15th and Broadway.  The Museum is open Monday-Friday 9am-5pm, Saturday 9am-4pm, and Sunday 10am-4pm. Admission is free, but donations are welcome. Galleries are wheelchair accessible.

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Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere

May 4—June 1 (Wednesdays), “Fossils, Fossils, Fossils: An Introduction to Paleontology”, by Dr. Lou Taylor, research associate, DMNS Earth Sciences Dept.  Explore the science of paleontology.  Following a brief introduction to the history of life and basic geology, learn the scientific value of fossils and the basic methods of fossil collection and data recovery, curation, and study.  Wednesdays, 6:30 p.m.—8:30 p.m., DMNS Classroom 303; field trip Saturday, June 4, 8:00 a.m.—6:00 p.m., $125 member, $150 nonmember.

May 7, Colorado Mineral Society Silent Auction of minerals, rocks, gems, fossils, etc., 11:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. Holy Shepherd Lutheran Church, 920  Kipling Street, Denver.  For more information: http://www.coloradomineralsociety.org/

May 7 - 8, 2005, Grand Junction, CO. 58th Annual Gem, Mineral & Jewelry Show, "Mesa County Barite", Two Rivers Convention Center, 1st and Main, Grand Junction Gem & Mineral Club, Inc. Show Chairmen: Gary and Pat Briels, 301 Kava Way, Grand Junction, CO 81503, Phone 970-245-7925.

May 10, “Deep Earth Structure Beneath the Rocky Mountains”, by Dr. Anne Sheehan, Dept. of Geological Sciences and CIRES, University of Colorado at Boulder.  Geophysics is being used to explore hundreds of miles below the Rocky Mountains.  Waves from distant earthquakes help create tomographic images and map out details of subsurface structures.  Recent discoveries in this compelling research point to the importance of Earth’s mantle in the creation and support of mountain ranges, including the Rocky Mountains.

May 11, "The White River Formation", by Emmett Evanoff.   FFFB lecture series, Tutt Science Center, Colorado Springs, 7 p.m. 

May 14, geology field trip sponsored by the Colorado Scientific Society, to the Spanish Peaks area (south of La Veta, Colorado).  See the CSS web page (info to be posted in the future) for more info, http://www.coloscisoc.org/

May 14-15, Capital City Gem & Mineral Festival, Cheyenne, Wyoming Holiday Inn. May 14, 9-6 and May 15, 9-5 at the Holiday Inn located on the Southwest corner of I-80 and US 85. Admission $3.00, with 12 & under free. For details contact Paul Moot, phmjam@msn.com.

May 15, “Methods of Field Collecting”, Grades 2-8 + Adult.  DMNS all-day class: First, learn about the tools, materials, and methods paleontologists use to collect and prepare fossils for transport from the field to the Museum. Later in the day, head out to Dinosaur Ridge in Morrison for some exploring.  $75 member/pair, $85 nonmember/pair.  Bring sack lunch and drink.

Sun., May 15, Silent Auction, sponsored by the Colorado Chapter, Friends of Mineralogy. 1:00-3:00 p.m., Glendale Community Center, 999 S. Clermont St. (south of Kentucky St. and 2 blocks east of Colorado Blvd.; 2nd floor; please park in east lot, off Cherry St.).  For more information please call Bruce Geller, 303-237-2947.

May 21, Flame-A-Thon 2005, to support the HOPE Bracelet Project, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., at the new Bella Glass building, 3950 Wynkoop, Denver, CO 80216. Watch Metro-area glassworkers make lampworked glass beads, help sort thousands of donated beads and beading supplies for a worthy cause, tour the new Bella Glass shop and studio, and enjoy conversation and refreshments with fellow bead enthusiasts. Free admission, but donations to the project are welcome. Beadmaking volunteers: sign up for torch time at the HOPE Bracelet Website or call Betsy Wiersma, 720-200-0271. Non-beadmaking volunteers, please RSVP to Betsy, 720-200-0271. (Directions: I-70 to Washington, south 1 block past Brighton Blvd., left onto Wynkoop).

May 22-23, Rapid City, S.D. ROCK SWAP from 8 a.m. on May 22, to 4 p.m. May 23 at the Black Hills Speedway.  No Admission charge. More info: Jim Hardesty 665-393-2163 or E-mail: BIGJIM57703@peoplepe.com

May 27-30, Scottsbluff, NE ROCK SWAP: at Riverside Zoo Campground, 1600 S. Beltline Highway W.  Free Admission!  More info: Earl Noland, derocks@charter.net

June 11 - 12, 2005, Powell, WY, Wyoming State Mineral and Gem Show - "STONES and BONES", Park County Fairgrounds, 655 5th St. Hosted by Shoshone Rock Club (http://www.geocities.com/jacmac43/index.html). Show information: www.geocities.com/jacmac43hng-show05.htm .For further information contact: Mrs. Jane R Neal 1207 Rd 9 Powell WY 82435, 307-754-3285 or Mrs. Mary Ann Northrup, 736 Lane 13 Powell WY 82435, 307-754-4472. 

June 17 - 19, 2005, Colorado Springs, CO, The Colorado Springs Mineralogical Society will be hosting the Rocky Mountain Federation of Mineralogical Societies Show at its 41st annual Pikes Peak Gem & Mineral Show. The theme will be "Pikes Peak, A Rockhounds Paradise", featuring Colorado Gems, Minerals and Fossils. Five days of field trips will follow the show. CSMS will this year also be hosting The Rocky Mountain Micromineral Symposium. The symposium is co-sponsored by The Denver Museum of Nature and Science and The Friends of Mineralogy. For more information, call us at (719) 632-9686, e-mail us at csmsshow@cs.com or visit our website at www.csms.us.  Location: Phil Long Expo Center, 1515 Auto Mall Loop, Colorado Springs, CO.

Check Flatiron Mineral Club’s own web site for additional events, and further details:http://bcn.boulder.co.us/community/fmc/fmctk.htm

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Minutes of the Board Meeting– April 25, 2005
by Charlotte Morrison

Attending: Dennis Gertenbach, Ray Horton, Shirley Mehta, Paul Boni, Ray Gilbert, Gerry Naugle, Charlotte Morrison

Previous board meeting minutes were approved.  Treasurer's report was given and the club is financially solvent.  Historical information from former years' field trips was turned over to Dennis for analysis. Dennis is starting a listing of summer field trips led by members. Ray Horton will lead one to the Phoenix mine with the date TBD.  If you have a field trip that you would like to lead, please see Dennis.

The North Table Mtn. field trip on Apr. 16th was well attended, and Ray Gilbert  showed a spectacular Zeolite specimen he had gathered.  The FMC Jr. Geologist program was reviewed and is getting recognition from other clubs and mineral-related organizations.

The board re-confirmed the July 16th and 17th digging, camping and picnic activities with the RAMS Club and approved a joint project with the CU Museum for a "Florissant Shale Splitting" session which will be held as a members-only 'field trip' led by G. Naugle on Saturday October 8th at the museum on campus and will have a subsidy for the FMC members who RSVP (to Gerry Naugle) on first-come-first-serve basis of $3 per attendee.  RSVP list will be started at the May general club meeting and attendance is capped at 30 members by request of the museum.  Any specimens of common Florissant fossils can be kept by the finder, unless it is a new genus/species, in which case they keep it and it gets named after you, or your choice of a naming scheme.

Ray Horton reported that Marge Scanlon would like to attend a Wednesday night shop session at Charlotte's. The FMC board wishes to thank and recognize FMC members Ray Horton and Paul Ralston for their contributions in judging at the recently completed 50th anniversary Colo. State Science fair finals held at the CSU campus on April 8th, and especially Ray and Bruce Geller and the CMS club for providing 50th anniversary commemorative pins with a CMS logo on them for all participants at this event.

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Updated 4/14/08