I would like to thank all of the club members who attended and assisted with the annual silent auction held
on April 12th at the West Boulder Senior Center.

We had a good turnout of buyers and sellers and your club earned around $700 after paying all the sellers, I’m satisfied with very good results. Club treasurer Alex Cook will have a more exact amount to report at the next general club meeting held on May 10th, again at the WBSC, starting at 7:15pm.

We are entering the field trips season, so please check the rest of this newsletter and subsequent newsletters for information updates.

If I may make an additional pitch to club members who haven’t signed up to get their FMC newsletters by e-mail over the internet: We often send out short-notice advisories, updates or bulletins via e-mail, but only the 65+% FMC members with e-mail get these messages. We thank Charlotte Morrison for making the effort of phoning the other 35% who haven’t signed up for e-mail. If you don’t yet have e-mail, your FMC membership is an excellent reason to consider making the switch! Additionally, you get speed-of-light delivery on production day, full color digital photos--saves trees, club printing and mailing costs and volunteer people-time to fold, process and mail the black & white paper newsletters, this with USPS mailing costs going up on
May 14th, 2007. We thank Charlotte, Lou Yoder and the Hortons very much for performing all of the various volunteer work needed on the sending of the paper newsletters over the years.

So, send me an e-mail and I will be glad to get you signed-up and changed over to the best possible newsletter and short-notice message delivery system ever invented. Thanks.

****************

May Club Meeting: Pseudomorphs  

For our May program, we are fortunate to have club member Donn Cook, retired physics and science teacher from Orange County, California, present a talk and slide show on pseudomorphs. Photos of his own collection, and from other collections will be shown. Donn has an excellent educational approach, and this talk will be especially enjoyable for our Junior Geologists.

****************

Field Trip to the White Raven Mine

Mark your calendars! The Flatirons Mineral Club has been given permission to hunt for specimens on the tailings of the White Raven Mine. The field trip will be on Saturday, June 23 and will be led by Todd Shannon. The field trip will be limited to 20 people so sign up early. A sign-up sheet will be available at the May meeting. You can also contact Todd by email or by phone.

The tailings are very rich with specimens of honey-colored calcite, white tabular barite, cubo-octahedral galena, red and black siderite, silver, pyromorphite, and pyrite. Todd and Cory will bring specimens that they have found at this locality to the next club meeting.

This will be a great trip for everyone, especially kids. There are minimal dangers and the approach is nonexistent; we will park right next to and on top of the tailings pile. Recommended tools are: shovel, pick, hammer, chisel, and gloves. A metal detector might be useful. Don’t forget a BIG bucket and newspaper for your numerous finds!

See the field trip listings for other exciting field trips on the schedule.

 

****************

Members Corner

What does it mean to you to belong to Flatirons Mineral Club?

Soon, we will be mailing a member survey to you, the FMC members, to find out why you joined the club, what you really enjoy about the club, and what you would like to see changed. Of course, no club can be all things to all people, but we would certainly like to find out if our members are pleased with the club, or not! We hope that you will participate by responding to the survey and letting us know - what does belonging to Flatirons Mineral Club mean to you?

Thanks to members who have recently renewed their memberships!

Member questions and comments can be e-mailed to: fmcmemberinfo@comcast.net

 

****************

Show Committee Meeting
Ray Gilbert (Show Chair)

The Show Committee will meet on May 15, at 7:15 PM. The location is Ray Gilbert’s house, 4629 WCR4 Berthoud. Park on grass in front or south side of house. Call if you get lost. If you need a map, contact Ray. I will bring maps at the next club meeting (May 10). We will discuss cancellation insurance (which the Board has approved), Floor plan layout, (suggestions needed). Advertising, Kids area, Demo. area, Food vender, UV room, etc. Hope to see you at the meeting. New volunteers are welcome.
 

****************

Club Lapidary Equipment for Use
 

The club has several pieces of lapidary equipment that is set up and ready to use in Charlotte Morrison's basement. The equipment is available for use by all club members. In addition, Charlotte allows members to use her equipment, too. Charlotte opens her house to members every Wednesday evening, except for the week that the club meeting is on. Members can also use the equipment on weekends. If you are interested in using the equipment, please contact Charlotte, 10 A.M. to 8 P.M. If you would like to learn how to use the equipment, arrangements can be made with Charlotte to have an experienced club member join you and show you how.

****************

Field Trips Schedule
Dennis Gertenbach

Here are the field trips we have scheduled so far. More will be added as the summer continues. To sign up for a trip, contact the trip leader or sign up at the next monthly club meeting.

Bookcliffs, outside of Grand Junction on May 19 and 20. We will be the guests of the North Jeffco club for a weekend hunting for barite crystals in the Bookcliffs. Trip Leader: Dennis Gertenbach.

Kremmling on Saturday June 16 to collect Cretaceous fossils, including clams and ammonites. We will stop at the Kremmling Giant Ammonite site, where ammonites up to three feet across were found. (You can’t collect there, but the molds of these creatures are pretty impressive to see.) Trip Leader: Dennis Gertenbach.

White Raven Mine on Saturday, June 23. Collecting sulfide minerals and silver. Trip Leader: Todd Shannon

Deckers – date to be determined. Collecting trilobites, brachiopods, and other invertebrates. Trip Leader: Dennis Gertenbach.

If you have a place that you would like to take club members or a place you have never been to and would like to explore with others in the club, consider leading a trip. You can find out more information about leading a trip from Dennis Gertenbach.

****************

Bring Your Field Trip Finds
Dennis Gertenbach

If you found some great specimens at one of our club field trips, or on a trip of your own, please bring them to the next club meeting to show others. Everyone enjoys learning where to collect specimens and what can be found.

****************

Jr. Geologists Work on Lapidary Arts Badge

This past month, the Jr. Geologists have starting working on the Lapidary Arts badge. After learning about the various types of equipment used to make lapidary and jewelry, the various types of rocks that are used for lapidary projects, and shop safety, they began working on their projects. Hopefully, they will bring their projects to an upcoming club meeting.

The Jr. Geologists program is open to all Flatirons Mineral Club families. We meet on the third Thursday of each month at 7 p.m.; mark your calendars for the next meeting on May 17. For more information about the Jr. Geologists program, please contact Dennis Gertenbach or Todd Shannon.
 

****************

April Field Trips
by Dennis Gertenbach

The club went on two field trips this past month. Here’s a rundown on these great trips:

North Table Mountain Field Trip: Although we were snowed out on April 7, the rescheduled trip had fabulous weather on April 28. About 20 club members, along with several guests from the North Jeffco club, joined us for a day of collecting zeolites and other minerals on North Table Mountain outside of Golden. Everyone found great specimens to add to their collection from this world-famous collecting site.

Holcim Quarry Field Trip: Members of our club were guests of the Colorado Springs club on their field trip to the Holcim cement quarry, outside of Florence, on Saturday, April 21. The site is known for unique pyrite nodules that are found in the limestone at the quarry. Club members also collected Inoceramus clams and calcite crystals. We want to thank the Colorado Springs club for allowing us to join them on this trip.
 

****************

Silent Auction a Success!!

This year’s silent auction was a great success, adding over $700 to the club treasury. Everyone went home with some great bargains, and the sellers did well.

Thank you to all the club members who helped make the auction such a great success.

****************

Joe Connelly

Long-time FMC member and FMC past president in 1980 and 1981, Joe Connelly passed away on April 18th in Colorado Springs. He is survived by his wife Juanita. Joe spoke to the club gathering at the 50th anniversary meeting on March 9th.

The FMC board will transfer $50 to the scholarship fund in his name, and anyone who is interested in making a donation to the FMC scholarship fund in his name can do so by sending a check to the FMC, P.O. Box 3331 Boulder, CO 80307

****************

Claudia R.Tripp

Claudia Reed Tripp, the wife of club co-founder Don Tripp passed away on Feb 25th of this year. Charlotte Morrison and Gerry Naugle attended her memorial service on April 28th at the First Christian Church in Boulder.

The FMC exec board has voted a $50 contribution to the club scholarship fund in her name. Anyone wishing to donate to the FMC Scholarship Fund in her name, or, for hers and Don's memory can do so by sending a check to the FMC, P.O. Box 3331, Boulder, CO 80307

Note: Families are now notified of memorial donations by a proper and nice announcement written and sent on FMC electronic-stationery and an entry is made in the newly made FMC Scholarship Program Scroll document in MS Word. This document can be e-mailed, stored and printed for viewing at any time. Inquiries should be sent to Gerry Naugle.
 

****************

Fossils in the News
By Dennis Gertenbach

Tracks of Birds and Dinosaurs Found Together

Denver paleontologist Martin Lockley has now described the tracks of roadrunner-like birds that skittered under the feet of dinosaurs 125 million years ago. Experts say the discovery from China means there were many more types of birds living with dinosaurs than once thought.

Up to a decade ago, scientists had only a few fossils of marine birds that soared around during the age of the dinosaurs. It was thought that birds were not very diverse during the age of the dinosaurs. However, recent discoveries have found ancient birds with short beaks, long beaks, some that ate seeds and others that had insects in their stomachs when they died. This latest discovery shows bird tracks that are almost indistinguishable from modern roadrunners, according the Dr. Lockley, and may have been able to run 5 miles per hour. This speed may have helped them elude carnivorous dinosaurs or to run down prey.

Ancient Lizard Used Its Ribs to Glide from Tree to Tree

Researchers in China have uncovered the remains of an ancient lizard that glided through the air on membranes supported by eight elongated ribs. Named Xianglong zhaoi, the bizarre animal, lived in treetops during the early Cretaceous period, about 144 million years ago. The 6-inch-long fossil skeleton was found in Liaoning province in northeastern China and included the preserved imprints of its wing membranes. Fully
extended, the wings would have been about 4.5 inches across.

Other gliding creatures can be found today, including flying squirrels, frogs, and lemurs. There is even a gliding lizard found in Southeast Asia. However, X. zhaoi is the only known gliding fossil lizard. The scientists reporting this find point how that all of these creatures developed their gliding abilities independently, an example of nature developing the same useful ability in unrelated species.

A picture of this strange creature can be found at http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/03/070320-gliding-lizard.html?source=rss.

Dinosaur That Cared for Its Young in Dens

The fossil remains of small dinosaurs that burrowed into the ground have been found by scientists in Montana. The 95-million-year-old bones are from an adult and two juveniles and were unearthed in a chamber at the end of a 7-foot-long tunnel filled with sediment. The researchers say the discovery is the first definitive evidence that some dinosaurs dug dens and cared for their young in such structures.

The Montana dinosaurs have been given the name Oryctodromeus cubicularis, meaning, "digging runner of the lair". The adult animal was nearly 7 feet long, including a 4-foot-long tail. The animals’ snout, shoulders, and pelvis have features that would allow the animal to dig into the ground, indicating that this dinosaur dug the den, rather than just finding a den to rear it’s young.

The tunnel structure was sloping and had two sharp turns before ending in a chamber. The team reporting this finding says its structure is similar to the dens of modern burrowers, such as the striped hyena, puffins, and some rodents.

Mammals Have Been Flying as Long as Birds

A newly found fossil of a flying squirrel-like mammal called Volaticotherium antiquus (ancient gliding beast) demonstrates that mammals have been flying as long as birds. The fossil was found in Inner Mongolia in 125million-year-old sediments, about 70 million years early than any other mammal fossil found to date and was capable of gliding flight.

Paleontologists have named the squirrel-sized mammal, Volaticotherium antiquus (meaning "ancient gliding beast"). The fossil preserves the animal's skeleton, as well as an impression of most of a large fold of skin membrane that stretched between the animal's fore and hind limbs, providing direct evidence that the animal was capable of gliding flight. The recovered fossil vertebrae suggest that the animal had a long, stiff tail that served as a stabilizing rudder during gliding flight. The sharp teeth of V. antiquus provide evidence that this mammal was an insectivore.
 

****************

GEOdyssey's 10th Anniversary Sale

Help us celebrate and reduce our inventory at our mineral and fossil "Garage Sale." A wide variety of individual specimens and low priced flats will be available. We also have a few household items--framed prints, fountains—for sale.

Saturday, June 16, 2007 10:00 am to 4:00 pm
15339 West Ellsworth Drive 303-279-5504
Golden CO

Directions: from west 6th Avenue, exit onto Indiana Street and go south on Indiana. Drive into 6th Avenue West Estates. Turn right at the first street (McIntyre Circle) and right at the next street (Ellsworth Drive). We are about midway down the street on the left.
 

****************

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge Arthur Lakes Events

Friends of Dinosaur Ridge have scheduled some excellent trips and events throughout 2007, celebrating the pioneering work of paleontologist Arthur Lakes. Listed below are some of these events; more will be listed in future issues of the newsletter. (Trips for which there is a charge or are limited by vehicle capacity require advance registration.)

Ramble 3: Saturday, May 12. Drive up Golden Gate Canyon, Beth Simmons, leader. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Time: 9:30 AM -1:30 PM. Bring picnic lunch. Topic: Explore Golden Gate Canyon as it was in 1880. Admission: Free, Restrictions: Vanosaurus limitation to 14.

Ramble 4: Sunday, May 20. Hike up Green Mountain, Dr. Pete Modreski, leader. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Time: 9:30 AM -1:30 PM. Bring filled backpack. Topic: Explore Green Mountain along the route that Arthur Lakes took his students. Admission: Free. Restrictions: Vanosaurus limited to 14. Extra drivers may caravan behind.

Ramble 5: Sunday, June 10. Hike up South Table Mountain to Castle Rock, Harald Drewes, leader. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center Time: 9:30 AM -1:30 PM. Bring picnic lunch. Topic: Explore South Table Mountain and Castle Rock along the route that Arthur Lakes took his students, perhaps the T-rex tooth site! Admission: Free. Restrictions: Vanosaurus limited to 14. Extra drivers may caravan behind.

Ramble 6: Weekend - July 14/15: Trip to Como Bluff, Brent Breithaupt, leader. Follow John McIntosh’s and Michael Kohl’s book, Discovering Dinosaurs, The Field Journals of Arthur Lakes. Also Read Marsh’s Dinosaurs, The Collections from Como Bluff, by John H. Ostrom and John S. McIntosh, 1966. Meeting place: Meet on Saturday at noon in Laramie. Rent a van in Laramie for transportation to the Como Bluffs site. Time: two full days of driving and exploring. Topic: Experience Como Bluffs with Arthur Lakes. Admission: $40.00 per person Restrictions: Van limited to 12.

Ramble 7: Sunday, August 5, South Park & Florissant Mike Kohl, John Ghist, Beth Simmons, leaders. Follow Kohl’s book, Discovering Dinosaurs, The Field Journals of Arthur Lakes. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Time: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM. Topic: Tour the places Lakes visited numerous times, the sites where he found fossils, see the original map he painted of ancient Lake Florissant. Admission: $40.00 per person. Restrictions: Rental van limited to 15. Three leaders take 3 seats, so 12. Food: Box lunch provided, Dutch treat dinner stop in Woodland Park.

Ramble 8: Sunday, August 19 - Trip to Buffalo Peak, Beth Widman, CGS, leader. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Time: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM A full day of driving, hiking, and exploring. Topic: Repeat Lakes’ hike up Buffalo Peak. Admission: $40.00 per person. Restrictions: Rental van limited to 15. Two leaders take 2 seats, so 13. Food: Box lunch provided, Dutch treat dinner stop in Fairplay.

Ramble 9: Sunday, September 23, Clear Creek Canyon to Green Lake, Beth Simmons & Jack Reed, leaders, Bill Wilson, Ride the Loop. Meeting Place: Dinosaur Ridge Visitor’s Center. Time: 8:00 AM - 8:00 PM. Topic: Repeat Lakes’ many trips to Idaho Springs and Georgetown. As Lakes did, ride the narrow gauge railroad “Over the Loop” between Georgetown and Silver Plume. Admission: $70.00 per person includes “Loop” ticket price. Restrictions: Rental van limited to 15. Two leaders take 2 seats, so 13. Food: Box lunch provided at Green Lake, Dutch treat dinner stop in Empire.
 

****************

Upcoming Events, Nearby & Elsewhere 

Friday, May 11, 7:30 p.m., Denver Gem & Mineral Guild Silent Auction, Berthoud Hall, Colorado School of Mines campus. For more information: Bob Parks, rpark77@comcast.net.

Saturday, May 12, 1:00-3:00 p.m., Friends of Mineralogy Silent Auction, at Clements Community Center, 1580 Yarrow (near Colfax and Wadsworth), Lakewood; from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. "Reasonably priced minerals, faceted stones, books, and mining paraphernalia to the general public. There will be a special verbal auction at 2:00 p.m. of museum quality specimens donated by special dealers". For more info call Bruce Geller, 303-237-2947.

May 12-13, Capitol City Gem, Rock & Mineral Show, Sat. 9-6, Sun. 10-4, Adm. $3.00. Holiday Inn, 204 West Fox Farm Road Cheyenne, WY. Show Info: Paul Moot 1-307-634-6773

May 12-13, Grand Junction Club (GJC&MC) 60th Annual Show, Two Rivers Plaza, Grand Junction. Contact person: austinb244@aol.com. Note: a map and address for the club can be found by typing "grand junction mineral club" as the key-words into the www.Google.com search box.

Thursday, May 17*, 7:30 p.m., the bimonthly meeting of the Colorado Chapter, Friends of Mineralogy, will feature the new DMNS geology curator and earth science department chair, Dr. Paul Morgan, giving a "behind-the-scenes tour" of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science Mineral Hall. All are welcome; meet in the V.I.P. Room, DMNS. *Please note, we are just in the process of rescheduling the date for this meeting; it may be May 3 or 17. If you are interested in coming, please contact Pete Modreski, or Richard Parsons, FMCC president, richard.parsons@att.net, 303-838-8859.

May 19-20, Rapid City Fairburn Swap, Rapid City, South Dakota. Contact: Jim Hardesty, Rapid City.

May 20, The Colorado Scientific Society will be hosting a one-day Symposium on the Volcanoes of Colorado to be held at the UNC campus, Greeley, CO, Saturday, May 20. Details will be posted on the CSS website, http://www.coloscisoc.org/


May 25-28, Scottsbluff, NE Rock Swap, Riverside Zoo Campground, 1600 S. Beltline Highway West, Scottsbluff, Nebraska. Show Info: Sherman Lehnhart 1308-436-4888

May 26-28, Large Sale of Minerals and Equipment, Chuck Allen, 9515 S. Flower Way, Littleton, 720-922-2906. Much lapidary equipment, tumbling equipment, finished and rough material, and specimens.
 

June 23-24, Colorado Springs 43rd Annual Show, Phil Long Exposition Center, www.csms.us
 

August 9-12, Contin-Tail Continental Tailgate, Buena Vista, Colo. Rodeo Grounds. Colorado’s largest outdoor gem and mineral show. Admission free. In conjunction with Buena Vista Gold Rush Days. 303-833-2939 or 720-938-4194. www.coloradorocks.org/contin-tail.htm
 

****************

Calendar of Events

May 10 FMC CLUB MEETING, 7:00 PM, WEST
BOULDER SENIOR CTR., 9TH & ARAP.
Donn Cook, on pseudomorphs.
May 15 SHOW COMMITTEE MEETING, 7:15 PM At Ray Gilbert’s house, see p. 2
May 17 JUNIOR GEOLOGISTS MEETING, 7:00 PM Dennis Gertenbach, 303-462-3522
June 14 FMC CLUB MEETING, 7:00 PM, WEST
BOULDER SENIOR CTR., 9TH & ARAP.
Program to be announced
June 21 JUNIOR GEOLOGISTS MEETING, 7:00 PM Dennis Gertenbach, 303-462-3522
June 25 FMC BOARD MEETING, 7:15 PM At Alex Cook’s house
 

****************

Return to Facets Index

Return to Flatirons Mineral Club Home Page

Return to Boulder Community Network home page

Updated 5/9/07