The Unfound

Today I finally made it out again to search for some mysterious Topaz. I have used many different books and websites and today I followed some directions that sent me out to the town of Lund, Utah an old train town. The directions said the site was at SE section 12. I found a section map online for the area and proceeded to find the spot. My Fiancee and I followed the railroad tracks out a few miles and stopped when I could see some hills in the distance. Then we hiked out a few miles to where I thought the site was and we found some small sand dunes but no Topaz. After a short time we gave up searching and headed back toward the car pretty disappointed. On the way back we came across a horny toad which we held and then let go. I guess that's one of the fun aspects of rock hounding, its always better finding the rocks and minerals but if it was easier to do it wouldn't be as fun searching. Although we didn't find anything this time, Lund is a really great place to explore. It is surrounded by mineral filled mountains, in the center of Modena, Minersville and Millfard. I'm sure if you look around the local hills enough you are bound to find something worth collecting. To get to this site, you need to take Highway 56 out to Lund Highway and follow it out about 30 miles until you see the railroad tracks when you get there you will know. Look around the local hills and see what you can find. Just a note, you will want to bring water and snacks because it is very hot in the summer and there are no nearby services.

The Snow Crystals

As the winter seams to come to a close it turns around and dumps a new pile of snow. Although it looks amazing, like a pile of sparkly crystals, it's at the same time a drag that I can't get out and enjoy the countryside hidden beneath the snow. All the dirt roads are either covered in snow or too muddy to go down. While thinking of all the places to go explore and start up rock hounding again, one of my favorite spots comes to mind. The spot is on a hillside near the tiny town of Minersville and next to many large mine shafts. After researching the area, I found that it was loaded with lead which was mined, then sent up to the Salt Lake area and processed to make bullets. One of the mines there named the Lincoln Mine, was also stated to be possibly the oldest mine in Utah. Later, it was found that some of the metal they mined was silver and assumed to be melted into some of the only ever silver bullets. The last time I was there, I was so drawn into those massive mines but held myself at about fifteen feet in after seeing that they have collapsed quite a bit about fifty feet past the point where I stood. From the entrance there is a very refreshing cool breeze that blows at you from the heart of the shafts and make it even harder to stay at the entrance. While walking around near the shafts numerous dump sites you can find many interesting rocks and minerals. Some that I was able to find were, really nice pyrite crystals, fluorite which is a square shaped crystal and had a very shiny finish, as well as malachite. I know if you spend much time there you will find a much greater variety than I did and really enjoy your time doing so. To find the spot you need to find minersville which is west of highway beaver on highway 21 or north from cedar city on the minersville highway. Once you get to minersville the 21 turns north and you need to continue going north from the town around three mile. Look to you right and you should be able to see the mines on the hillside continue until you find a road headed up that way and take it. This is a really amazing spot for finding collectible rocks. The mines look very inviting and in most cases I would go in and find the end but these mines are not in solid rock and very unstable. Any wrong move will leave you trapped in the mine or under a pile of dirt so please use my advice and stay out. The rocks you can collect are scattered all around the outside of the mines in the dump piles not inside. Hope you enjoy this and check back to find out about another great place to search.

Rockhounding Country

In the giant sprawling metropolis known Cedar City you can find endless day and night excitement. From our very immense skyscrapers also known as Motel 6 and Comfort Inn etc. to our enormous university of nearly 7,000 students. Some of our many night time activities include walking around Walmarts' many exciting aisles to dreaming in your bed. What Cedar City lacks in size and amenities it grossly replaces with its endless forests and geological formations. Within a half hour you can drive to the deep red cliffs known as Cedar Breaks National Monument, an hour and a half you can drive to Zion, one of the most amazing US National Parks that is being preserved today, or if you prefer Bryce Canyon, and Great Basin National parks two and a half hours from town as well as the Grand Canyon not very much farther. With so much geology and very small cities, Southern Utah makes for one of the greatest rock hounding sites in the country and quit possibly the world. The very local hills to us contain more Iron than you could imagine and I was told some of it is pure enough that you can weld directly to it. In and around these massive man made craters (Iron queries) just 20 minutes west of Cedar City on Highway 56 you can find not only some very nice chunks of iron but also some really nice pieces of Galena, Iron Oxide Crystals, which are very nice brown colored crystals and one of my favorites, Amethyst, as well as many other very nice crystals and rocks. While you are there try to find a query with a lake at the bottom, the water is on of the most amazing blue-green turquoise color you could think of. If you get bored some weekend and want something fun to do try to find this spot and go explore as much as you can. Keep checking back for more blogs about my trips to some of the best rock hounding places I have found as well as some of the best geologic formations around Southern Utah.