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Discussion: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
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 kabnfvr |
Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 6 2008, 4:47 PM EDT So, it was WET and MUDDY, but we had a great time! It took us exactly 2 hours from my house so we arrived at 10:30 am. There was still snow on the ground in places so you can imagine the mud. Even when it warms up, you might consider wearing wear rubber boots, rubber gloves and clothes that you don't care about. YOU ARE GOING TO GET WET! (I've washed my shirt 3 times and can't get the "iron mud" out of it). Also, watch out for the repaired screens because they will rip your gloves. <p> It took us some time to figure out what we were looking for and locate a good stash in the pile of dirt you ultimately take to the sluice. (Ignore the forest service rangers who tell you to dig in the “dry dirt” first because it’s “easier”) The key is to move around the dirt pile until you find an area that has garnets. I think we found the majority of our garnets the last hour. Don’t spend more than a few minutes on each screen, they are either in there, or they’re not! <p> I noticed that someone with a handicap sticker drove up to drop off a person who couldn’t walk the ½ mile from the parking area to the garnet site. It's uphill and a fair hike. For your $10 they provide all the equipment, so wear your rubber boots, a hat for shade (or rain) and pack a good lunch with plenty of water. I overheard a discussion that weekends can get so busy that you have to wait your turn to use the sluice. With 30+ people, it was a bit crowded already but we were still able to use all the equipment without waiting. There is no shade & only 3 picnic tables. Check out my album at http://cash-and-treasures-wiki.travelchannel.com/album/18496/kabnfvr. Worth the trip but if you expect to bring home handfulls of gem quality garnet - forget it! For every 100 garnets you find, you MIGHT find one star garnet worth making into jewelry. In our almost 2# of stones - I think we have a couple that MIGHT have potential. Kabnfvr Do you find this valuable? |
 pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 6 2008, 8:10 PM EDT Hey Kabnfvr, excellent report and pictures! it looks like you had a good time. Now that you are experienced would you do it again? It looks like you got a lot of garnets. 2#'s sound like a lot. How do you decide what may be gem quality and what isn't Do the rangers help ID the good ones? But $10 and a couple hours of driving, it would seem that it would take much to make back your investment if you wanted to look at it like that. But it looks fun! I take it everyone was finding garnets as well. Ok here is a question for you, of the 2 #'s you found, how many garnets is that? Like how many possible gemmy garnets did you find? Also the agate material, looks like you have quite a bit for tumbling. Is there any color to the agates? That is great to be able to find extra goodies other then the garnets. Hey are the garnets clear at all? Translucent I guess. Just wondering if any was facetable or if they are all stony looking. It looked like a fun successful trip. It is just like any other dig the material you work generally the more goodies you will find. Haw many buckets did you run? You have any idea? At least if you want you could always tumble the garnets just to see if there may be another star garnet or maybe some small ones that my be good. Anyway, it looks like a good time was had by all. Gives us wanna go's some info as to what to bring and be prepared for. Hey if someone was staying on the north end of Lake Coeur D' Lane about how long would it take to travel down to the dig? You have any idea? Thanks Kabnfvr for the report. Hey did you husband like the dig? What a kick!! I wanna go!!! lol Do you find this valuable? |
 washatonian |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 6 2008, 8:34 PM EDT Thanks for the opener update.Sounds like weekdays might be in order there. Look forward to your final garnet assessment. good job Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 7 2008, 1:09 PM EDT "Thanks for the opener update.Sounds like weekdays might be in order there. Look forward to your final garnet assessment. good job"I wanna go.... Do you find this valuable? |
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washatonian |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 7 2008, 2:24 PM EDT Wonder if they provide a shuttle up the hill for us physicaly challenged.Hey Sharon how's the campground look or did you get an opportunity to check it out? Andy Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 7 2008, 5:25 PM EDT If I remember rigt, and Sharon mention this as well, that if you have handicap doohic'r thingy bobber you can let the rangers know and they will let you drive up to the site. I don't know if the rig can stay there or if someone has to drive it back down to the parking lot and then walk back up, but yeah, handicapped folks can drive in. Do you find this valuable? |
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kabnfvr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 8 2008, 11:27 AM EDT Hi Paul, Yes, I'd do it again in a heart beat. You know, it's all about "the hunt" so even though it was a lot of work, there is always the chance you'll find something great! Regarding the the rangers, there are there to help you. They frequently came around asking to help out. If I was going to do the math on this trip, I'd have to admit that the return may not make it worth it. That said ... I'm a slow learner I guess. It took us most of the day to figure outt where in the pile to dig and what to keep. One of the rangers told us to tumble our garnets with Soft Scrub to determine which were good. There were other people taking 5 lbs each and their garnets were much bigger than the majority of ours. I'm going back tomorrow with my grandkids so will share my results then as well... Everyone found garnets - I'd just say don't spend too much time pouring over each screen. One of the rangers told me that the #2 garnets make good tumbling grit so I'll likely use them that way. If you plan to facet, then I likely found many more because you can but out the fractures. I want to make a cabachon with mine so only the very dark, glassy stones will work. Of those, we only found a couple. If either of those polish up to make a 4 or 6 ray star garnet, then I absolutely got enough to pay for my day. I'd say I went through a dozen buckets of "sifted" material. (there are 2 stages, you take the dirt/rock out of a big pile and sift the loose dirt and big rocks out - THEN you take that material to the sluice box). Overall, we likely sifted out 25 buckets of raw material. We live 25 miles north of Coeur d'Alene, so if you were staying on the north side of CDA lake, you could likely make the trip in 90 minutes. I'm dragging our camper so I'll update everyone on the campground soon - Sharon Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 8 2008, 12:31 PM EDT HI Sharon, great info and good luck and have fun tomorrow with the grand kids. You may not be able to work as much material, but who cares as long as the grand kids are having fun. That is a good idea tumbling with Soft Scrub. I have tumbled garnets with no grit before to clean off the outside junk to see if there is good clear ones in the batch. Samething you will be doing. But don't run them too long. You might want to check after a day or so. Did the rangers give you a recommended run time? Hope you find some that may be worth while. So I take it when you get there quickly do test buckets around the pile to find a hot spot and then work that area fast and hard. Can you take a pic of the pile. Just wonder how big it is. Well 90 minutes wouldn't be that long of a trip. At least Val and Jen can hang out at a nice place while Jeff and I run down and get dirty. lol To bad the rangers have to weight the finds as it would be nice to bag the wached material and then take it home where you could search it when you have more time. That way you could run a lot more material. It sounds like a kick! I gotta make there sometime. Have fun tomorrow! Paul Do you find this valuable? |
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washatonian |
RE: Star garnets of Idaho
Jun 10 2008, 8:54 AM EDT Researcher from the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering have for the first time determined the cause of the “star” in Idaho’s famous star garnet, the official state gem of the Gem State. Idaho is one of only three places in the world that are known to have star garnets. While simple curiosity initially instigated the research, the work promises to be of interest, particularly in high technology industries, says Grant Norton, professor in the School of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and associate dean of research and graduate programs for the College of Engineering and Architecture. Crystals with the garnet structure are used in solid-state lasers and are being studied for use in radiation detectors. Norton and a colleague first wondered about the stars’ origins after walking into a local jewelers a few years ago. While there was suspicion of their origin, nobody really knew what caused them. Using donated garnets from the jewelers, Norton and Maxime Guinel, a graduate student in materials science, used transmission electron microscopy to determine conclusively for the first time that the star is caused by inclusions of rutile, a mineral composed of titanium oxide, in the garnet. The star can either contain six rays or four, based on the orientation of the tiny needles of rutile. They also determined the microstructural characteristics that affect the quality of the star. Their results were published in the Journal of Materials Science. via Council Reporter, 1/07; from WSU Fall 2006 Innovation - College of Engineering and Architecture Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Star garnets of Idaho
Jun 11 2008, 12:06 AM EDT interesting info. thanks Andy. Paul Do you find this valuable? |
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kabnfvr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 11 2008, 1:13 PM EDT The kids and I didn't do as well on our hunt however it had rained for a week and the MUD was even worse. It was so sticky that my granddaughter's mud boot came off while she was carrying her bucket from the pile. Sorry that I didn't get a picture of it. The pile changes because the USFS adds to it. I'd say the pile is 30 feet high and about 45 feet around. They use dump trucks to bring it in. The pile had changed since we were there so the good place we were digging in the 1st day was no longer there. It had been covered and we didn't find much from the "cover dirt". My grandson and I each found 11 ounces and my granddaughter only got 5 ounces. (she quit having fun after she lost her boot in the mud) It was VERY hard work trying to sift mud so that contributed to our lower numbers. The locals shared that it's not at all uncommon to take your whole 5#'s later in the year when it's easier digging. It's a good idea to bring your own rock hammer because the rangers only have a few and ran out before we arrived. You need to break open some of the raw material to find garnets and we weren't able to do so unless we borrowed a hammer. (slowed us down some) I was aggravated that I'd not brought my own. We may go back on Friday before the kids go home but I think they'd enjoy Saddle Mtn and Petrified wood. After the mud at Emerald Creek - they'd think digging for wood would be a cake walk! lol... Sharon (kabnfvr) Do you find this valuable? |
 TallTomSr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 11 2008, 5:36 PM EDT Hi Sharon Great post. I wish you had gotten the boot pic too I can just see her face,,lol. Saddle mtn would be great for youngens and they would definately find alot of treasures for grandma to carry home,,lol Tom Do you find this valuable? |
 washingtoncougar |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 11 2008, 8:00 PM EDT kabnfvr great info on the Emerald Creek Star Garnet site. RockPuppy and I would like to get that way sometime this summer but unfortunetly it would be on a weekend. Great Pics looks as if everyone had a wonderful time. Dave Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 11 2008, 10:18 PM EDT "The kids and I didn't do as well on our hunt however it had rained for a week and the MUD was even worse. It was so sticky that my granddaughter's mud boot came off while she was carrying her bucket from the pile. Sorry that I didn't get a picture of it. The pile changes because the USFS adds to it. I'd say the pile is 30 feet high and about 45 feet around. They use dump trucks to bring it in. The pile had changed since we were there so the good place we were digging in the 1st day was no longer there. It had been covered and we didn't find much from the "cover dirt". My grandson and I each found 11 ounces and my granddaughter only got 5 ounces. (she quit having fun after she lost her boot in the mud) It was VERY hard work trying to sift mud so that contributed to our lower numbers. The locals shared that it's not at all uncommon to take your whole 5#'s later in the year when it's easier digging. It's a good idea to bring your own rock hammer because the rangers only have a few and ran out before we arrived. You need to break open some of the raw material to find garnets and we weren't able to do so unless we borrowed a hammer. (slowed us down some) I was aggravated that I'd not brought my own. We may go back on Friday before the kids go home but I think they'd enjoy Saddle Mtn and Petrified wood. After the mud at Emerald Creek - they'd think digging for wood would be a cake walk! lol...Hi sharon, great info. Yeah I should have thought that there would be enough people around to destroy the pile each day thus new material being brought down to rebuild the pile. I guess do the prospect buckets and when you find a hot spot, dig like crazy there. That would have been a site with your granddaughter losing her boot in the mud. To bad that sort of ended her fun. But she did get some garnets though. Now why would you need a rock hammer. Are there garnet still in the matrix?? It would be yucky in the mud. What a bummer. Hey how many garnets are you allowed to get per visit? Is there a limit? Oh yeah the kids will love Saddle mtn. The treasures are laying everywhere. With the MT sapphire trip now up in the air right now, we are talking about going to hunt garnets instead. Just don't know exactly when right now. But I think we would plan on a mid week visit if we could. At least I could hope. lol Hey how was the campground and what was there? Thanks for the info. Paul Do you find this valuable? |
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kabnfvr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 12 2008, 12:30 AM EDT Hi Paul, The rock hammer is to break up the matrix around the garnets... some of the prospectors were calling it "sugar garnet" but if you break it up, you'll often find garnets inside. You can take out "up to" 5#s of garnets each day. Regarding the campground, only 5 campsites were occupied, so it had 13 more available. I only saw "2" pull-though sites and of course, they were the ones being used. The campground was typical "mountain" sites....not spectacular, but "ok". The road around it was paved but the sites themselves were gravel. One of the rangers told me that the mosquitos are pretty bad later in the year so you'll definately want a camper or screened tent (or really good bug spray). I only recall seeing one set of restrooms but there could have been another one that I missed. The nice thing is that it's only 2 miles from the garnet site. There are more campsites in Clarkia, 10 miles away. We drove through there and it was a very sleepy little town with VERY little activity. Two miles further south was the Fossil Bowl. (it's a motorcycle race track where fossils have been found - for $8 you can hunt for fossils but it's noisy). As we were turning around, we saw a sign showing another road back to the garnet site that said 4 miles (apparently a short cut). Just food for thought regarding camping... Let me know when any of you head this way - I may be able to espace to go with you! ;-) Sharon Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 12 2008, 12:42 AM EDT Hey Sharon, thanks for the info. It is all great stuff. Can even find fossils near by. A person could spend several days there easy. I will definately let you know when we are planning to go. It would be great to go with someone that has been there before and has all the secrets. lol wow 5#'s, there ought to be a few stars in there one would think. Have you worked any of yours yet? You going to head to Saddle mtn Friday? Paul Do you find this valuable? |
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kabnfvr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 13 2008, 12:06 AM EDT The grandkids have kept me hopping... Besides Emerald Creek on Monday, we went to Republic, WA to search for fossils and today was Saddle Mtn. I haven't had time to work any of the finds yet however we will stay home the next couple of days so the kids can make some jewelry with their finds. We'll post pictures if any of the garnets end up having stars. Do you find this valuable? |
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TallTomSr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 13 2008, 12:24 AM EDT "The grandkids have kept me hopping... Besides Emerald Creek on Monday, we went to Republic, WA to search for fossils and today was Saddle Mtn. I haven't had time to work any of the finds yet however we will stay home the next couple of days so the kids can make some jewelry with their finds. We'll post pictures if any of the garnets end up having stars. "Hey Sharon WOW what a busy grandma you been lately. I can only smile cause I know how it can be,,lol. Grandbabies can keep you hopping. Looking forward to seeing the pics. Tom Do you find this valuable? |
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kabnfvr |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 13 2008, 12:40 AM EDT yep - I've been putting off going back to work until after the grandkids visit. I'll have to go back to work just to get some REST! ;-) Kids go home on Sunday so just one more field trip to the Federation Show in Ontario next weekend and I'll settle down. I will search for Jasper, Agates, Thundereggs, fossils and Whangdoodle Opal (whatever that is!) during the show. I should have enough treasures to keep me busy well into the winter months! (course, I'm always up for a new adventure) lol Do you find this valuable? |
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pvjjh |
RE: Opening Day at Emerald Creek
Jun 13 2008, 12:44 AM EDT Yikes Sharon, that is one heck of a schedule you have kept up. So what we the results from Repulic and Saddle mtn? Anything good?? Do you find this valuable? |
