Hiya from September in the outback. Today was actually clear when i got up instead of smoke or haze for weeks. Hope they get the fires out before too many more houses are lost. It is a wild world. Going out and as always documenting my days with pics. Especially if doing something important like staking a claim that requires proof.
The summers been bucolic around the valley for the most part. Haven’t been held out anything really great to slaver over opal wise from other diggers. I must be getting jaded in my old age. I knwo Im tired of beating off BS every year.
I imagine some things will be found, but Im so busy with my folks and my claims, I have yet to swim in the pond this year. They are in their 90s and essentially in solitary confinement, which is good. My fellow miners mother passed away after they put a CCP VIRUS survivor in her room. She did not survive and her daughter was not even able to attend the funeral in AZ. Birthday parties and all the campground has been busy enough. It was the first park here in Humboldt co.
Seems my consulting/whatever repairs occupation is always on call, & when ya work by half day or days by appointment or availability, since fee diggers dont seem to make appointments when here, the schedule is fluid.
I do kinda like working with owners and equipment.
Donna dug out this one I saw on the Kokopelli skinning cat as Tim was opening up a road to clear the overburden where they are taking the mine into the pocket. Some boulders were rolling. The Mesa basalt flowed over a deformed surface so it was thicker on the ponds and valleys than it was on ash, diatomaceous earth, clay, pumice, chert, sandstone hills with a grade, mind you the location of the vent goes into how thick it was. The Virgin Valley volcanic field has over 10 volcanoes. Pictures and words cant replace walking on and digging in holding pieces of, or getting opal which all of my claims produce.
I got a new neighbor this year. Very interesting and motivated man. Another miner decided it was more work starting a mine, than continuing one & has another easier to mine claim he got from me, but a quad ride to get to. He sold his first claims to a mutual friend of theirs. He actually asked me nicely, and traded for work, to show him where the opal was.
Each of the claims in Virgin Valley has a different flavor in several broad categories. Opal comes and goes with some tricks.
In reality I have been doing a bunch of hard rock mining on some choice veins where I also dig coppers. In fact I’m waiting for a call from some site owners who were looking for a few buckets, Quantum Quatro silica is the mix, but i dont call it that as it varies too much with the larger crystallization there. Real pretty slabs. AND i should mention trespassers are charged the daily rate as the claim is posted private or I call the sheriff on people behind no trespassing signs. Rockhounds are a special sort and do need to be controlled ot they will come truck mine your deposit away in a weekend. Despite that, the competitor directs people there as if its open ground not surface claimed for all loose material from the mining century. Not surprising he also claims to be and appraiser buying opal collections without access to any of the shops or mines information in Virgin Valey as he is banned from all sites here.
Always talk to the past customers, instead of listening to the competition or reading their anonymous reviews slandering the existing business blindly. Beware anyone who tells you to not talk to everyone involved in something before buying in. Especially one in legal cases up to their neck telling you to not worry. Especially the ones who say do not listen to any official, BLM or law enforcement as they do not know as much as that jailhouse lawyer.
