Dog Days of Summer

The infamous Mormon Cricket by Grocery Warehouse, a small one

Hiya all you opalholics still hanging on.

I’ve been preoccupied with with bioweapons, real weapons and politics way too much the last few years and not been digging. Life goes on in the mining district at the fee digs with the regulars coming back. The crowds ceased with the Covid despite the few camping refugees everywhere and the mines never closing. Now the cost of gas has made many not even staycation far in the USA. Its around 5 a gallon in Winnemucca and 7 at the motel, 8 at fields. It’s a dangerous world so we just need to still watch outbacks to see the world not altered.

There is no point in not living tho’. We all have to eat. More friends are coming in this week with Gemmas buddy. Shes getting grey around the muzzle. Wont be near as much walks after morning or before dark. At least its getting darker sooner again. Still grey skies from all the “stars”.

They are the far sensing crowd that use detectors. Last year they may have got the frequency to look for when Randy opened up a pocket at his mine. Has it for sale for a lot so…

We’ll see. He has at least 60 acres around the pocket, Scott & I have the hills adjacent also claimed with opals coming out, another 120 acres, they can look at our s too, LOL We traced it for the mostly white totally replace opal on that layer, then he drove a bulldozer through the middle to make a camp. Sweet dreams. Just not a ton of gem though that thin layer; as we have but dropped few picks there so far just to prove we know where to dig.

It is in plain sight right next to an open for rockhounding hillside I always send people to. (Generally on the creek side or table top side of the white signs. The are written on the side looking into the restricted zone.) Be nice if they could find opal gem pockets from walking around. Breathe new life into the mining district.

It’s not like there was always easy opals just falling out of the ground.

Gemma is not impressed by desert summer sun in a fur blanket, under the house is more her crib. I’d let her roll in the creek mud more, but horseflies and car rides.
float opal that really needs polished to see the play of color

The Diamond Inn Bar has been the watering hole in Denio since the 20s. For cut cabs, you still have to summon me with a gem case over there. Or thunder eggs, chrysocolla suite of specimens and rough. Like the boxes of 3$ rough from a 20$ a pound mine (Those buckets are two hundred.) sold on ESTY and domes etc representing the state gem mining district. Buckets of my UV or art wood by the piece and opal wood too. Home decorator sized logs on demand. I also have the Pink Opalized sandstone sculpture blocks.

I have glow in the dark opal from my mining and the fluorescent opal from the Peacock mine.

Volcanics are a gift that keeps on giving by eroding away from the hard stuff.

The Peacock Opal Mine, Little Pebble to left with concrete mixer, Virgin Creek Ranch in front of canyon to right