The McKinney Fire is backing into my old service center in Yreka, where I was dispatching at Copco 2 Switching center. Now the Potter fire hit above where I first came to work in Oregon from Kings River to Lemolo PH and to the east at Windigo up against wilderness to Mt Thielson (The lightning Rod of the Cascades).
You seriously need a weather eye living with limited access.
These fires with any wind are going to run thru mostly clear cuts with blocks of second and 3rd growth with some mature stands across very broken volcanic landscape. The land of lodge poles that will run for miles and with beetle kill areas. I’m going to treasure my pictures from cruising around on my dirt bike.
In the spirit of nostalgia, you can have a quiet good time out there. New operators as a KOA and it IS the worlds only dinosaur shaped reservoir, that they know of. PS. There are huge German Brown, Rainbow, Hybrids & Mackinaw for the fisher folk from there to the ocean that the salmon come up to, Soda Springs R.
Remember all the big game & wildlife loves it when it grows back with border areas and grasslands shrub for awhile. My fiance was the assistant biologist for USFS at Toketee. Courting her I’d take her bundles of Tansy Ragwort (invasive species) for their dumpster from along the canal as i was sowing raspberries and wildlife sightings, like when the Turkeys made it up from Glide or an elk drown.
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
Right next to Rainbow Ridge $5000 down and NO MORE, call for details or email at clodbreaker@gmail.com PLEASE SHARE ON FACEBOOK & TICTOC as I don’t go there. I’m for real, not a lot of words.
Location papers in a post are REQUIRED BEFORE selling a claim online Mr Ex-Convict never in residence
Hiya all you opal lovers. I want to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and hopes for a great New Year.
Gem Virgin Valley Black Opal photographed at the ISG
Just to remind everyone I am the undisputed best guide for mining opals at the fee digs or discovering and mining the wild opal with with dozens of staked claims. Give yourself the gift of due diligence and honest research when it comes to opal mining in Virgin Valley. I am still LIVING HERE doing this with a great reputation.
Whats in the pocket after a walk
Come see the truth for yourselves. All claims can be proven legally and demonstrated at the location monument on the ground by the opals or in the recorders office within the legal time limits of months after staking the claim and still be legal. The BLM are getting better with publishing their records, but it used to take months for decisions.
From the BrashearToni Fire Opal Mine
You can afford a precious opal & petrified wood without any limits claim, no one can buy the deeded land title in this Wildlife Refuge from the FWS, only the rights, to dig opals out of and live on wilderness. This is the way.
I will teach you how to bring in another ” $550,000 mine” or “quarter million business” mining (Their claim of value, not mine) or how to just rockhound for free since the recreation superintendent stopped playing nice and banned all tools even hand tools on both refuges here and in Oregon. I do not just drop clients after a sale like some seller does. Many owners have hired me over the decades for numerous skilled jobs.
Opal in wood off my for sale Lowlands claim group I mine regularly next to Rainbow ridge
All the records are available to the public, or I have copies photos of nothing being done, that kind of thing supporting all my claims for legal ownership and performing work. I take pics to prove all I do to defend myself from liars competing online, not the real opal miners.
Bonanza Mine Shareholders rubbed wood and opal (My name was on #1 by Lloyd Olds)
Scott Ryals, owner of the mine to the north of the Bonanza Mine for sale the Opal Negra & I at Swordfish Mining, have proven claims that are undisputed producing gem opals. MANY CAMPSITE CLAIMS!
We would sell you both, either whatever, our TWO proven BLACK opal mines for that auction price, just saying. More if you wanted the entire valley holdings of going on 50 claims and millsites. I did the ground work surveying that one on EBAY and gave mining/selling advice too. We claimed all the ground on 3 sides of that pit & dug precious off them. I have claims for sale starting at 5,000 and locations and millsites for 1,000 & up.
No I dont publish all my knowledge online allowing trespassers to dig for free. It would just be parroted by those that do not respect hard work and send trespassers to steal. By taking the tour they have to look me in the face at least once & pay for a single days digging rate. Fair return for my life’s work and the personal attention.
Do your homework and for your own sake SHOP before you buy. Retirement prices on proven precious opal bearing pockets and millsites on power/phone/internet lines and with water wells.
The proven black opal producing claims go for more than buffer claims, just saying.
Off our claims:
Opal in wood specimen & 3 natural solidsOpals in wood are the Virgin Valley smackdown
A local resident was robbed of over 50k in good Virgin Valley domed black opal specimen Opal, from Rainbow Ridge for the most part, but he dug on our claims too. No evidence photos for the internet yet.
The Humboldt Co, NV Sheriff is in charge of the criminal investigation. ALSO stolen was a world class collection of precious gems, many appraised, that he faceted as a master faceter who was well known & respected in his circles, Jim Marks.
He bought good faceting rough from Leah & I whenever we had it for sale. Missing is: many great domed Virgin Valley, some possible faceted, Juniper Ridge Opals, Montana sapphires, Nevada Garnets, Idaho Smokey quartz, He was an avid cutter and collector. The collection included whatever he made from in the author Allan Eckerts rough collection that he had bought from Allan. He like to perfect new cuts on synthetic materials too, like the breast cancer ribbon visible thru the face. The entire inheritance was taken.
RIP Jim. You were old school opal miner and a good neighbor, we loved you.
Rockhound602 is “friends” of a “client” of the “convict” so be warned. That person was sold an unstaked mining claim, which in Nevada is not a legal claim to sell. He had to file the wire fraud case not me. Not my circus they play in I tell the world about. They are just trying to deatroy me in my home or the home itself for no good reasons outside their twisted minds. I staked unstaked land and proceeded to possess it quite legally unchallenged for years now without any legal question, or them ever showing up, which the convict clearly made obvious was the SENIOR claim jumped persons responsibility to go file some law suit and they never complained so they lose. The Opal Queen mine is proceeding to court over the convict Wentzell selling his filed claims unstaked after backdating papers thru the mail.
craziness! wacked out opal miner in virgin valley and claimjumping accusations!
this wacko in the opal mines in virgin valley northeast nevada just doesn’t stop. He keeps having to justify his actions. read the WHOLE THREAD. claimjumper!
Go to www.virginvalleyopal.com and read all about it, the truth, not what they say to not read because it is all lies like you are an idiot.
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Posted byu/Rockhound602 1 month ago The lying and aiding/abbetting destruction of property from someones claim, BAD INFO by John Church dba Swordfish Mining Opal
Resortgod on here, aka John Church dba Swordfish Mining in the northern Nevada Opal area of Virgin Valley, again shows he is either plainly ignorant of the law, or knowingly aiding/abetting others destruction and theft of property on a millsite that was claimed by the staker. He can be held liable just by writing that and encouraging others. The relocater claimed all the abandoned property on the millsite and it is posted on the claim papers when he relocated the property. Here is what the LAW says (TOP photo, underlined in blue) vs what resortgod says (highlighted blue) ie john church that you can view along with long winded rants on his website at https://virginvalleyopal.com/ . PROVING HE DOESNT KNOW THE LAW, OR IS AIDING AND ABBETTING THE THEFT AND DESTRUCTION OF PROPERTY (Buildings, trailers, etc) from a millsite. He either doesn’t know this, or is helping people damage and steal someone elses property that was LAWFULLY claimed. EITHER WAY ITS BAD ADVICE, INCORRECT INFO, AND NOT SOMEONE WHO YOU SHOULD TRUST GETTING INFO OR ADVICE FROM: Post image
ABOVE: What the Law says. Compare that to below what john church says which is wrong!
Post image
What John Church says IS WRONG (AND ILLEGAL!) 2 comments 100% Upvoted Comment as ResortDog
Sort by User avatar level 1 ResortDog · just now
PS thank you for convicting yourselves of slander. Bring me to court for my triple damage tendies now that you put me out of business while hiding 4 states away. To leave all opal lovers out of luck for a guide, NOT. You losers.
Please notice his misspelling my name so it would not show up on google search to be rebutted slander.
The accusations leveled at me on Reddit & my reply.
I don’t hate you or anyone else. I would have never even known about any of this without searching about opal mines in nevada after a friend said he had a mine there. I came across YOU Resortdogg spouting all sorts of lies about your competition Domige ( THAT You believed His lies online). When I posted a few comments you went ballistic and would not stop. (You never accepted I am innocent of your/his made up charges) Without your drama I wouldn’t have ever even known about the refuge but you just kept going, so I went looking…. so thats what led to this. You obviously have no concerns that your mining actions are endangering the environment or the habitat of animals. (WTF????)Studies need to be done and protections put in place. (WTF???)Not trying to stop mining all together, just regulate it to balance both sides. (WTF???)As human beings we need to protect wildlife habitat, they can’t do it themselves. (WTF???)Why are you opposed to it? You should be in favor of it? There has to be a balance. (Ya’ll sit down & take a learning noob:
Are you stupid? You just wrote hate speech & picked the wrong expert to put words in their actions! Whatever you want has already been completed in the wilderness survey & plan in place. You have a lot of facts to swallow. Sit & read please as even if you dont these are crossposted outside reddit to continue to document the ongoing attacks we put up with as small HAND miners of a rare gemstone. He is the one that wants to bulldozer as he cant find opal by hand like we always dug it from there. He found grams in MY HOLE because nothing bigger than grams was ever found there despite his lies of pound sized opals. Look at my pictures of us mining there for decade to what nothing he has done in the last 10 years or whatever since he got out of prison.NO PROOF OR PIC. Can you spot the liar? He buys collections and 1/2 the stolen property from the Rainbow Ridge robbery was never reccovered, so where did his opal come from really? HE wants to ruin our family mine he has not removed our claim from or their posts, as that is an arrestable offense. They are legal to stop them dead until after they are forced to try and win that losing court case. Not the same summer. Guess who is going to win, the lawyer who is part owner of that claim coop who never felt the need to go to him, or the convict who was always too afraid to go to court & now trying to fill his war chest? LOGIC! THINK! We also dont need regulated out of business as mom & pop small miners by the likes of your made up problems. You sound like the loons in the Sierra Club arguing to make the world wilderness and doom everyone to some kinda commie hell like the big cities are now. Go away leaving us fighting pioneers ya’ll can’t be, alone. We deal with way more agencies already than you have to sic on us out of envy. We have to follow every regulation a coal or gold mine does. THANKS for that as we dig by hand in a dirt pile. MSHA are ruthless and support theirselves thru the fines they levy. Thanks again you stick you nose in others lives people for all us rock lickers pay twice as much for the fun they still come do despite Karens trying to price them out of a lifestyle. Some people get to retire after a visit here. The convict has already done as much damage as possible and I am always mending fences for the rest of us with the state agencies to prove all miners are not dicks like him. Im writing the governor, senators & represntatives for all of us for the common good, not him. Ask their offices who they hear good from & who say they are lying dont call any of them? We were here 50 years before the Audobon came in for the hunting. This was a mining district long before it was a antelope range, later a refuge. There is not a single endangered or threatened species on the refuge here in Nevada. Read their websdite before you imagine problems. Come hunt Sage Grouse in season. This is the 3rd largest refuge in america ~600,000 ac so thats a real, real big area around a real, real small mining area ~20,000 acres or so as most of it is out across the volcano or down fault by the ranch the nature conservancy bought. Nobodys ever mining, like the one across from the Peacock Mine by the one actual radioactive area, they have it under claim and sell it as mineral specimens. You could deprive the world of that for why? You hate mineral collectors? The creeks, ponds & valley floor meadows are all off limits to claiming or mining when they took away a big chunk with our residents approval as was removing all the cattle when the Wilsons sold out (and the gas & geothermal leases). It was their choiceto trap out every burro & horse, not ours. Two years ago the Recreation Director of both refuges forbid rockhounds to use anything but their hands. Is that enough to not disturb dirt for you? We are only allowed 7 lbs a day off the refuge of all species as rockhounds. You seem to have done no research at all. They cut all our the connector roads that crossed creeks and we have to drive the long ways around with all the tourists now as they did not care for eithers ease of use. Dont get me started on all the things I personally see from them making everybody had to drive by their new seen for miles headquarters wiorse than any mine operation & camera watching the road, at 15 mph. We were all were trapped becuase of that when Virgin Creek took out the dam. I donated all the sand stone to put the road back in by Glen of the Rainbow. We are the freinds of the refuge who do maintenncae. I personally (by myself after Leah died & her ashes are spread on the table over looking us) adopt the 3 1/3 miles of high way out in front of the refuge from the rest area to the top of the hill. I think I do WAY the fuck more than your words and strife would do to remove us all. Total lock out is not an option for all the deeded property in here (the fee digs) and ranches etc. most of which is not mined or minable UNLESS THEY BUY OUT ALL OUR OWNINGS. Way less than that new refuge visitor center cost. Why try to cancel our lives with no evidence of any harm. We improve the animals habitat if you read any of the biological science. There is a Refuge Biologist watch us like her hawks dont you know? Why dont you call Lakeview headquarters and ask her if she has a single issue with us. Their office is decorated with the sandstone from our claimed quarry when they built it. We live inside of a wildlife Refuge and I doubt you could love it as much as any of us do, so we resent you false assumptions. Worse parroting criminals lies. I get tired of that psycho convincing others they need to fight for him. Have you ever been here or talked to anyone who has? What is the damage they described? We are the conservative factor protecting this place for everyone. He is peeing in the punch bowl as he tries to sellout claim jumped property. The future buyers would be handcuffed by what he is trying to enact revenge on us with as he is trying to sell it. YOU CANT FIND MORE OPAL USING BIGGER EQUIPMENT HE LIES OR WE WOULD HAVE. You have to follow it digging by hand on you belly and not mix it up with the entire mountain. Shows you know as little as he does. The big mines have been doing this for a century and still go slow. All you do is to ruin the color bar for everyone from then on. That is how Triple Dragon Ruined Kleinschmidts claims and they have not relocated the opal yet; 3 owners later. We know. My mother in law did the new owners paperwork before they left and she died. You talked/emailed/private messaged with him, OR he at least PMed you to bribe you to silence so what does that tell you about him? The millsite he is trying to sell is being razed by the owners as he tries to sell it on them. They made it, they can unmake it, he does not get their trailers and possessions off it. Duhhh. Thats grand theft. He can not steal their possessions and resell them the same year. He is trying to sell a mess of lawsuits his son could not win and he, Daddy who raised that son, never took any of us to court on. Now without ever removing the senior claims he jumped – go check the BLM- he says its the other way around and the owners have to take the jumpers to court. Hes leaving as his arguments have dissolved into lawsuits. ACCUSE ME OF NOT LIKING ANIMALS> I AM A GOD BLESSED HSU GRADUATE. Do you know the oath we take? Where do you get off accusing me of obviously not caring for animals. Who are you to smear my reputation so vilely with no evidence or excuse whatever. What damage have I EVER DONE??? The environment damaged? Get off your high horse and come to the land and say that when you see the lack of what you accuse us of. made up accusations to smear good people. Why? Why us and why you. Did you take the convictys money? The black opals nobody else could ever get if you got your selfish way? Who wrote the tripe you read to even think that about all of us? Just becasue i pointed out you are deluded and will never stop correcting your problems in logic, you do not need top make up lies or be handed lies by the convict to smear our neighborhood with. This is the same kind of slander he has been using against us for decades. Go read his partner, the murderer in for life, ad in Bobs Rock Shop archive from 20 years ago or more. Just type in Jamison Fraud Warning. They also defrauded Rock & Gem out of their fees for ads. DONT BE THE KAREN HE IS PLEASE. He sold that guy a bill of goods & a promise he broke with the lies on the location ddocuments mailed from 4 states away. Ya’ll are required to erect a legal location nmonument, remeber all the attemprted claim jumpin go the Toni where that WAS his argument? I have always documented his crimes without ever committing any myself. Ask him why he forged Leahs name on the claimjumping papers we removed from all the Bonanza posts after he was arrested. Dont just take up his arguments. He plead guilty after he betrayed all our trust shooting our neighbor. He returned stolen propetrty to the sheriffs and led them to the guns. I legally claimed unclaimed ground your freind in NY can not own and its his problem he did not take them to court for fraud, NOT any of our legal selves as supportedf by the BLM & Sheriff with the courts he keeps ending up in after arrests. You know, the ones he says to not talk to because he is lying. The one crying for reclamation bonds that where he has no apporved notice of operations. Anybody can get a MSHA number. I reported them to MSHA for unsafe camping in our mine. they cant just shop up ripping up our operations and the mountain, like you think we do. We dont, we CANT as there are HUGE fines they would be paying. The families he is claimjumping, one a lawyer who has not wasted a penny on the convict yet, has no plan of operation filed so he would have to start from scratch. It is illegal for him to just show up and bulldoze a hillside without being shut down & fined. HE is the junior claimant. The one who tried to bribe you, not me. You are repeating his lies without original content and in doing so are hurting us just like he is. You cant put two and two together obviously to see the criminal behaviour this one started in prison 30 years ago has only festered in his brain. His dad follows up buying them to resell them, not him, to seperate him from the claim jumping & allow him to try and charge 500 an hour for his expert being hired to defend his jailhouse lawyer trust plot he never took to court to be honest or legal, legally. This is the same kind of slander he has been using against us all for decades and now you join him in the assualt. DONT BE THE KAREN HE IS. The commies love the big lies being repeated so much dopes believe they are the truth. I have to facts printed on papers, he has words of a twisted idea.
Well, well, well. There you go. Beware of anybody trying to sell unstaked or poorly thought out take aways thru the mail. Come visit the opal mines. Swordfish Mining is selling claims with NO drama starting at 500$ after military discount that I started here, LEO & First Responders discounted also. SHORT TOURS FOR $100 special for 2 months.
If the government had a problem with our legal activities, they may listen to a proven BAD ACTOR. Any liar can mail in a map with lies written on it.
We were never required to take him to court to defend our claim rights HE was required to go take them away from us for legal ownership of the land. Not my monkey not my circus anymore.
The valley has teeth & takes a bite now & then. Was out walking with the dog ’bout a week ago across sharp, loose, snow & ice covered aa lava & slipped. The usual fall into it got me a goose egg on the leg, one on the arm that I’m glad missed the funny spot by mm & the hand that did not sink in well past the cobbles. Also not being protected was ripped open across my middle knuckle.
Was over on the Gooch Side looking at a section of opal dirt in between a patent, lode & some millsites while doing a security look around for my friends. Tore open my right hand NOT catching myself well. Took 7 stitches to close it up when I got there hours later, fell at noon, hit Humboldt General Hospital ER in Winnemucca at 5pm. Thought I would not need the sewing the first couple hours after i had staunched it with snow & field dressed it, until i got home & cleaned it & asked the postmistress for a second opinion.
Had a new Dr I had not seen before sew it up & give me antibiotics. Guess she started a few months ago and did not know about the gem opal here yet. I’m always a drummer for Virgin Valley where the world seems way far away & trouble is seldom seen. I did call & let them know I was coming for what & NOT infected with the CCPV having symptoms or acquaintances who were. We do have a little hot spotting going on around here, curse those commies& their bio weapon. Enjoyed a nice dinner at the casino afterwards.
Last night they were getting itchy after giving the dog a bath earlier with an exam glove on it so i took them out. Held together, no infection, good show. Feels much better this morning. Won’t be scrubbing the new chrysocholla, geodes or woods for awhile yet. I went out yesterday and gathered up a gallon of agate nodules since the weather turned nice for a few days. Without La Nina’ this would be frozen over. Not even any snow to reflect the Christmas lights.
The 2021 Quartzsite Improvement Association Pow Wow opens Wednesday at 9am but it has been cut in half for CCPV spacing. http://www.qiaarizona.org/ Precautions will have to be taken for those who attend. I do not expect many buyers from states requiring quarantines if you traveled. Tyson Wells https://www.tysonwells.com/ Desert Gardens & Main Event are on Facebook I guess.
Arizona is a state that has issues with people wearing masks outside for not a good reason.
I left Scott Ryals from Opal Negra as a moderator of the group that was taken from me & boycotted Facebook, but he is busy selling gems on ESTY and not taking daily care like I was. Ray Wood from the Bonanza Corporation was putting up content.
If American opal was not good enough to be cut & set, how do all of us dry the rough or find it, cut & polish it then set it? Every miner from Virgin Valley has draped his loved ones in gemstones they found. Please ignore the ones who say Nevada opal is cursed without any experience using modern methods while they sell competing materials. I get dried rough, cut some & set some, show it in the sun for years dry & yet some ninny naysayers still do not believe it is a gemstone sitting in front of them with the gem box melted off it.
Ive got lots more material to sell since last year in the way of slabs & rough cutting material other than opals from a shop I helped closed out. There are new finds in the ubiquitous display specimens that I collect to sell. Seems the ESTY store must get filled someday instead of just sit there place marking while I keep mining.
This just does not feel like America anymore. We will live with what the incoming President does. Don’t make a point of coming to see me as the Virgin Valley Opal Claim seller, prospector, cutter, jeweler Dealer in Quartzsite Az this year, for I may not be there. 2022 in #206 if not this year. I’ll be down with the rough & finished as always or shopping & digging if I can’t come sell.
If you want to get out of where you are for some recreating, mining, sight seeing call me, year round weather permitting, winter it usually is NOT, for personal attention & success. I wont be bad mouthed or undersold
Artwork sketch from first business card in 93. Dont bother trying the old toll free number.
