Fall has fallen.

Its a sharp change when the tree turns color. 90s to 70s & we have orange leaves in the campground . I think its the first 40 degree nights that get it.

Just a note to remind everyone in range, there is a PARTY at the Peacock Opal mine today. BBQ & Live Music. I’ll be at the Kokopelli helping winterize besides the Opal eyes! See ya there, or not. You could buy one of my prospects if you can take advantage of it’s ability.

The chocolate Sundae Hill is 35 degrees off bedding at the faulting junction where the back road to the stone tree goes over the hills, and down a creek you need 4×4 for.

Opal Claims for sale following in Harry Wilson’s footsteps.

I sell Opal claims to dig your own opals on and millsites that you can camp on out of the camp ground. The people who sell fee digging won’t tell you there are options to paying every day unless you ask about me, Swordfish Mining as they are in the business of hosting day diggers.

I dont escort you onto to private property trying to get you here by saying it is public or take half your opal if you got lucky and it costs nothing a day when you own. Call for details.

The hot dog

I’ve had to keep up with site revisions and creations and deletions of entire webpages with a history I have to go to Archive to look at now. I have issues with statements of non fact stated as such or worse facts left out when it comes to “telling all”.

I live here & not just here to make a buck from somewhere else most of the year. Swordfish Mining’s information & more year round, besides the whole resident in a tiny town thing, fills my life. I don’t need any more karma points for giving free online advice to beginners in forums, even tho’ I do daily and I will always be a moderator at OpalholicsAnonymous as long as they will let me.

Do you know I have a gem silica & chrysocolla mine here for sale you could run a fee dig from? The Kspar and other varieties are listed on Esty for less than anybody else, even with the same stuff as they want 200 -400 bucks for a slab of the gem silica mixed in smokey quartz at the gift shop.

This is a private endevour, not corporate, or run from some mailbox or free website. It annoys me to no end when people online lie that they established a claim here when they have never come to erect a location monument as state law requires. Come meet me or at least call if you are even thinking of getting a place to dig of your own out on BLM land where the real laws apply.

Ive sold in gem & mineral shows for 20 plus years, granted a lot less after losing Leah. There is still flats of materials Im listing as I find time from MINING OPALS!

Since 1993, when I moved here after just coming to fee dig earlier, I have walked this entire place and know the ground. Every claim had corners tagged or put in by me for I found there were a lot of lazy people who never even looked or walked their own maps, then gave up. Ive seen almost every worthy prospect not locked up by a fee dig when the owners died or went away along with all the places I found on my own. Always with permission and I am very close to the owners at Opal Negra, Opal Queen and the Rainbow Ridge.

Do YOU want your own place you can use tools in the refuge and not pay? Yes, the refuge outlawed even hand tools such a a rake shovel hammer on both the Oregon and Nevada Wildlife refuges.

Call me because there is nobody else who is as familiar witht the ENTIRE district. yes somebody is good at copying books. Or call Scott Ryals of the Opal Negra if you don’t trust me, or Rainbow Ridge for a charector reference.

Treated Bonanza wood Statement Pendent, with roots!

Time to dig, days are getting short.

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

Drama trying to escape?

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.