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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (July 6, 1958)
HERALD AND NEWS. KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON SUNDAY, JULY 6, 195B Rockhound Trio To Virain Vallev PAGE 2 D Proves Interesting, Worthwhile Two hundred and ten miles south-1 Thousand Creek lie the opal minei rist ol Klnmath Falls lies Virgin that are every year attracting Valley. And within the boundaries thousands of, rockhounds to the 1 this geographic area along area. Last week a couple of rockhoundlcame home loaded down with va- aficionados and their lamilies nous specimens ot the hydrated from the Herald and News took amorphous silica known as opal. the trip to the sunbaked land and The trip is an easy one for ex- 1 ,--tf ' ; If . 1 f ' , TT'- 1 "jrr' ;"-frf't HALFWAY POINT ON THE TRIP to Virgin Valley find. I of land rolling on for mile after dusty mile through sage the rockhounds in typical desert country, the gentle loops I brush, rabbitbrush, rocks and distance. ! ill , f arot 5 JlVk F.T.FJ Ik:S.-. f7 .toiJffi.i3 v -m.'. -r im FOITY NINES PASS leading into Virgin Valley features I the area should by all means fair their cameras and plen Mctacular sandstone formations such as this one shot by I ty of film, Harald and Newt photographer Don Kettler. Visitors to perienced drivers with good roads all the way at this season ot the year. To get to the mines you go to Alturas, then turn east for Ce darville, continue east and cross over into Nevada where you take Highway 8A for the Sheldon An telope Reserve. After leaving the pavement the roads are good grav el ones with no bad spots. But it is hot and dusty and service sta tions are few and far between out on the high desert. Be sure and take along plenty of water and make sure the car has a sufficient supply of gas. Cedarville is the last spot where you will find all these items in good supply. Camp is made at the old CCC camp adjacent to the mine prop erty itself. Here is shelter of a sort and ample water. The old bath house, featured on the cov er this week, is still there and in working order. The showers are fed from the impounded water which flows through the pipes at a comfortable 65 to 70 degrees. Out side on an average summer day the temperature will soar much higher. The mine itself, now owned by Keith Hodson, is named the Rain bow Ridge and is the producer of the world's largest opal, a monster weighing seven pounds. This stone, valued at $50,000, is nine and a half inches long, has a circumference of five and a half inches at one end, four and a half at the other. Most of the opals don't come that large. Legend has it that the property was discovered by an obscure Miller and Lux cowhand back in the wild and wooly days who came across a cache of "pretty, rocks' one day while ridinfi after cattle. Word spread and a Mrs. Lockheed, at that time working for a ban Francisco newspaper. came up to look around and end ed up owning the mine. Harry Foulkes of atockton bought the mine and in turn sold it to the Hodsons in 1049. The mine shaft itself (see ac companying pictures) is worked by Hodson where he digs out stones for use in his mineral shop in Scottsdale, Arizona. He spends the winters in the south; his sum mers working the mine. The sur rounding mine property is open to the public for a daily charge and visitors can dig their own shafts, usually not too deep in view of the brittle ground and the pounding heat, or scratch through the dirt in search of the collector's sloncs. Hodson goes out every so often and turns up an area of dirt with a bulldozer, thus making the scratching considera bly easier. You pays your money and takes your chances with finders keepers being the only rule. Travelers to the opal grounds should carry with them the nor mal equipment for any desert trip. Stout shoes are a must be cause of the rocky terrain. Com fortable clothing including sun hats and dark glasses is recommend ed. A snake bite kit is not a bad idea although the area is not in fested with snakes. As for dig ging equipment, suit yourself. A long bladed knife will come in handy as will a pick and shovel and a screwdriver to be used in prying bits of opal loose from the clay formation called mont morillonite in which they arc found. Take along your camera and plenty of film. Particularly at this time of the year there is plenty to shoot and the color picture en thusiast will find myriads ot wild Mowers showing off to their best advantage. The sandstone forma tions on Forty Niner Pass are spectacular enough to warrant a camera stop. Along the way you'll find antelope in occasional bunch es, deer in the draws, sage hen liy the hundreds. In addition to the Rainbow Ridge there is another mine in ' he area, the Green Fire. Our rov ng rockhounds didn't have time o visit this one on this trip. But maybe next time. And it looks very much like there will be another tunc
