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-
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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.
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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