Mesquite

Yeah, I finally have a new camera and have figured out how to use it and get the pictures on my computer.  It took a while and after taking pictures and finding out they weren't saved on the camera I'm very happy to have everything working again.  We went out to the desert after waiting few weeks after it rained and we were happy to find that the ground is dry enough to try gold mining again.  We were out by this Mesquite tree which is such a pretty green surrounded by all the brown desert. 

We tried digging in a new spot here but haven't had any luck yet.  As soon as the ground dried we both took turns catching a very nasty cold so we've been home trying to get better before we go out digging again.   Right now its perfect digging weather with it being in the 70's but its supposed to be in the 80's starting this week.   Oh well it seems like we are always digging when its hot.

Barry Goldwater Range

The rock club got to go to the Barry Goldwater military range to look for some copper based minerals.  They went in on the western side of the range which is south of Wellton, AZ and south of I-8.  The range is right on the Mexican border and is used as a training area for the military.  A ranger took the group back to an area that is normally off limits to the public to look for rocks.  The area is around the Copper Mountains and is near the "combat village".  Combat village is a re-creation of a small village that would be found in the Middle East.  Military units practice everything from infiltrating it to bombing it.

You need a range pass to go on the Barry Goldwater Range.  The passes are easy to obtain at the Marine Base in Yuma.  You have to call in or go online to log in to the system before you can go onto the range.  There are areas of the range that are always off limits.  So its quite a privilege when you are allowed in an area that is normally off limits.  The rock picking was rather limited but it was fun to go somewhere different and the area does have a certain beauty.  Since I still don't have a camera I used some stock pictures to give you an idea of the area.